Share data on childhood obesity to design recipe for weight loss
Dr. Carol Podgorski and Dr. Andrew Doniger
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(July 24, 2007) — Obesity has become a national epidemic, one that has made a significant impact on our country's health. Nationally, surveys indicate that about 38 percent of children are overweight or obese, and the estimated national cost of treating obesity-related conditions exceeds $117 billion yearly.
To assess trends in childhood obesity, New York state will require that a child's Body Mass Index and weight status category be reported on school health certificates provided on physicals conducted before children enter school in grades two, four, seven and 10. Additionally, a sample of schools will be required to report on obesity patterns in their particular school to the state Department of Health.
Such aggregated — and anonymous — data will help school officials, health care providers, community agencies and health officials better understand the obesity severity and trends.
In our community, Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks has encouraged healthy living habits among county employees and their families through the successful implementation of the county's Wellness Initiative.
However, while health care providers play a primary role in the early recognition of childhood obesity, schools are also an integral partner. Besides the family, there is no other institution in our society that has the same level of responsibility for supervising and influencing our children's behavior.
Tracking the rise and fall of major health problems is a critical responsibility of public health officials. We believe that the best way to track the childhood obesity epidemic is for information already being collected by health care providers to be reported to the state. This would allow optimal analysis of data in a systematic and confidential manner.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has required schools to develop and implement wellness policies that address issues related to physical activity and foods available in schools. The availability of BMI data would not only help school districts target interventions and evaluate the effectiveness of their policies, but it also would help groups such as the Greater Rochester Health Foundation as they design targeted interventions to impact obesity.
These reports would be important to schools and the array of community agencies, including the Monroe County Board of Health, that are working to improve the health of our community by reducing obesity.
Podgorski is president, Monroe County Board of Health; Doniger is director, Monroe County Department of Public Health. Childhood Obesity