Clinton champions children's weight loss
By Jenny Clevstrom | Oct 25, 2005 | 398
NEW YORK -- Former president Bill Clinton and Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark., are putting their weight -- what's left of it -- behind an effort to get America's young people to live healthful lives.
Clinton and Huckabee, both slimmed-down versions of their former selves, have joined the American Heart Association to help get kids the word on health in partnership with the Nickelodeon network.
"I know you can do this," Clinton told a group of 30 young people gathered for the launch of the "Alliance for a Healthier Generation."
Child obesity is four times more common today than it was 20 years ago, says Robert Eckel, president of the heart association. And because obesity is linked to other diseases (diabetes, cancer, stroke), the association considers weight one of the most serious problems for the future of American children, he says.
"We need to change the way kids eat, the way they play and also the way they think about their own health," Eckel says.
The alliance's goal is to stop the rise of childhood obesity by 2010 and decrease it 10% by 2015. It plans to work with health care providers, schools and the food and restaurant industry.
Nickelodeon will be the primary vehicle to reach kids. The network is expanding its health and wellness messaging. It will air town hall meetings where kids talk about health; Clinton participated in one on childhood obesity, hosted by Linda Ellerbee, on Thursday.
Much like Clinton, Huckabee is a role model for taking control over his diet and health. Since he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2003, he has lost 110 pounds.
At the New York kickoff, Huckabee invited one of the gathered teens, 110-pound Ujijji Davis, 14, up to the front. "I want everybody to see what 110 pounds looks like.
"I was carrying Ujijji around with me," he said.
Clinton says his story was different from Huckabee's. He exercised but says his arteries clogged because "I ate the wrong things." Clinton had heart bypass surgery in September 2004 and has lost about 20 pounds since leaving the White House.
Clinton believes young people will respond to the call for healthier eating but says it "needs to be done in a positive way."
"I was a fat kid, so I know how they feel."
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