Georgia Agencies Unite Against Childhood Obesity
 
 DPH Commissioner Brenda Fitzgerald, M.D., describes state efforts to make Georgia kids healthier at the state Capitol.
Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) Commissioner Brenda Fitzgerald, M.D., joined leaders from more than 30 organizations around the state for a "United Against Childhood Obesity" day at the state Capitol on Wednesday. Attendees, including Gov. Nathan Deal and Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, signaled that the childhood obesity epidemic is at the forefront of the state's health agenda.

  

"The problem is huge in Georgia. The state ranks second in the nation for childhood obesity," Fitzgerald said.

 

State statistics tell an alarming story. Forty percent of Georgia's children are overweight or obese. In 2012, the first statewide physical fitness assessment of schoolchildren, the FitnessGram, showed that 20 percent could not pass any basic fitness tests. Fitzgerald noted that such high rates of overweight and obesity in young people puts a new generation of Georgians at risk of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and some cancers.

 

Despite alarm over the current problem, officials also expressed hope that the state can help bring obesity numbers down with a number of statewide initiatives aimed at improving kids' health. DPH is leading the Georgia SHAPE program, the governor's childhood obesity campaign that selected the FitnessGram assessment to measure students' fitness and works to promote physical activity and healthy eating to Georgia's kids.

 

The Department of Agriculture pilots projects like the Feed My School program, which pairs school districts with local farmers to get more fresh produce into school lunches and teaches children how food is grown. The Department of Transportation works to increase the number of kids who walk or bike through programs like Georgia Safe Routes to School. For Georgia's youngest children, Lt. Gov. Cagle and the Department of Early Care and Learning are working with preschool, daycare and after-school programs to improve their physical activity and nutrition standards.

 

At the State of Public Health conference in March, Fitzgerald also said DPH will work with the Department of Education to add 30 minutes of physical activity into all Georgia elementary school classrooms every day. But state programs will only be one part of the efforts needed to bring childhood obesity rates down.

 

"I know that by working together, children, parents, schools and public health, we're up to the challenge," she said.

 

-Story by Carrie Gann, DPH Communications



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