Politics of Food

2. Who’s The Real Culprit?
• Is it our fault?
• Is it our government’s fault?
• Are we doing enough?

3. • 30% of U.S. children are obese
• Most common chronic pediatric disease
• 18.5% prevalence of those 2-19 years old (13.7 million affected)
• 2-5 yrs old: 13.9% prevalence; 6-11 yrs old: 18.4%
How Severe Is the Issue?

4. How Do We Know if a Child is Obese?
• BMI above 95th percentile for teens & children of same age/sex
• Also defined as having certain amount of excess body fat
• BMI not always appropriate for children

5. How Can Obesity Affect Overall Health?
• Can lead to severe physical and psychological health issues
• Greater likelihood of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes
• Higher risk of developing eating disorders
• Linked to sleep apnea, fatty liver disease, asthma, etc

6. What Causes Childhood Obesity?
• Large portion sizes, reduced physical activity, increased intake
of sugar
• Culture, lifestyle, environmental factors play a role
• Genetic background

7. Who’s Involved?
• Social and government policies
• Family members: children follow habits
• Not entirely based on behaviors and teaching of family members

8. Has Anything Been Done?
• 2001: Task Force on Childhood Obesity initiative by President Obama
• Teamed up with Michelle Obama to implement combat strategies
• Strategies: more affordable food, more physical activity, knowledge
• Perdue of Trump admin tried to reverse progress, resulting in a lawsuit

9. Well, What Do We Do?
• Battle starts in childhood
• Need to test for comorbidities
• Encourage healthy eating and exercise
• Schools must provide healthy food & regular exercise
• Government must provide affordable, accessible, healthy food options
• If that doesn’t work: medication or raising awareness

10. Works Cited
Balingit, Moriah, and Caitlin Dewey. “Trump Official Freezes Michelle Obama's Plan To Fight
Childhood Obesity.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 1 May 2017,
www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/05/01/trump-official-freezes-michelle-ob
amas-plan-to-fight-childhood-obesity/.
“Childhood Obesity Facts.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 24 June 2019, www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html.
Cochran, William. “Understanding the Childhood Obesity Epidemic.” Obesity Action Coalition
Community, 2005, www.obesityaction.org/community/article-library/understanding
-the-childhood-obesity-epidemic/.
“Defining Childhood Obesity.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 3 July 2018, www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood/defining.html.
Green, Erica L., and Sean Piccoli. “Trump Administration Sued Over Rollback of School Lunch
Standards.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 3 Apr. 2019,
www.nytimes.com/2019/04/03/us/politics/trump-school-lunch-standards.html.
LaMotte, Sandee. “Only Children Are More Likely to Be Obese, Study Says.” CNN, Cable News
Network, 6 Nov. 2019, www.cnn.com/2019/11/06/health/only-child-obesity
-connection-wellness/index.html.
Larery, Trina. "The True Weight of Childhood Obesity in America." The Midwest Quarterly, vol.
60, no. 3, 2019, p. 329+. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A583693
217/ ITOF?u=mcp_main&sid=ITOF&xid=dc3ae29a. Accessed 26 Nov. 2019.

11. Works Cited (cont)
“Onward.” Let's Move, National Archives and Records Administration,
letsmove.obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2017/01/04/onward.
Sahoo, K., Sahoo, B., Choudhury, A. K., Sofi, N. Y., Kumar, R., & Bhadoria, A. S. (2015).
Childhood obesity: causes and consequences. Journal of family medicine and primary
care, 4(2), 187–192. doi:10.4103/2249-4863.154628
Sellgren, Katherine. “Parents 'Not Wholly to Blame for Child Weight Gain'.” BBC News, BBC,
20 Nov. 2018, www.bbc.com/news/education-46262619.
Williams, Joseph P. “Finding News Ways to Treat Childhood Obesity.” U.S. News & World
Report, U.S. News & World Report, 19 Nov. 2019,
www.usnews.com/news/healthcare-of-tomorrow/articles/2019-11-19/finding-news-
ways-to-treat-childhood-obesity.