A recently released report shows more work needs to be done to combat childhood obesity in the U.S.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a philanthropy dedicated to health, tracked national and state-level data on those rates as well as policy recommendations for prioritizing children’s health.
Jamie Bussel is Senior Program Officer at the organization. She discusses findings from the report entitled State of Childhood Obesity: Prioritizing Children’s Health During the Pandemic.
“One in seven, or approximately 15%, have obesity and that’s a number that remains relatively constant over the last few years.”
Bussel says the situation is worse for minorities and poor families.
“Children of Color, African-American, Latino, Native American kids are most over-burdened by the epidemic, and in addition when we look at income, kids from lower-income families are twice as likely to have obesity as compared with kids from more affluent communities or families.”
She recommends action at the federal level.
“When we talk about some of the specific policy recommendations broadly, we’re able to strengthen and modernize the Flagship Federal Nutrition Program, so the programs like SNAP, WIC, school meal programs, and other policies so that every family can access and afford healthy foods.”
Georgia comes in right in the middle at number 24 on the list, with 14.9 percent of young people aged 10 to 17 being obese. The national rate of childhood obesity is 15 percent.
For more information, visit stateofchildhoodobesity.org.