National Public Health Week Part 1: Childhood Obesity

I was fortunate to participate in a Community-Based Public Health Conference in Flint this week and learned a lot of really interesting tidbits related to key public health issues.  I'll do my best to share some of these topical issues in the next couple posts.

One of the topics presented during the conference was the increasingly infamous issue of childhood obesity, a well-known public health problem due to Michelle Obama's extensive initiatives to address this epidemic.
To give you a little background, 34% of Flint residents are obese, and it is ranked #77 of 82 Michigan counties in terms of overall health.  Of course, there are a number of issues that contribute to obesity, from food deserts providing few accessible options for healthy groceries, to concerns about safety that limit physical activity options, to typical cultural cuisine that is not always the most nutritious.

A quick history lesson: the national pediatric obesity rate has skyrocketed from 5% to 20% prevalence in less than 50 years.

And even more shocking:


1 in 3 children born in 2000 will develop type 2 diabetes in their lifetime.


Terrifying, isn't it?  So, what can we do?

Well, there is no quick fix but there are some basics that we can all strive to live by, including the Michigan 4 x 4 Plan which highlights 4 health behaviors (diet, exercise, health maintenance exams, and smoking cessation) as well as 4 indicators (BMI, blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood glucose) which can serve as a report card to follow your health progress over time.

There is also a kid-friendly guideline for daily recommendations, known as 5-4-3-2-1 Go:

5 or more servings of fruit/veggies
4 glasses of water
3 servings of low-fat dairy
2 hours or less of screen time
1 hour or more of physical activity

While making changes at an individual and family level are key, one cannot deny the impact of school lunches, as approximately 50% of children's daily calories are consumed at school.  To help administrators to transition to more healthful options at their schools, the Michigan Department of Community Health developed Nutrition Standards as guidelines to modify everything from school lunches to healthy snacks for fundraising and concessions.  There is also a website available for information-sharing so that educators and public health advocates can employ strategies that have proved successful for others.

Curious how Michigan has been doing in terms of public health goals?  Check out the Michigan Health & Wellness Dashboard to see stats on health issues from obesity to infant mortality.  Happy National Public Health Week!  More to come...