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Michelle Obama calls on food industry to produce more healthy foods

03/17/2010 15:09:00 admin
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Michelle Obama on Tuesday called on the food industry to produce more healthful food for children in hopes that more healthy foods can lead to fewer cases of childhood obesity.

Obama spoke to hundreds of corporate representatives at a meeting of the Grocery Manufacturers Association on Tuesday and called upon food giants like Coca Cola, General Mills and Kraft Foods to more healthy foods and market them to children.

"Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years. The prevalence of obesity among children aged 6 to 11 years increased from 6.5% in 1980 to 19.6% in 2008. The prevalence of obesity among adolescents aged 12 to 19 years increased from 5.0% to 18.1%," the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states.

Apparently Michelle Obama believes that junk food may partially lead to the high rate of the childhood obesity in the United States.  But how much could the food industry do?  The manufacturing cost for healthy foods can be much higher than that for junk food and would parents be ready to spend more on healthy foods?

In fact, healthy food can lead to obesity as well.  This is so because a person becomes obese after intake of energy exceeds his energy expenditure for a period of time, say days, months or years.

However, a person's dietary habit does affect his risk of obesity.  For  instance, energy dense foods are more likely to put consumers at risk of obesity because it is easier for consumers to eat more than what they need.

One study published in the March 2, 2010 issue of International Journal of Obesity suggests children's early eating environments can also affect obesity risk.

Anzman S.L. and colleagues from the Pennsylvania State University in University Park, PA said in their study report that most childhood obesity prevention efforts that have focused on school-age children and adolescents resulted in only limited success.

The authors argued that the early years of life are critical in terms of obesity prevention.  Early studies showed that children ate meals at home more often were less likely to become obese.

By Jimmy Downs

Subscribe to comments feed Comments (3 posted):

Kelly on 03/17/2010 17:59:06
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Asking food companies to make healthier foods is silly. Food companies don't make food--farmers do.
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Anthony Nugent on 03/17/2010 18:10:49
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If the FDA requires food companies to actually sell food that won't make us sick, how will the Drug companies continue to take over the World?
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truthurts on 03/17/2010 18:24:59
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Wouldn't it make more sense to have someone else...who doesn't block out the sun with her sizable caboose... advocate against childhood obesity?
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