Child Obesity Surges

Child Obesity Surges

Most of people it thinks the battle against willpower of the takings of the obesity. But the city of Somerville knows that it takes the will from a whole community.





Sparked by a desire to contain obesity of the childhood, this city of 78,000 has experienced yet dramatic a subtle transformation in the last five years. The restaurants have changed to milk with little fat and to smaller sizes of the portion. Districto of the school has doubled almost the amount of fresh fruit in the lunch.

The city, right outer Boston, have repintado crosswalks to obtain to more people than it walked to work or to teach. The numbers suggest works. During scholastic year 2003-04, the students of Somerville gained less weight than young in two used next communities like control group, according to a report published today in the medical obesity of the newspaper.

The difference was statistical significant and translates to come up around a pound of increase of excess of the weight between the children who incline towards the heavy side, the report says. The study of Somerville is created to be the first controlled experiment that demonstrates the value of a effort to communitarian level. It is only one small dent, but to slow down the passage of the increase of the weight between cabritos is the key to conquer obesity of the childhood, says to author Christina Economos, junior instructor of the lead in the university of plumes. “She could be the difference between graduating fat and graduating in a normal weight,” she says.

“We needed to think of how it plays outside towards long term.” The program of Somerville, designed mainly by the Dr Economos and the investigators of the companion in the school of Friedman of plumes of the nutrition, offers a model that surprises. It did not force students to go in diets. In place, the goal was to change its atmosphere with small and cheap steps.

The Dr Economos, specialist in the pediátrica nutrition and the mother of two children school-age, has thought that the battle against obesity cannot be only fought in the supper table but it requires of length changes of articles of incorporation and political. For the inspiration, it gave return to other last social movements guessed right of the 40 years, analyzing the control of the tobacco, use of the seat-strap and nursing.

All were thorny problems of the public-health that lacked a fast adjustment, the significant progress was done yet in each one. In 2002, the centers for the disease control and the prevention granted to Dr Economos who a concession $1,5 million to discovers if the same social forces could work in nutrition. The goal of the form of the investigators upon the plan was to cause that the children of Somerville burn more calories with exercise and admit less with one more a healthier diet, for a total advantage of 125 calories to the day. Which lacked of the program at the outset was a champion of the community, somebody like C. Everett Koop, the general of the surgeon that they surrounded with railing against tobacco, or Ralph Nader in the excessive security of the car of the battle. “It knew that we needed a spark plug,” it says to Dr Economos. It found in mayor Jose Curtatone, lawyer and car of Somerville of the soccer football of the volunteer in the High local secondary School. Mr. Curtatone says that he had gained the weight in the sign of the campaign and that he hoped to spill some pounds when the Dr Economos walked in his office to speak of her the hopes of an intervention community-based of the obesity on Somerville.

“I bought immediately in him because it could see the potential,” I say to Mr. Curtatone. He calculated that the projects to animate exercise and good for eating could make the city a better place to live without mattering how the experiment was. “We are here improving the lives all in the city,” says to mayor. “It is not on an individual that obtains a quality of member of gym.”