Surgeon General says Childhood Obesity Rates Remain 'Embarrassing'
By Hugh C. McBride
Statistics have shown that the United States may have experienced some limited successes in the struggle against childhood obesity - but the nation's top health advisor cautioned against undue enthusiasm over these preliminary results.
In June 2008, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that, after decades of steady increases, the rates of childhood obesity and overweight showed no significant changes between 1999 and 2006. But Steven Golson, the acting U.S. surgeon general, said that this recent leveling off should not be considered a victory.
"We're still triple where we were in 1980," Golson said during a June 19 press conference in Little Rock, Arkansas. "That's nine million children over the age of six that are overweight, and that should be embarrassing to every parent, to every teacher, to every leader in this community and to people all around the country."
The Arkansas News Bureau reported that Golson was in Little Rock with Melissa Johnson, executive director of the President's Council on Physical Fitness, to honor the state for being one of five winners of the National President's Challenge, a nationwide effort designed to encourage health promotion and physical fitness.
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