GOVERNMENT DOING WHAT IT DOES BEST

Childhood obesity is the latest panic-inducing epidemic to come to public attention.  It causes untold medical problems, we hear, from diabetes to heart disease.  So who is responsible for resolving the problem?

A bill was introduced during the 2008 session of the Mississippi Legislature to forbid restaurants from serving anyone who is obese.

According to March 2008 news reports from Scotland, social workers in that country have threatened to remove overweight children from their parents.

As far as we know, West Virginia officials aren’t (yet) considering those rather extreme approaches to dealing with the obesity “crisis.”  But short of posting State Police in grocery stores and residents’ kitchens to guard against the purchase and consumption of “unhealthy” food, what role can and should the state play in actually improving the physical health of its young residents (not just their self-esteem) without wasting money and duplicating existing programs?

Should the governor appoint a Secretary of Common Sense to tell people not to eat so much and to get more exercise?  Might the state acknowledge that individuals are responsible for their own actions (and the consequences of those actions), and that parents really are the only ones responsible for raising their own children?

Both the state and federal governments seem intent on spending taxpayer money on creating programs without regard to whether they actually work or whether identical “healthy living” programs already exist.  The Associated Press reported in March, 2008, that Gov. Joe Manchin has requested $350,000 for the following year to put an interactive video game, “Dance Dance Revolution,” into all of West Virginia’s middle schools.  It seems a West Virginia University study – funded in part by at least $60,000 of public employees’ health insurance money - concluded that 35 West Virginia children who played the physically-demanding game gained slightly less weight than children who didn’t play.  Although they actually gained weight during the study, researchers believed playing the game boosted the students’ self-esteem.  Whew!  At least they felt better than ever about themselves, irrespective of the additional girth, and state officials seem to have considered that a success worthy of additional taxpayer dollars.

The state’s FY 2009 budget includes $470,000 for the CARDIAC (Coronary Artery Risk Detection in Appalachian Communities) Project and $168,000 for the Office of Healthy Lifestyles.  The former sends medical personnel into public schools to screen students’ weight, blood pressure and glucose levels.  The latter was created in 2005 “to coordinate the efforts of all agencies to prevent and remedy obesity and related weight problems, and to ensure that all citizens are being educated about the serious health risk associated with being overweight.”  Its action plan, as posted on its website, consists of goals like carrying out an outreach plan (performance of which is to be measured by how many meetings are held) to tell citizens about healthful eating habits and the importance of physical activity (measured by the creation of informational brochures).

Without discounting for a moment the value of health screenings or education, we found no indication that any government office first bothered to determine whether there’s a single person in West Virginia who doesn’t already know that 1) obesity is not good  and 2) exercise and a healthy diet are good.  Nevertheless, state, federal and private entities are busily spending money hand over fist, duplicating efforts like mad, to state the obvious.

In 2002, the National Institutes of Health introduced a nationwide program called Hearts N' Parks, by which it funnels funding to parks and recreation departments to provide “activities for kids and adults that encourage healthy lifestyle choices. The goals are to reduce obesity and the risk of heart disease by encouraging nutritious eating habits and regular physical activity.”

Such funded activities might include sports – which parks and recreation departments already have offered for generations - as well as “field trips to local grocery stores and restaurants to learn how to make healthy selections and read food labels” – which parents also already have offered for generations, except they called it, “Get in the car, we're going shopping.”

The NIH seems to acknowledge, for what it’s worth, that parents might play some role in their child’s health.  “While children can play ball at the local park and choose healthier foods in school, at the end of the day family support is what really counts. You are a role model for your kids. Children form habits from parents, and usually maintain them into adulthood.”

Meanwhile, back in West Virginia, according to a 2006 Centers for Disease Control report, only 62.7 percent of the state’s schools required students to take two or more phys ed classes.  Over 88 percent did not permit the sale of candy, high-fat snacks, soda or high-fat milk, however (consistent with a legislative rule promulgated in 2004).  Over three-fourths of the schools already were teaching the children nutrition and dietary behavior topics in required health education courses.

A legislative rule to take effect July 1, 2008, (W.Va. Department of Education Policy 2520.5) appears to require health education curricula that promote healthy lifestyles, including the teaching of sound nutritional practices.  Similarly, the goal of the 2008 physical education policy (Policy 2520.6) is to build a “rigorous, relevant and challenging curriculum” that encourages children to adopt a physically active lifestyle.  Maybe mandatory phys ed classes would obviate the “need” to spend $350,000 on “Dance Dance Revolution.”

In addition to mandatory state educational policies, Hearts N’ Parks and programs like Healthy Lifestyles, it seems that several private organizations have jumped into the childhood obesity fray, from The William J. Clinton Foundation to the Jared Foundation (started by Jared Fogle, the young man who lost weight on his own on a self-designed diet of low-fat Subway sandwiches and without “Dance Dance Revolution”).

These private groups also spend gobs of money on activities intended to “eliminate childhood obesity and to inspire all young people in the United States to develop lifelong, healthy habits” and to “encourage and sustain lifestyle changes.”  (Curiously, when Mr. Fogle spoke at West Virginia University, he explained how he lost over 200 pounds on a self-motivated and self-designed program of diet and exercise, leading one to ponder whether government-mandated weight loss could be effective).

West Virginia’s public school system already offers a foundation of physical education, healthy school lunches and nutrition education that should be able to accomplish those goals.  Beyond that, perhaps the state government should step back and let parents raise their own children, and let the chips – potato or otherwise – fall where they may.  (May, 2008)