diabetes or arthritis, yet it strongly correlates to those and other of children who have become amputees because of complications from diabetes. …
Release No 046904
of
Remarks by Agriculture Secretary Ann M Veneman
at USDAs National Obesity Prevention Conference
Bethesda, Maryland - October 25, 2004
SEC VENEMAN: Well, thank you, Dr Jen, for that very, very kind
introduction As you can tell, we both came from California, and thats
how I knew that Dr Jen would be a great person for this position And he
is doing an outstanding job And congratulations to him and to Under
Secretary Bost for this conference and the outstanding turnout we have I
think it shows the importance of the issue that is going to be discussed
over the next couple of days at this conference
And I want to thank both of the under secretaries too for their
attention to the nutrition and obesity issues Under Secretary Bost has
been traveling around the country spreading the message about healthy diets
and lifestyles He tells me that he doesnt always practice what he
preaches, but he preaches the right message
[Laughter]
We also want to thank all the other sponsoring agencies at USDA and
our federal partners
from the administration, such as FDA, as well as
academia, public health groups, industries and individuals who are
represented here today Your presence demonstrates that no single group
can go it alone when it comes to an effective, coordinated response to
obesity Each of us has a vital and unique role to play in battling this
epidemic It is a fight that President Bush personally believes in and
supports through his HealthierUS initiative That initiative is based on
four pillars: good nutrition, physical activity, preventive health
screenings and avoiding risky behaviors And this is an issue that we at
USDA are committed to addressing
By now we are all well aware that overweight and obesity have reached
crisis proportions But every new statistic lends additional urgency to
our efforts I am especially concerned for our children, because once
young people are overweight the battle is harder to fight And it is more
likely that an overweight child will become an overweight or obese adult
Nearly two out of three Americans are overweight or obese — a 50 percent
increase from just a decade ago Among children, about one in six is
overweight And among some minority
groups those numbers are even higher
For example, in Hispanic children, about one in four boys and about one in
five girls are overweight More than 400,000 Americans will die this year
from causes related to obesity And obesity is poised to overtake smoking
as the leading cause of preventable death
-more-
Obesity does not strike with the sudden and life-threatening urgency
of a heart attack or a stroke It is a major risk factor for the
conditions that cause them Obesity is not diagnosed in a life-altering
moment of truth like cancer Yet it is linked to the increased incidence
of many types of cancer Obesity is not generally thought of as a
condition that requires daily medications, such as diabetes or arthritis,
yet it strongly correlates to those and other chronic medical conditions
I have even heard disturbing and increasing reports of children who
have become amputees because of complications from diabetes In fact,
obesity is even changing our language What used to be known as adult-
onset diabetes is now most often referred to as Type II diabetes, because
so many overweight children now suffer from it
In a
grim way, obesity is also a growth industry, as products such as
larger seats in theaters, stadiums and cars, the booming diet industry, and
even oversized caskets are catering to larger customers
In strictly financial terms, obesity costs us about 117 billion in
the years 2000, mostly in increased medical bills A study released just
last week by Emory University reported that more than one quarter of the
growth in health care spending over the past 15 years is due to obesity
As a nation we will all bear these costs — financial, physical and
emotional As policymakers and researchers we must all play a role to
address it The President launched a HealthierUS initiative in 2001 to
focus attention on the problem And we at USDA are incorporating the
HealthierUS initiative into our programs
About a year ago, USDAs National Agriculture Research Extension
Education and Economics Advisory Board made several recommendations on how
USDA could increase focus on obesity prevention Many of their findings
should resonate as this conference moves forward The advisory board
recommended that USDA take the lead among federal agencies in developing
food- and exercise-based
strategies for obesity prevention, and that USDA
should coordinate with other federal agencies toward a national prevention
effort
The persistence and growth in obesity demonstrates the limits of our
understanding and the need to learn more through research, and to apply the
knowledge gained through practical solutions
This past February, USDA held its annual Outlook Forum, which usually
focuses on issues of concern to production agriculture But because this
national concern is directly related to food consumption, both in the short
term and the long term, production agriculture is directly affected And
that is why for the first time ever we decided that the Outlook Forum
should focus on issues of nutrition and a healthy food supply
It was at that forum that I announced that USDA would host this
research conference, because USDA is uniquely positioned to play a major
role in better understanding how to prevent obesity
USDAs six human nutrition research centers are doing important work
on obesity-related issues such as the effects of different nutrients on
metabolism and exercise Many of these centers are partnering with
universities to conduct research that
is targeted to specific populations
such as children and the elderly
-more-
As I traveled across the country, Ive visited some of these research
centers to learn more about what they are doing to address this important
problem
To underline the importance of science to nutrition, we added a
nutrition, food safety and quality group to the three national program
groups of USDAs Agricultural Research Service Science and research are
also playing a greater role than ever in the process of updating the
dietary guidelines for Americans, which we issue every five years in
partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services This is the
first time the advisory committee has used an evidence-based approach to
reviewing research for the updates, so that recommendations are made on a
preponderance of research, not just on one study
We then use the dietary guidelines as a basis for our food guidance
system, which is currently the food guide pyramid There is no doubt that
the current food guide pyramid is recognized Research shows that some 75
to 80 percent of consumers are aware of it But one can question whether
the
current food guide pyramid is helping consumers maintain a healthy
weight through nutrition and exercise
Research will guide changes in USDAs updated guidance There are
basic questions that must be addressed in terms of what people are eating,
and why, so that we can better understand how to turn this epidemic around
The questions arise: What are the behavioral and socioeconomic factors
behind our dietary choices? What added nutritional benefits can be found
in the so-called functional foods? And even more critically, despite our
efforts to communicate healthy diet and exercise information, why are so
many of those messages simply not getting through?
USDA provides about a half a billion dollars a year in nutrition
education through the critical channels of our food assistance programs
such as school meals, food stamps and the women, infants and children, or
WIC, program These programs touch one in every five Americans every day,
and comprise about 60 percent of USDAs total budget But these messages
must be consistent so that they make the biggest possible impact and
actually make a difference in consumer behavior Here again research can
play a key role in
helping ensure the effectiveness of our nutrition
messages One example of success in effectively communicating nutrition
information is our program to offer fruits and vegetables in schools in
selected states Research shows that children participating in this
program increased their consumption of fruits and vegetables, both inside
and outside the schools
At my direction, Under Secretary Bost and Under Secretary Jen are
reviewing our nutrition education and research programs in an effort to
ensure that these programs are targeted to address the issue of overweight
and obesity Much of the battle we are fighting can be seen in our schools,
but our schools can also be places where children learn good habits I
have visited a number of schools in recent weeks, and many where you would
not realize that childhood obesity is the problem that we know it to be
Quite simply, these are schools with healthy and supportive environments
that help children make better choices in their diets and help to provide
physical activity
Earlier this month, in conjunction with National School Lunch Week,
we launched an initiative to encourage those kinds of efforts The
HealthierUS School
Challenge recognizes schools that take a leadership role
in helping students make healthy eating and active lifestyle choices The
challenge will expand on USDAs Team Nutrition program, which provides
support for healthy eating and physical activity by involving school
administrators and other school and community partners So far, more than
28,000 schools have signed up to be Team Nutrition schools
The HealthierUS School Challenge will give guidance and encouragement
for these schools to do even more In order to be certified as part of the
HealthierUS School Challenge, schools must enroll in Team Nutrition, and
then meet certain high standards, such as offering nutrition education,
physical activity and healthier meals
As we continue to seek solutions, this administration is deeply
committed to the use of sound science in our decision-making And that is
why all of you are here today
In a time of constrained budgets, the American people expect that
our programs are actually making an impact on solving the pressing issues
that we face As policymakers, we are relying on you to help chart a more
effective course
Last year our National Agricultural
Research Extension Education and
Economics Advisory Board recommended a clear and coherent strategy for
obesity prevention with more focused research on critical questions
including the behavioral and social causes of obesity
We hope that this conference can help bring added clarity to the role
of USDA and other agencies, and also a greater awareness of how we can
bring a more effective, coordinated federal approach
It is critical that we think outside the box and dismantle the
stovepipes that would prevent us from mounting the most effective response
possible As the crisis escalates, we simply cannot afford to duplicate
our efforts or to waste precious resources We must take a targeted
approach, one that is based on the latest and most reliable science and one
that moves us toward a common goal President Bush calls healthy
lifestyles a cultural change I ask all of you here today to use this
opportunity to help bring about this change By helping more of our fellow
citizens maintain a healthy weight or lose weight, every one of us has a
lot to gain
Thank you very much for the opportunity to be here today I wish
you a very productive conference that
accomplishes a great deal Thank
you all very, very much
[Applause]
Source:usda.gov
