Tom Harkin: “our Nation faces a public health crisis of the first order. Poor diet and physical inactivity are contributing to…”

“our Nation faces a public health crisis of the first order. Poor diet and physical inactivity are contributing to growing rates of chronic disease in the U.S. These problems do not just affect adults, but increasingly affect the health of our children as well. Research suggests that one-third of American children born today will develop type II diabetes at some point. For some minority children, the numbers are even more shocking, as high as 50 percent. At the same time, rates of overweight among children are skyrocketing: tripling among children ages 6-11, and doubling among children ages 2 to 5 and ages 12-19 over the past three decades. Indeed, just this week the Journal of the American Medical Association released a new study that found that, in just the past 5 years, rates of childhood overweight and obesity rose very significantly. There are many reasons for this public health crisis, and accordingly, addressing the crisis will require multiple solutions as well. One place where we can start is with our schools, which have been inundated with foods and drinks having little or no positive nutritional value. A recent study from the Government Accountability office found that 99 percent of high schools, 97 percent of middle schools, and 83 percent of elementary schools sell foods from vending machines, school stores, or a-la-carte lines in the cafeteria. And it is not fresh fruits and vegetables and other healthy foods that are being sold.…”