Jeff Bingaman: “Federal child nutrition programs have long played a critical role in promoting healthy diets for American children.…”

“Federal child nutrition programs have long played a critical role in promoting healthy diets for American children. First conceived over 50 years ago in response to concerns about the impacts of the diets of American youth on their fitness for the armed forces, Federal child nutrition programs have since expanded and evolved to meet the needs of a diverse population. However, alarming increases in obesity rates for children and adolescents indicate that we are not doing enough in terms of nutrition education. The statistics are truly startling. Heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes are responsible for two out of three deaths in the United States, and the major risk factors for those diseases and conditions are established in childhood through unhealthy eating habits, physical inactivity, obesity, and tobacco use. In the last two decades, obesity rates have doubled in children and tripled in adolescents, and today, one in seven young people are obese, and one in three are overweight. Additionally, three out of four high school students in the United States do not eat the recommended five or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Finally, a recent report by the Surgeon General estimated that obesity-related costs in the U.S. are close to $100 billion a year. Unfortunately, nutrition education programs have been chronically under-funded.”