Last week the White House Childhood Obesity Task Force released a report of their findings. In the report the task force recommended 70 steps that could immediately be taken that would help reduce the obesity rate in the United States. Among the recommendations was a call for the food industry to act voluntarily to help reduce obesity in America.Now, a group of food manufacturers has announced they will cut 1 trillion calories by the end of 2012, and 1.5 trillion by the end of 2015. The coalition, called the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation, includes major food makers like Campbell Soup, Coca-Cola, General Mills, Kellog, Kraft Foods and PepsiCo. According to Jane Black's article for the Washington Post online, the 16 companies in the coalition "make 20-25 percent of food consumed in the United States."
First Lady Michelle Obama stated at a news conference at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, "'This is precisely the kind of real private-sector commitment that we need. And I hope that more will follow the example that they've set [.]"'
Mrs. Obama has made curbing childhood obesity her top domestic priority. As Black reports, the announcement of the food companies "is one of the first substantial results of the first lady's 'Let's Move' campaign, which aims to end childhood obesity within a generation."
To reach their target, the coalition "pledged" to introduce new, healthier products, as well as reducing portion sizes and cutting calories in existing products. Holding the coalition accountable is the Partnership for a Healthier America, which is a nonpartisan organization that Mrs. Obama chairs. Black reports that White House sources said that if any of the companies does not meet its target, "all of the companies will be held responsible."
Additionally, Black reports that the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a nonprofit organization "dedicated to improve Americans' health" will be tracking the impact the coalition's efforts actually have on childhood obesity. "A first report is tentatively slated for 2013."
Black writes that a spokesman for the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation couldn't put the 1.5 trillion number in context, but said "the number is designed to eliminate the 'energy gap[.]'" The "energy gap" is the difference between the amount of calories a person consumes in a day and the amount of calories they burn during the same day. This gap is estimated to by "approximately 100 calories per day per person, less for teenagers and children."
To read the Black article, click here.
Posted: 05/18/10
