Obesity battle requires bold efforts involving all of us

It is important to emphasize the need to address obesity as a societal issue, not just as a children’s issue.

The greatest influencer of children’s behavior is the actions of the adults around them. That is not to discount the millions spent on marketing products to children or the lure of technology-based entertainment’s effect on children’s activity — but the social environment that we adults create, and the lifestyle choices that we practice, greatly influence how our young generation will live their lives.

Lifestyle habits are established at a young age. The food with which we are most familiar and comfortable eating and the acceptance of physical activity and integration of it as a positive part of our lives are imbued in our early years. So, yes, focusing on developing healthy lifestyle choices in children is important ("Schools vital to obesity war, institute says," Star-Advertiser, May 9).

However, adults cannot teach these lessons to children unless we demonstrate them through the way that we live. Education alone won’t significantly reduce obesity. Public policies may be necessary to encourage adults, as well as children, to adopt healthier choices in their lifestyles. Sometimes those changes won’t be easy, especially because we as a society have swayed so far toward the direction of unhealthy living.

Recent estimates suggest that in 20 years, more than 40 percent of U.S. adults will be obese if we don’t make changes. During that time, more than a half-trillion dollars will be spent treating the diseases that will result from that epidemic. The Institute of Medicine reported that more than $4 billion alone is lost by businesses annually to obesity-related absenteeism.

In Hawaii, where our businesses cover the majority of health care costs, obesity should be an even greater concern.

Health organizations like the American Heart Association have led efforts in Hawaii to increase physical education in our elementary and middle schools. Quality PE taught by qualified instructors can inspire even non-athletic kids to adopt, enjoy and practice lifelong physical activities that will help to keep them healthy well into their adult lives.

The AHA has also led efforts to reduce sugar consumption, especially the over-consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. It has supported establishing a tax on those beverages, with a significant portion of the tax revenue being earmarked toward obesity prevention programs.

Unlike other food products, including less-healthy snacks, sugar-sweetened beverages offer zero nutritional value and were responsible for 20 percent of the U.S. weight gain between 1997 and 2007. They represent 10-15 percent of the calories consumed by children.

A person drinking one can of sugar-sweetened beverage daily consumes the equivalent of 10 5-pound bags of sugar each year. By significantly reducing those empty calories, we can take a major step toward reducing obesity.

Reducing obesity in our community is imperative and must be a societal effort, affecting all ages, which will take bold and sometimes controversial efforts by our policymakers.

Clearly it is time for all of us to make that commitment.