FIGHTING FAT IN AMERICA

Washington Post
By Dr. Susan Finn
November 19, 2003

After reading Margaret Webb Pressler's article, "America's Great Big Challenge" [Business, Nov. 16], I want to provide a more accurate and complete picture of the efforts of the American Council for Fitness and Nutrition (ACFN) in addressing our nation's obesity problem.

ACFN, which represents food, beverage and consumer product companies as well as nonprofit organizations, was established to play a proactive role in finding effective solutions to rising rates of overweight and obesity. Promoting the importance of regular physical activity is certainly part of ACFN's mission, but equally important are our efforts to promote nutrition education -- something near and dear to me as a career dietitian and past president of the American Dietetic Association -- and more research into the behavioral factors involved in diet and activity choices.

There's a growing consensus that we cannot address obesity effectively by focusing on diet alone. That is why ACFN has been a leading voice in calling on policymakers for increased nutrition education, physical education and community recreation options, and behavioral research. Taking a comprehensive, common-sense approach is the only realistic and effective way our society is going to reverse this troubling trend.

SUSAN FINN
Chair
American Council for Fitness and Nutrition