PANEL OF WITNESSES TESTIFY ON WAYS TO ADDRESS AMERICA’S CHILDHOOD OBESITY EPEDEMIC

Washington, D.C., February 12, 2004 - The American Council for Fitness and Nutrition (ACFN) today commended the House Subcommittee on Education Reform for addressing the complex issue of childhood obesity in its hearing "Encouraging Healthy Choices for Healthy Children."

ACFN promotes local and national programs and funding opportunities aimed at improving Americans’ overall physical activity and nutrition balance. ACFN strongly supports policy makers as they work to identify effective solutions and research in pursuit of advancing the knowledge and understanding of achieving a healthy balance and improving overall wellness.

Focusing primarily on the important components of physical activity and nutrition, today’s hearing featured Tim McCord, a representative of P.E.4Life and the Chair of the Physical Education Department in the Titusville, Pa. School district. P.E.4Life (www.pe4life.org), an ACFN partner, is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting quality daily physical education in all U.S. schools.

Before the subcommittee, McCord testified that "providing daily quality physical education to all K-12 students must be an integral party of a national strategy to address obesity and reduce health care cost." He further stated that, "perhaps most appealing is the ease with which physical education can be delivered to all students in an efficient, cost effective manner." ACFN believes that putting physical activity and nutrition hand in hand is paramount in developing the most comprehensive obesity strategy.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, fifteen percent of America’s youth are obese and over 60 percent do not engage in physical activity at the recommended level. As the debate surrounding the obesity problem intensifies, ACFN urges policy makers and community leaders to focus on ways to build healthier communities through nutrition education and increased physical activity.

"We applaud members of the subcommittee as they examine the issue of obesity and seek science-based solutions that will have a lifelong impact in the debate especially as it relates to children," said ACFN Chair Dr. Susan Finn. "We all have an important role to play in tackling this problem. The seriousness of the obesity epidemic in America deserves the attention of our lawmakers and community leaders so that they might be more in touch with their constituents needs as solutions and plans are put forth to address this societal problem."

CONTACT
Laura Sheehan
202.715.1526
laura@acfn.org

Christine Tucci
202.715.1517
christine@acfn.org

ABOUT THE AMERICAN COUNCIL FOR FITNESS AND NUTRITION: The American Council for Fitness and Nutrition (ACFN) is a non-profit organization that brings together food and beverage companies, associations, and health and nutrition advocates to work toward viable long-term solutions to the nation's obesity epidemic. ACFN represents a diverse group of organizations and is guided by an advisory board of experts in the fields of nutrition, physical activity and behavior change. ACFN works with partners to raise awareness of programs and policies that seek to improve health and wellness in America. For more information, please visit www.acfn.org.