Feds go local to help public fight fat

[Shibby]

Feds go local to help public fight fat
Programs include health classes, financial prizes
Tuesday, September 16, 2003 Posted: 9:28 AM EDT (1328 GMT)



Federal grants will pay for programs to target the obesity woes in individual communities.



WASHINGTON (AP) -- Some Indian tribes in Michigan are about to urge a return to traditional menus like wild rice and fresh fish, in hopes of fighting soaring obesity-caused diabetes.

Boston-area schools will begin teaching students why 100-percent juice is better than soda, and urging parents to limit children's TV time to two hours a day.

And a California-based managed-care company will soon let patients compete for prizes like a mountain bike or, for some, a discount on premiums if they lose weight and exercise.

Years of dire warnings about obesity's dangers don't seem to be shrinking Americans' girth. Now federal health officials hope programs that target different communities' special needs -- plus financial incentives like Pacificare Health Systems is about to offer -- will work better.

"This is the most difficult thing anybody can ever try to do, to get people to change their habits," says Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson.

This week, the Michigan and Boston communities become the first of about a dozen recipients of $13.6 million in federal grants to target unhealthy habits locally. The other recipients haven't been announced. It's a program poised to become the government's centerpiece in the obesity fight, if Congress grants Thompson's request for $125 million more next year to fund dozens more so-called healthier communities.

He envisions cities eventually will compete to be called the healthiest.

At the same time, Thompson wants health insurance companies to offer discount programs similar to Pacificare's, reasoning that a price break from an industry patients love to hate might be the final push some need to shape up.

Critics call those programs too soft and want the Bush administration to back some tougher solutions.

Make it easier for consumers to learn how many calories are in restaurant meals, urges Margo Wootan of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. She says people might not super-size a cheeseburger meal if its 1,600 calories were posted right on the menu.

Or, she says, put more realistic calorie counts on snacks, such as deli-sold chips and 20-ounce soft drinks, which are labeled as containing two or more servings but that most people eat all at once.

"We are looking at what we can do to help get information to people who eat out," responds Food and Drug Adminstration Commissioner Mark McClellan. He just ordered an agency task force to hunt new anti-obesity measures, from better food labels to speeding development of diet drugs.

Healthier communities
But federal officials argue that ultimately, city-by-city involvement may prove which programs really help residents improve health habits.

Consider the Michigan project, to encompass eight Indian tribal communities, almost 43,000 people, where deaths from diabetes are six times the national average. As part of its $250,000 healthier-communities grant, tribal elders will encourage a return to more traditional foods -- fresh fish, berries, wild rice _ instead of today's processed fare. The project will measure if the diet switch is feasible and trims weight.

Boston's project covers the city's seven fattest, most sedentary neighborhoods. Schools vying for the $1.2 million grant are proposing to develop nutrition and exercise instruction for students to bring home to their families.

Then there are the insurance fitness incentives Thompson wants. When some reluctant insurers argued that laws forbidding group policies from charging the sick more than the well are a roadblock, Thompson ordered HHS lawyers to see if legal hurdles are an excuse and to determine how companies can offer appropriate perks.

Pacificare says it can be done. Starting October 1, any of Pacificare's 3.5 million enrollees in eight Western states can enroll in various wellness programs, from Weight Watchers to exercise plans to smoking cessation, that earn points. Enough points earn a prize.

Starting January 1, the program expands. Employers can then enroll a company's group policy, and designate how many points will earn, say, rebates on employee premiums or co-pays.

To change behavior, "we've got to be creative," says Pacificare's Dr. Sam Ho, who notes a similar program got Pacificare-enrolled doctors to offer better preventive care by paying bonuses. "If people are healthier ... it'll be less expensive to provide affordable benefits."

[Shibby]

As great as this sounds, and as much as it is needed, makes me worry about the kids. There is already so much pressure on them. Now adding competition to staying fit, I think it will them so much more self conscious. And while it will help make them think about what there doing, it will probably just depress the majority more than ever. Which will lead to the unimaginable.

[Tinfish]

Eventually we will diagnose every kid with ADHD, give them a healthy dose of adderall, then we will all have skinny kids with no adhd.

[Shibby]

Well one think I though was interesting here in Cali, is talk about changeing highschool required curiculum. Talked about how the standards were so long ago, that they are oudated. That they are wanting to make highschool more similar to college so that you can study more on personal intrests and carreer choices. This by reducing the amount of required basic studies, and focusing more on carreer specific electives during junior and senior year.

[Cory]

I never needed anything to convince me that being overweight was uncomfortable and unattractive. That was incentive enough for me to start at an early age with eating right and exercising. I just can't imagine how people can allow themselves to get so obese that they can't do things that normal people can without making a decision to do something about it. Don't get me wrong, food is great and all, but its not everything and it's definately not worth that much of a health risk. Just puzzling to me how people allow themselves to become slaves to food.