Fight Against Obesity

Atlanta Daily World
February 14, 2010

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation, among the world's largest private foundations, recently awarded a $300,000 grant to the Morehouse School of Medicine for its "commitment to increasing awareness and heightening understanding about the multidimensional issues that contribute to obesity among children, and African Americans in particular, through the creation of the Commission on Childhood Obesity Prevention (CCOP)," said Barbara Sabol, program officer for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

Organized by the Southern Area of The Links Inc. the CCOP is a formal panel based at Morehouse School of Medicine and comprised of many of the nation's health experts who meet to determine long-term solutions for addressing childhood obesity.

This initiative is in line with efforts by first lady Michelle Obama, who kicked off her "Let's Move" drive on Tuesday, Feb. 9-- an agenda of nutrition and exercise programs designed to eliminate "the epidemic of childhood obesity" in a generation.

"This isn't like a disease where we're still waiting for the cure to be discovered," Mrs. Obama said. "We know the cure for this."

Highlights of Michelle Obama's obesity campaign include the following:
-- Children will be encouraged to exercise for one hour per day.
-- The American Academy of Pediatrics will encourage doctors to monitor children's body mass index, a calculation of height and weight used to measure fat.
-- The Obama administration will ask Congress to spend $10 billion over the next decade to give schools more money to serve healthier food.
-- $400 million in tax breaks will be proposed to encourage grocery stores to move into "food deserts," areas with little access to nutritious food.
-- The FDA will work with foodmakers to make labels more "customer friendly." Calorie information will be placed on the front of beverage industry products.

The need for the CCOP grew out of The Southern Area of The Links' efforts to eliminate health inequities and issues that disproportionately impact minorities, particularly in states where the 75 Southern Area chapters are located. Chapters are located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Nassau, Bahamas.

"We saw the formation of the Commission on Childhood Obesity Prevention as a systematic way to sustain impact and make a significant, national contribution towards eliminating childhood obesity and other health issues among African Americans," said Delores Bolden-Stamps, Ph.D., Southern Area program coordinator.

Recent statistics indicate that childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions, with more than 20 percent of all African-American children deemed overweight or obese. Of all demographic groups classified by race, studies show that African-American youth are most at-risk for childhood obesity and its associated physical, mental, emotional, and social developmental issues.

CCOP panel members include health experts from public and private organizations engaged in childhood obesity prevention in underserved communities, including, but not limited to, The Centers for Disease Control (CDC), The National Urban League, NICHD, Kaiser Permanente, American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

Through the efforts of Henrie Treadwell, Ph.D., director of Community Voices and Men's Health Initiatives and a research professor in the department of Community and Preventive Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine is now the official site of the CCOP and the recipient of the $300,00 W.K. Kellogg grant. "This initiative provides viable, sustainable solutions to the obesity epidemic prevalent in African-American communities," said Treadwell.

Funding from W.K. Kellogg will be used to achieve the following CCOP goals: collection and dissemination of findings based on meetings of the commissioners, expert testimonies, and community forums; site visits to document the prevalence of obesity among African-American children in selected states (i.e., Mississippi); development of a comprehensive, culturally-centered curriculum targeted to African-American children that can be utilized by schools and organizations nationwide; establishment of a community report that includes an agenda for collaborative action concerning obesity prevention for African-American children -- with particular emphasis on the states of Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina and Florida -- to provide support for promising chapter programs and establishment of a permanent entity, The Institute for Childhood Obesity Prevention. Current grant funding will be expended through Sept. 30, 2012.

The CCOP was empanelled on May 15, 2009, at the Southern Area Conference of The Links Inc. in Jacksonville, Fla. The commission is comprised of ten national experts in diverse disciplines including: obesity prevention, pediatric/family medicine, nutrition, physical activity, health education, public health, public policy, community development, private sector initiatives, child/adolescent psychology and program evaluation. The first and second meetings were held on October 31, 2008 and October 30, 2009 at the National Center for Primary Care at the Morehouse School of Medicine. A partnership with the American Heart Association and production of a community-based training CD were also established in 2008.

Special advisors to the CCOP are: William H. Dietz, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity in the Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at the CDC; James R. Gavin III, M.D., Ph.D., clinical professor of medicine at Emory University of Medicine and Indiana University School of Medicine; and David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta; and Joseph L. Webster Sr., M.D., founder of the Comprehensive Center for Digestive and Nutritional Disorders, also interim chair of the CCOP.

Members of the Commission on Childhood Obesity Prevention include: Brook Belay, M.D., senior service fellow, Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity at The Centers for Disease Control; Triesta Fowler-Lee, M.D., medical officer in the Public Information and Communications Branch of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD); Rodney S. Lyn, Ph.D., M.S., faculty member in the Institute of Public Health at Georgia State University; Calvin Wayne McLarin, M.D., clinical associate professor and member of the Medical Advisory Board at Morehouse School of Medicine; and Toni Moody, M.D., nationally recognized expert on health promotion and obesity prevention.

Other CCOP commissioners are: Judith J. Pickens, M.Ed., senior vice president for Program & Youth Development Services, Boys & Girls Clubs of America; Aaron Shirley, M.D., chairman of the board for the Jackson Medical Mall Foundation and director of Community Health Services with the University of Mississippi Medical Center; Ruby Takanashi, Ph.D., president of the Foundation for Child Development in New York; Joseph L. Webster Sr., M.D., founder of the Comprehensive Center for Digestive and Nutritional Disorders; and Ambassador Andrew Young, creator of a model that combines religion, education, democracy and free enterprise to support the public good.

Co-conveners are: Mary F. Currie, Southern Area Director of The Links Inc.; and Dr. Henrie Treadwell, research professor and Director of Community Voices: Healthcare for the Underserved, Morehouse School of Medicine. Dr. Delores Bolden-Stamps is program coordinator for the Southern Area.

The Links Inc. is an international, women's non-profit, social welfare and service organization of over 12,000 members in 271 chapters across the United States, and the Bahamas. It was founded in 1946. From its inception, the organization's members have been developing and implementing programs that target issues affecting its members and communities. Community service has been the corner stone of the organization's outreach with members contributing more than two million documented hours of community service over the past three years. For the past 60 years, The Links Inc. has been internationally known for its programs that are focused on topics such as health, economics and education, youth, and policy efforts.

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