Prevention Matters

The new baby carrot campaign to get people excited about eating their vegetables was named the “Best News for Prevention” while the report showing that five million eligible children in the U.S. are not enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP was named the “Worst News for Prevention.”

BEST

Oh snap! New baby carrot campaign mimics junk food

Baby carrot farmers are launching a campaign that pitches the little, orange, crunchy snacks as daring, fun and naughty — just like junk food.

A group of 50 producers hopes the 'Eat 'Em Like Junk Food' effort starting next week will double the $1 billion market in two or three years.

The goal is to get people to think of baby carrots as a brand they can get excited about — not just a plain, old vegetable. A website, www.babycarrots.com, features metal music and deep male voices chanting "Baby. Carrots. Extreme." On social networking site Twitter, the campaign's account suggests people eat them "like there's no tomorrow (maybe there won't be...)"

WORST

Medical programs missing millions of kids: report


An estimated five million uninsured children in the United States were eligible for Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) but were not enrolled in either plan, according to a new report.

The study published last Friday in the journal "Health Affairs" recommended policy reforms and broader efforts to get uninsured children into government medical programs, including the use of income tax data for automatic enrollment.

An estimated 7.3 million children were uninsured on an average day in 2008 and 65 percent of them were eligible for Medicaid of CHIP coverage, the report said.


The “Best and Worst” awards are announced each week in “Prevention Matters,” the blog of Partnership for Prevention. "Best and Worst News for Prevention” is based on a purposive sample of expert staff members who each week choose to share their opinions on the best and worst news for prevention. More information is available at http://www.prevent.org/.

President Barack Obama issued a Proclamation from the White House earlier this month declaring September “National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month.” He said childhood obesity was a national crisis “with nearly one in every three of America's children being overweight or obese” and noted that obesity affects children in every state, that “particular racial and ethnic groups are more severely impacted” and that “obesity can be influenced by a number of environmental and behavioral factors, including unhealthy eating patterns and too little physical activity at home and at school.”

The President acknowledged that more must be done “to halt and reverse this epidemic, as obesity can lead to severe and chronic health problems during childhood, adolescence and adulthood, including heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and asthma.” Nearly $150 billion is spent annually on obesity-related medical conditions. “This is not the future” he added “to which we want to consign our children, and it is a burden our health care system cannot bear.

Partnership believes the Proclamation is a timely and important opportunity to remind Americans of the goals and accomplishments of the First Lady’s "Let's Move!" initiative to combat childhood obesity. “Let’s Move” is an historic public health campaign guided by the recommendations of a Task Force on Childhood Obesity which was charged with review of all programs and policies relating to child nutrition and physical activity and development of a national action plan to maximize federal resources and set concrete benchmarks that can end childhood obesity in a generation. The Task Force has produced a report containing a comprehensive set of recommendations and “strategies to address childhood obesity, including providing healthier food in schools, ensuring access to healthy affordable food, increasing opportunities for physical activity, empowering parents and caregivers with better information about making healthy choices, and giving children a healthy start in life.”

Reducing the incidence of childhood obesity will not be easy or quick. While this crisis has been building for three decades growing awareness and resolve across all sectors of our country provide hope that the President’s goal of reducing childhood obesity to 5% by the year 2030 is achievable.

“Our history shows that when we are united in our convictions, we can safeguard the health and safety of America's children for generations to come. When waves of American children were stricken with polio and disabled for life, we developed a nationwide immunization program that eradicated this crippling disease from our shores within a matter of decades. When we discovered that children were going to school hungry because their families could not afford nutritious meals, we created the National School Lunch Program. Today, this program feeds more than 30 million American children, often at little or no charge. When we work together, we can overcome any obstacle and protect our Nation's most precious resource -- our children. As we take steps to turn around the epidemic of childhood obesity, I am confident that we will solve this problem together, and that we will solve it in a generation.

Partnership for Prevention, the Congressional Prevention Caucus and the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association are sponsoring two Capitol Hill briefings on September 21 to broaden the awareness of legislators and congressional staff about the threat childhood obesity poses to our nation. The briefings, “Eliminating Childhood Obesity: Developing National Consensus on a Prescription for Change” will include presentations by some of the nation’s most distinguished medical leaders including:

Ursula Bauer, PhD, Director, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Joe Thompson, MD, MPH, Surgeon General for the State of Arkansas and Director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center to Prevent Childhood Obesity

Laura Hayman, PhD, RN, Associate Dean for Research and Professor of Nursing in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Boston

These briefings are open to the public. Anyone interested in attending can send their contact information and indicate whether they will attend the House or Senate briefing to meetings@prevent.org

Doctors in Massachusetts prescribing produce to their patients as a way to fight childhood overweight was named the “Best News for Prevention” while hands-free headsets are proven to be no safer than holding the cell phone while driving was named the “Worst News for Prevention.”

The “Best/Worst” awards are announced each week in “Prevention Matters,” the blog of Partnership for Prevention. "Best/Worst News for Prevention” polls are snapshots taken during a brief period of time that reflect the views of Partnership for Prevention staff. The polls are not designed or intended to reflect a statistically valid representation of the population and should not be used as such. More information is available at http://www.prevent.org/.


BEST

Eat an Apple (Doctor’s Orders)

The farm stand is becoming the new apothecary, dispensing apples — not to mention artichokes, asparagus and arugula — to fill a novel kind of prescription.

Doctors at three health centers in Massachusetts have begun advising patients to eat “prescription produce” from local farmers’ markets, in an effort to fight obesity in children of low-income families. Now they will give coupons amounting to $1 a day for each member of a patient’s family to promote healthy meals.

“A lot of these kids have a very limited range of fruits and vegetables that are acceptable and familiar to them. Potentially, they will try more,” said Dr. Suki Tepperberg, a family physician at Codman Square Health Center in Dorchester, one of the program sites. “The goal is to get them to increase their consumption of fruit and vegetables by one serving a day."

WORST

Hands-Free Headsets Aren't Safer for Drivers Than Holding Cell Phone


Ditch the phone if you drive. That's the bottom line of a new study that found using hands-free headsets while driving doesn't result in fewer accidents, echoing the results of many previous studies.

''When you are on the phone, you are only using part of your brain to drive," says researcher David Schwebel, PhD, vice-chair and professor of psychology at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, who presented the findings today at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association in San Diego.

''My advice is not to talk on the phone while you are driving, ever," he says.

Decline in Hospital Staph Infections, Increased Rate of Early Onset of Puberty for Girls named “Best/Worst News for Prevention”

The drop in dangerous hospital staph infections in the United States was named the “Best News for Prevention” while girls beginning puberty at ages 7 and 8 was named the “Worst News for Prevention.”

The “Best/Worst” awards are announced each week in “Prevention Matters,” the blog of Partnership for Prevention. "Best/Worst News for Prevention” polls are snapshots taken during a brief period of time that reflect the views of Partnership for Prevention staff. The polls are not designed or intended to reflect a statistically valid representation of the population and should not be used as such. More information is available at http://www.prevent.org/.


BEST

US sees drop in dangerous hospital staph illnesses

Aggressive, drug-resistant staph infections caught in hospitals or from medical treatment are becoming scarcer, another sign of progress in a prevention effort that has become a national public health priority.

The decline was seen in a federal study of methicillin-resistant staph, or MRSA. The bug often causes only a boil or skin infection. But researchers in the study focused on invasive cases that can become deadly, invading the bloodstream, flesh, lungs and bones.

Researchers found that in nine metro areas, cases of MRSA fell about 16 percent between 2005 and 2008. That translates to a drop from about 32 cases per 100,000 to 26 cases per 100,000 people.

The results suggest aggressive efforts to stop the germ from spreading are working, researchers said. Such efforts include better hand-washing by doctors and nurses, and testing for MRSA when patients are admitted to the hospital. "We're very encouraged by the results," said Dr. Alexander Kallen of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the study's lead author. But he added, "It's still too early to celebrate. A lot of work needs to be done about better ways to eliminate MRSA."

WORST

Many Girls Now Begin Puberty at Age 7, 8


The onset of puberty is continuing to drop among American girls, with many girls as young as 7 and 8 now showing the beginnings of breast development, new research shows. Among 7-year-olds, about 10.4 percent of white girls, 23.4 percent of black girls and almost 15 percent of Hispanic girls had started developing breasts, the team report in the September issue of Pediatrics. Among 8-year-olds, 18.3 percent of white girls, about 43 percent of black girls and just under 31 percent of Hispanic girls showed evidence of breast development.

Rising rates of childhood obesity -- long linked to earlier sexual development -- may be to blame, experts say.

Experts called the findings alarming. In terms of women's health, early puberty, including younger ages at menarche, or first menstrual cycle, is associated with a higher risk of breast cancer throughout the life span, Biro said. In addition, developing early is associated with psychological and social pressures that young girls may be ill-equipped to handle, including sexual advances from older boys and men, said Dr. Marcia Herman-Giddens, adjunct professor of public health at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Food companies committing to take 1.5 trillion calories out of their products by 2015 was named the “Best Prevention Idea of the Week,” while teens mistaking smokeless tobacco products for candy was named the “Worst Prevention Idea of the Week."

The “Best/Worst” awards are announced each week in “Prevention Matters,” the blog of Partnership for Prevention. Nominees are submitted by Partnership staff as well as the general public, and are voted on by the staff. Partnership for Prevention is a nonpartisan organization of business, nonprofit and government leaders who are working to make evidence-based disease prevention and health promotion a national priority. More information is available at http://www.prevent.org/.

BEST

Food makers to trim 1.5 trillion calories

Several of the nation's largest food companies say they will take 1.5 trillion calories out of their products by 2015 in an effort to reduce childhood obesity.

The companies made the announcement through the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation, a coalition of retailers, food and beverage manufacturers and industry trade associations. They pledged to reduce the calories as part of an agreement with a group of nonprofit organizations concerned with childhood obesity, first lady Michelle Obama said last Monday.

WORST

One out of Three Teens Mistook Smokeless Tobacco Products for Candy


According to a survey administered by the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth, one out of three teenagers younger than 18 mistakenly identified a new type of smokeless tobacco product as candy or gum. The survey of about 1,400 Virginia residents, including 728 younger than 18, asked them to identify package images for several types of new, smokeless tobacco products, as well as package images of mints and gums. About 39 percent of the respondents younger than 18 identified Camel Orbs, an oral tobacco product that dissolves in the mouth and delivers nicotine to the user, as mints or gum. Of the teenagers younger than 18 surveyed who do not currently use tobacco, 27 percent said they would try Camel Orbs based on packaging alone.

The announcement by PepsiCo that it plans to remove sugary drinks from schools worldwide was named the “Best Prevention Idea of the Week,” while women in Wales smoking during their pregnancy has been named the “Worst Prevention Idea of the Week.”

The “Best/Worst” awards are announced each week in “Prevention Matters,” the blog of Partnership for Prevention. Nominees are submitted by Partnership staff as well as the general public, and are voted on by the staff. Partnership for Prevention is a nonpartisan organization of business, nonprofit and government leaders who are working to make evidence-based disease prevention and health promotion a national priority. More information is available at http://www.prevent.org/.

BEST

PepsiCo to stop selling sugary drinks from schools worldwide by 2012

PepsiCo plans to remove sugary drinks from schools worldwide, following the success of programs in the U.S. aimed at cutting down on childhood obesity. The company said last Tuesday it will remove full-calorie, sweetened drinks from schools in more than 200 countries by 2012, marking the first such move by a major soft drink producer.

WORST

One in five women in Wales smoke while pregnant


Wales has the highest rates of women who smoke during their pregnancy in the UK, shocking figures revealed. Despite the social taboo, the figures from anti-smoking charity ASH Wales show one-in-five women continue to smoke throughout pregnancy. Midwives said many young women are smoking while pregnant because they believe they will have smaller “doll-like” babies.

US Surgeon General, Regina Benjamin told Congress yesterday that obesity “may dramatically impact the quality and longevity of life for an entire generation of children.” In forceful testimony before the Senate Committee on Health, Education and Pensions, Benjamin noted “the prevalence of obesity has increased dramatically in the United States, tripling among children and doubling among adults. Today, two-thirds of adults and nearly one in three children are overweight or obese.” She explained that from 1980 to 2008, obesity among adults rose from 13.4% to 34.3% and among children, rates rose from 5% to 17%.

The solution isn’t easy or quick but it is obvious and encouraging that the Obama administration is engaged. The Surgeon General explained that last month the President established a new Task Force on Childhood Obesity and charged it with reviewing all Federal programs dealing with child nutrition and physical activity and developing a national action plan. The National Action Plan is scheduled to be completed by May 9. Perhaps no less important, is the very visible role and support to this effort being given by First Lady Michelle Obama and her commitment to end “childhood obesity within a generation.” Her “Let’s Move” campaign is being supported by an innovative series of new web-based tools including the next generation Food Pyramid and USDA’s Food Environmental Atlas. These projects will help families make healthier food and physical activity choices and better understand national and local trends on food decisions.

Benjamin concluded her testimony with a simple but powerful message. “Instead of bombarding people with lists of what not to do, we need to empower them with what to do to promote health. Healthy eating and physical activity should be something all Americans want to do, not something they feel they have to do. We need to encourage people to take up activities that they enjoy, like swimming, dancing, or biking. We need to show them how healthy foods can be affordable, accessible, and delicious.”

Sage advice from the nation’s Family Doctor.

Posted by:
Ripley Forbes
Director, Government Affairs, Partnership for Prevention

Writer Sarah Wildman suggests that one asset President Obama has yet to use in getting health reform over the goal line would be to enlist help from the First Lady. In an engaging piece of “what if” writing, Wildman argues that Mrs. Obama’s enormous popularity gives her a potentially powerful platform to show Americans that health reform is an “apolitical” problem that affects us all.

Wildman is disappointed that the Mrs. Obama stayed in the family garden focusing her time on the important but “safe” First Lady-like issue of childhood obesity.

“At a moment when an entire year's worth of bickering over health care reform has unraveled into a partisan wrestling match, and the very word "reform" has nearly ceased to be meaningful, tackling obesity is cheerfully unobjectionable. Laudable even. But it's not the most important thing on the agenda right now… As a concept it vaguely brushes up against the health care reform debate but without, in reality, getting anywhere close.”

Wildman argues that the First Lady should use her popularity “to get America to understand how very nonpartisan health care reform might be? … The First Lady could have gathered together a task force comprised of a clutch of women -- moms, mostly -- and presented their stories, simply and without fanfare, to highlight how un-family friendly our current insurance policies are. How anti-woman. How anti-mother."

She might have brought in, say, a widow who lost health insurance after her husband died, therefore leaving the family uninsured. Women, she would have pointed out, are more likely to be on their husband's insurance than vice versa, leaving them vulnerable in the event of divorce, or death, or job loss. She might have invited a young, entrepreneurial would-be mother who desperately sought health insurance to cover a potential future pregnancy, but discovered there was no way to sufficiently cover maternity on the individual insurance market. She might have shown America a mother who owns her own business and discovered, happily, she was pregnant and that, unhappily, she could not find health insurance to cover the prenatal care, labor, and delivery.”

Wildman writes that the First Lady could have told the country that “On the individual market, pregnancy … is a pre-existing condition. Most insurance companies will not allow a woman to purchase insurance once she is already with child. Worrisome, the First Lady would have said, because this woman now has to decide between caring for her fetus and going into debt. Maternity benefits, she would have explained to the cameras, are never a guarantee.”

At the moment health reform appears stuck between a partisan divide. Although many of us are rightfully focused on the important nuances of prevention coverage and policy, the larger context of health reform – coverage, fairness, quality -- is fundamental to our national character. The First Lady can do much to remind us of this even as we are called to become more physically active and less attracted to junk food.

As we enter the final quarter of play lets remember that health reform is a team sport and no one should be left on the bench.

Posted by:
Ripley Forbes
Director, Government Affairs
Partnership for Prevention