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Five Hundred Million Dollars Pledged To Fight Childhood Obesity Nationally, Including Texas

The New York Times reported, in an April 2007Robert Wood Johnson, who built Johnson &
article, that the Robert Wood JohnsonJohnson into one of the world's largest
Foundation plans to spend more than $500health and medical care products companies,
million over the next five years to reverseestablished his foundation at his death in
the increase in childhood obesity nationally,1968 with 10,204,377 shares of the company's
including Texas. It is one of the largeststock. He committed it to improving the
public health initiatives ever tried by ahealth  of  Americans.
private  philanthropy.
The foundation played a major role in curbing
"This is an epidemic that is going to costtobacco use in this country, spending $446
the country in terms of morbidity andmillion from 1991 to 2003 toward that goal,
mortality and economically," said Dr. Risaand it plans to use those experiences to
Lavizzo-Mourey, the foundation's presidentshape  its  attack  on  childhood  fat.
and chief executive. "The younger generation
is going to live sicker and die younger thanSince 1995, the number of adult and teenage
their  parents  because  of  obesity."smokers has declined 12.6 percent and 18
percent,  respectively.
The foundation estimates that roughly 25
million children 17 and under are obese or"It was a very carefully thought-out
overweight, nearly a third of the 74 millionstrategic initiative," said Joel L.
in that age group, according to Census BureauFleishman, a professor of law and public
data and a 2006 study published in Thepolicy at Duke University. The foundation
Journal  of the American Medical Association.underwrote research, prevention and
smoking-cessation programs, and increased
Many of those children are poor and live inawareness  of  smoking's  dangers.
neighborhoods where outdoor play is unsafe
and access to fresh fruits and vegetables isOver the last few years, the foundation has
limited. "In many cases, the environmentpledged $80 million to childhood obesity
makes it almost impossible for them to chooseprograms, like grants to the Food Trust to
healthy lifestyles," Dr. Lavizzo-Mourey said.persuade supermarket operators to return to
"We're  going  to  try  to  change  that."poor  neighborhoods.
The foundation plans to invest in programs toIts new effort intends to capitalize on and
improve access to healthy food, encourage theenhance efforts by the food industry and
development of safe play spaces, increaseschool districts and governments to address
research to enhance understanding of obesitythe problem, Dr. Lavizzo-Mourey said. Several
and prod governments into adopting policiessnack food producers are making changes in
to  address  the problem, among other things.their packaging and ingredients, and three
soft-drink companies said they would no
Experts on childhood obesity welcomed thelonger supply sweetened drinks to school
foundation's  plans.cafeterias  and  vending  machines.
"Government grants for biomedical research inSeveral states have mandated changes in
general, including obesity research, areschool menus, increased physical education
being funded at the lowest levels I've seenrequirements and begun reporting students'
in my career," said Dr. David Ludwig,body  mass  index  scores  to  parents.
director of the Optimal Weight for Life
Clinic at Children's Hospital Boston andIn Arkansas, which has one of the most
author of a new book, "Ending the Foodcomprehensive programs aimed at the problem,
Fight." "So we are especially dependent onobesity among the 450,000 children in 1,300
philanthropic  support."public  schools  has  plateaued.
Philanthropy has long fueled improvements inObesity is a growing American epidemic that
health, from John D. Rockefeller, whose moneytakes root early in life. It imposes a
produced a yellow fever vaccine, to Bill andvariety of health risks that can appear at
Melinda Gates, who are underwriting newany phase in life. As you'll discover, what
health technologies and vaccines to address aaffects your health also will eventually
variety  of  global  problems.affect your bank account.



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