Education About Healthy Lifestyle Important In Fight Against Obesity

Earlier this year, President Obama produced a report with more than 70 recommendations for strategies to help reduce childhood obesity. The goal of this initiative is to reduce the childhood obesity rate from 20% to 5% by 2030.

"According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," the American Botanical Council HerbClip News reports, "two-thirds of U.S. adults and 15% of U.S. children are overweight or obese, which places them at risk for developing heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. [Note: The percentage of overweight and obese children may be higher, with other sources saying 20-30%.] "

To help combat these numbers, Obama's report focuses on prevention, including prenatal care, breast-feeding, community education, and providing healthy food and nutrition education at schools. The White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity is leading these efforts.

"Complementary and alternative medicine practitioners, botanical and supplement companies and organizations, and health food companies have a wonderful opportunity to participate in this initiative, " ABC's Managing Editor Lori Glenn adds. "While much of the focus has been on botanicals' abilities to decrease obesity and its subsequent ailments (See the FasTrak HC 051031-401 which covers green tea's benefits of reducing obesity and diabetes), providing proven ways to maintain a healthy lifestyle and weight can also be a core message."

To read ABC's original article, go to: http://cms.herbalgram.org/herbclip/401/news140.html

To learn more about nutrition education, check out the ACHS Certificate in Holistic Nutrition Consulting and to help support the health and wellness of you and your family, check out Introduction to Nutrition.