White House Task Force Releases Childhood Obesity Plan

First lady Michelle Obama, flanked by three cabinet members, released the 124-page report from the White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity yesterday. The report made 70 recommendations with the goal of reducing the current childhood obesity rate of about 20 percent back down to 5 percent by 2030.

"For the first time -- this is the key -- we're setting really clear goals and benchmarks and measurable outcomes that will help tackle this challenge one step, one family and one child at a time," Mrs. Obama said.

The plan focuses on five key areas determined by the task force, they include: prenatal care, empowering parents with nutritional information and community support, getting healthier foods into schools, increasing access to healthy foods in neglected urban and rural neighborhoods, and making sure that all kids are physically active.

IHRSA had submitted comments to the Task Force regarding the fitness industry’s potential role in increasing physical activity among the nation’s youth. The comments urged policymakers to seek partnerships with health clubs to expand opportunities for physical activity. IHRSA’s comments are reflected in at least two of the recommendations:

Recommendation 5.15: Local governments should be encouraged to enter into joint use agreements to increase children’s access to community sites for indoor and outdoor recreation.

Recommendation 5.16: The business sector should be encouraged to consider which resources and physical assets like fields and gyms can be used to increase students’ access to outdoor and indoor recreational venues. Corporations, for example, may have large grounds that they can make available for children in the community to play soccer or engage in other outdoor activities.

More details about the report, including recommendations related to physical activity can be found at LetsMove.gov.

Download the section on physical activity (PDF 927 KB).

View a summary of IHRSA’s recommendations to the Task Force.

- Bre McGahey

Twists and Turns Create Urgency and Road Blocks for Health Care Reform

The health care reform debate is fast becoming a thrilling political drama with non-stop action. As Democrats in Congress and the White House push for passage of reform legislation by the end of the year, some by August, the breakneck pace is hitting some significant roadblocks.

As reported in last week’s issue of Capitol Report, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the initial bill proposed by Senator Edward M. Kennedy’s (D-MA) Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee would cost over $1 trillion, and leave more than 37 million Americans uninsured after ten years. Since that report, the Senate Committee on Finance has delayed the release of its bipartisan bill in an effort to trim the costs of the plan before it is made public. The White House has been working very closely with Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) and the Finance Committee, as many observers believe that it is the best chance to produce bi-partisan support.

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and White House health reform director Nancy-Ann DeParle meet on Tuesday with Democratic Senators, from both committees to discuss the issue. Later today, President Obama will host a town hall meeting on health care at the White House after holding a meeting with five governors that hosted regional health care forums.

Meanwhile, the House held numerous hearings on health care reform this week. Introduced last Friday, the House legislation is the work of three House Committees. The bill lacks funding sources and has not yet been reviewed by the CBO.

- Breanne McGahey

IOM Top 20

My virtual lunch companions for the day were the dutiful members of the HHS Secretary’s Advisory Committee on National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Objectives for 2020, who held a high noon Webinar to update the world on their progress toward creating objectives for Healthy People 2020.

Today's meeting alerted me to the coming launch of StateOfTheUSA.org, which promises to "assemble high-quality measures and data that can be used to assess the progress of the United States." As part of its pre-launch activities (the site is up and running, but not fully functioning), State of the USA teamed up with the Institute of Medicine to release a list of the top 20 key measures that "reflect the overall health of the nation and the effectiveness of U.S. health systems."

I was thrilled to see that "physical activity" has made the cut.

The highlight of the report summary:

"Regular physical activity is an important contributor to health, and yet fewer than 50 percent of people in the U.S. report engaging in moderate physical activity," the committee said. It's proposed measure: the percentage of adults meeting the recommendation for moderate physical activity – at least five days a week for 30 minutes a day of moderate-intensity activity or at least three days a week for 20 minutes a day of vigorous-intensity activity."

Let's make sure that our legislators are reminded of this report during health care reform negotiations.

The press release, and link to the full report, are here.

Tom Richards

IHRSA Invited by HHS to Speak to Physical Activity Guidelines Supporter Network

On March 19, IHRSA was one of the five featured speakers invited by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to speak at its Physical Activity Guidelines Supporter Network Webinar. Amy Bantham, Deputy Vice President of Government Relations, addressed her remarks to over 100 organizations. IHRSA has been recognized by HHS and the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports for our outreach efforts to promote and disseminate the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans to fitness professionals and consumers. Bantham presented IHRSA’s plans for promote the 2009 President’s Challenge, based on this successful and well-received model.

To see IHRSA’s work promoting the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, visit www.ihrsa.org/paguidelines.

Power of the Press

Media members can and do play a significant role in influencing public opinion. They have the unique position of reaching into the homes of millions of people daily, informing and updating mass audiences with news that can become the basis for decision-making and action taken. Perhaps the most important role media can play is as an educator and advocate for positive causes. Recently, the editor-in-chief of Men's Fitness Magazine wrote a "Dear Obama" letter that does just this.

As someone who interacts with media members on a daily basis, I can assure you that they are indeed willing to be advocates. If your club launches new programming, get in touch with your local media. Let them know if you are promoting HHS's Physical Activity Guidelines. Educate them on the WHIP and PHIT Acts - they will listen.

-Rosemary Lavery

The West Wing

I've had several opportunities to attend meetings at the Hubert H. Humphrey building in Washington, DC, which is the home of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is a fine, stately building, heavy on bureaucratic chic, and a worthy anchor of our nation's health care system. However, for better or worse, it is also about a mile and a half from the White House. While distance may be, generally, inconsequential in the era of teleconferencing and blackberries, there is still no substitute, in my mind, for physical proximity to power.

I am therefore placing much significance on the fact that President Obama's designated "Health Czar" and nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, Tom Daschle, has secured an office in the West Wing of the White House, eliminating the 1.5 miles he otherwise would have needed to trek to come before the most powerful person in the world. To me, this is a clear signal that President Obama is serious about health care reform, sooner rather than later. The time for advocacy and action is now. Anyone interested in eliminating the tax on employee fitness benefits or reducing the cost of physical activity is encouraged to contact IHRSA immediately.

- Tom Richards

Healthy People 2020

I spent my morning at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services building, attending a meeting of the Advisory Committee charged with making recommendations for the next set of public health objectives known as Healthy People 2020. These meetings are particularly notable for the existence of two competing dynamics. On one side, you have the rather exhilarating experience of listening to extremely intelligent, qualified people discuss our nation's public health goals for the next decade. On the other, you have the bleak, rainy Monday morning, life draining vibe that permeates a federal committee meeting. Fortunately, the former is typically stronger than the latter, especially when the committee room is on the same floor as the coffee machine.

A portion of the morning's discussion focused on best practices for creating the HP2020 objectives. Of course, many of the ideas could benefit any organization looking to create objectives. For example: 1) Achieving objectives requires coordination and leadership; 2) Fewer objectives allow for greater focus; 3) An immeasurable objective isn't worth pursuing; 4) Objectives require frequent progress measurement; and 5) Objectives should be aspirational.

The meeting also impressed upon me that taxpaying health clubs are still considered, generally, outside the purview of "public health," despite their inherent value as providers of safe and healthy exercise, and, often times, bastions of fitness and nutrition expertise. Clearly, taxpaying clubs are obvious partners in any public health effort to combat the obesity epidemic, but i don't think public health officials are yet making that connection. Are any clubs working with public health officials - if so, what is the best approach?

- Tom Richards

Community Outreach

Earlier today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) held a conference call to discuss organizational efforts to promote HHS's landmark Physical Activity Guidelines. The call, which attracted over 700 participants, featured four speakers: Dr. Bill Kraus of the American Heart Association, Dr. Jim Pivarnik of the American College of Sports Medicine, Sheila Franklin of the National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity, and IHRSA's standard bearer, Joe Moore. Melissa Johnson, executive director of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, acted as moderator.

Joe's comments highlighted the commercial fitness industry's enthusiastic embrace of the Physical Activity Guidelines, especially as a tool for community outreach. In fact, IHRSA's Guidelines Report, a 6 issue email newsletter to help IHRSA members implement the guidelines within their communities, has been one of the most popular IHRSA offerings since its inception in October. The call strengthened my belief that commercial clubs are at the forefront of promoting physical activity on a community-wide level.

I can't shake the feeling, however, that clubs are still undervalued by the public and not recognized, generally, as "community" facilities - or, rather, front of mind community resources for typical Americans. Earning that recognition, I imagine, will be one of the great industry struggles of the next decade, requiring continued substantive outreach and intensified public relations at both the national and local levels. To be sure, there are already some fantastic examples of clubs that are entrenched in the minds and affairs of their local communities, and their achievements should be celebrated and studied, but my hunch is that there's still room for explosive growth on this front.

I'd love to hear about what clubs are already doing - and ideas for what they could be doing - to become front of mind community resources...

- Tom Richards