Obesity: No one-size-fits-all solution

There is no question that childhood obesity is a serious problem in Iowa and across the country.

So it's easy to see why U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and others would push for tougher nutritional standards for schools as a way to fight that collective weight gain.

But it's going to take more than a tighter federal grip on school menus to eradicate this complex problem.

We also must educate young people about diet, exercise and the costs of neglecting their health.

It will take local solutions and local attention to reduce obesity and help raise healthier kids.

Vilsack has been pushing for more power to set stricter national nutritional standards for schools, most recently after the release of a state-by-state study performed by Military: Readiness, an organization of retired military officers.

That study found nearly 40 percent of Iowa's 18- to 24-year-olds are too fat to fight in the armed forces. Nationwide, 27 percent of young adults of recruitment age were too fat to pass an enlistment physical.

Forty percent or more of young people in 39 states are too overweight to serve in our military, according to the “Too Fat to Fight” study. Ten years ago, only one state had that high a percentage of overweight young adults.

Those numbers led Retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Norman Seip to recently tell reporters that obesity is becoming a threat to our national security.

“Too Fat to Fight” targets school cafeterias and vending machines - citing data that show as much as 40 percent of children's' daily calorie intake occurs at school.

Vilsack wants the Department of Agriculture to have more say in where those calories come from.

We agree that leaders must take action now to help turn the tide of this country's weight problem. Obesity is associated with a number of chronic diseases - making it an expensive, even though largely preventable, public health concern.

Healthier, more nutritious food at school may well be one part of that solution.

But so are a host of physical activity and lifestyle choices. States and school districts would do well to take a more wholistic view about teaching about teaching young people to manage and be responsible for their own health.

In Iowa, lawmakers have begun to attack the issue - passing the state's Healthy Kids Act in 2008.

The physical activity components of that act were implemented this year; next school year, nutrition content standards will kick in.

Iowa is one of at least 20 states with school nutritional rules that already exceed existing federal guidelines. While federal officials can help, there is no one-size-fits-all solution at the local level. States and school districts must work together, keeping young people's long-term health in mind.

-- The Gazette Editorial Board