The U.S. government has set body mass index (BMI) cut points of less than 25 as normal weight, 25 to 29 as overweight, 30-39 as obese , and 40 or greater as extremely or morbidly obese.  If you your BMI is >25 you may not feel overweight or obese, but these BMI cut points were not arbitrarily chosen and should be taken seriously.

Years of studies have determined that cardiovascular mortality risk increases markedly at these cut points.  This means that researchers have seen a significant rise in the negative health effects and an increased relative risk of death these BMI cut points.

Similar cut points are not defined for children because children are still growing, but your child’s pediatrician is likely plotting your child’s weight, height, and BMI percentile on a growth chart.  This growth chart defines what is normal relative to age and height for children. 

At age 20, most people have reached their maximum height and their weight starts to level out.  Children who have a BMI in the 85^th to 95^th percentile for weight will fall within the overweight category and those who have a BMI 95^th percentile or greater fall into the obese category.

If you or your child falls into the overweight or obese category, it is important to work with your primary physician or child’s pediatrician, respectively, to reduce you BMI by changing your lifestyle by eating healthy foods and reasonable portions and staying physically active.  Very few people and even fewer children are obese due to hormonal causes.  Eat less, move more, and your BMI will eventually fall within the normal range.

Bill Lagarde, MD, is a pediatric endocrinologist with WakeMed Children’s Diabetes and Endocrinology.  Dr. Lagarde is also the only full-time pediatric endocrinologist in Wake County.

Lunch Line Trailer from uji films on Vimeo.

To help Wake County citizens and decision makers have constructive conversations about school lunches, Advocates for Health in Action is sponsoring two screenings of Lunch Line in November.  Lunch Line is a documentary chronicling the creation of the National School Lunch Program.

If you are a parent, teacher or simply someone who cares about the health and well-being of our children, this is an event that will be worth attending. Childhood obesity continues to rise, and it is an issue that needs to be faced head-on.  Watching this documentary will enable you to become informed about the history and structure of the National School Lunch Program, as well as its challenges and opportunities.

Lunch Line tracks the story of six high school students who became interested in the issue of school lunch after entering a contest focusing on the topic.  The documentary follows the students as they serve their meal to congressional leaders, tour the White House and learn about the issues surrounding school lunches.  Their journey illustrates the challenges faced by food service directors nationwide, and outlines the various stances decision-makers have taken on the issue.  The documentary openly and honestly discusses the overall problem, but also offers ways in which people can work toward improving the situation our children face daily.

Kresge Auditorium in the Cate Center on Meredith College’s campus

1:00 pm and 6:00 p.m.

November 10

Tickets are $8 per person and can be purchased at www.advocatesforhealthinaction.org. 

The film’s co-producer Michael Graziano will lead a discussion following each showing, and he can be available for media interviews prior to the screening.  All proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the Wake County Healthy Schools Award program, an initiative launching January 2011 to recognize local schools for initiatives and successes that positively impact the health of our community’s children.

Laura Aiken is a community health specialist at WakeMed and is the director of Advocates for Health in Action.

Once again, Wake County is leading the way in providing healthy options for our citizens. Beginning June 26, the Western Wake Farmers’ Market in Cary will provide low‐income individuals improved access to fresh, wholesome food by accepting Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards, or food stamps.

The transition from paper food stamps to EBT cards left many open-air markets without the technology to sell food to benefits recipients. Now, the Western Wake market is encouraging EBT cardholders to shop their local farmers market for high quality, nutritious and locally-grown foods. The market utilizes a card-reading terminal that will exchange currency on EBT cards for tokens that can be used as cash throughout the market.

Experts agree that fresh, nutritious food is a staple of a healthy diet. This is a significant opportunity to improve our community’s health by providing all residents with the ability to shop at this local farmers’ market for a variety of nutritious food, from just-picked produce to wholesome meat, dairy and bread.

For a limited time, shoppers at the Western Wake Farmers Market who spend $10 on their EBT card will receive an additional $10 match to spend at the market. And, on June 26 we are celebrating this new opportunity for EBT cardholders with special events at the farmers’ market. Linda Watson of “Cook for Good” will provide free samples of fresh food and cooking lessons, and WakeMed will offer free health and wellness screenings and health tips.

The Western Wake Farmer’s Market is open rain or shine, every Saturday through November 20 from 8am to noon.

If you are interested in expanding the program to your local farmers’ market, visit Advocates for Health In Action to learn more. Just click on the “contact us” tab at the top of the web site to send to email to AHA about which market you’d like to expand the program to.

As a community health specialist at WakeMed and the director of Advocates for Health in Action, a collaborative of organizations working to increase access to healthy food and activity in Wake County, information comes across my desk daily about the obesity epidemic.  Yesterday, a report from retired military leaders was forwarded to me by a colleague.  I found it interesting enough to share with you because it shows that obesity is truly a bipartisan issue and that the epidemic is impacting our country in ways that we may not even realize. 

The report says that at least nine million 17- to 24-year-olds in the United States are too fat to serve in the military. That is 27 percent of all young adults. The report goes further by asserting the obesity rates among children and young adults have increased so dramatically that they threaten not only the overall health of America but also the future strength of our military.

The report also asserts that calls to Congress to impact weight in the military is not a new issue citing an example from 1946 when General Lewis Hershey was instrumental in convincing Congress to pass the original National School Lunch Act as a way to improve the nutrition of America’s children, increase their height and weight, and ensure America’s national security.

The retired military leaders have identified three initiatives to help curb the obesity epidemic in an effort to make sure our young people are fit enough to serve in the military. These initiatives include:

• Allow the U.S. Department of Agriculture to adopt new nutrition standards that will get high-calorie, low-nutrition foods out of our schools;
• Support the administration’s proposal for adequate funding to improve the quality of food available in schools and increase the number of children who have access to quality meals at school;
• Deploy proven school-based programs that enlist parents in helping children adopt life-long changes in their eating and exercise habits.

Police and firefighters are having the same issues with overweight as our military. Regardless of the goal to have Americans be fit enough to serve in uniform or have a good quality of life, the obesity epidemic is a real problem in this country and impacts us negatively in so many ways. It is time for Congress to address the issue starting with taking steps to ensure our children receive healthy, nutritious meal options in schools.  This is certainly not the only answer, but it is a step in the right direction.

Upon hearing Michelle Obama announce her new initiative to reverse the obesity epidemic within a generation through the Let’s Move Campaign, I could not help but feel proud of Wake County’s very own partnership, Advocates for Health in Action (AHA).

Like the First Lady, our goal is to ensure affordable access to healthful foods, work with school and parents to create a healthier school environment, increase the number of safe places for children to play, and to offer tools and resources to help our community make healthy choices. Through trainings such as the Brains and Bodies Workshops, we are providing parents with the tools they need to create healthier environments.

AHA recognizes the importance of understanding the needs of our community as it relates to access to food and places to be active.  Using GIS technology, middle and high school students are evaluating access to physical activity and healthful food and working in their communities to advocate for healthier options. In Fuquay-Varina, young people recognized that the convenience store that serves as a popular student hangout near school didn’t have many healthy food options.

They began working with the store manager to make positive changes such as placing healthier snacks and drinks in a more prominent locations and is looking into the possibility of adding healthier items that students want.  After this project made the front page of the News & Observer, an interested community member volunteered to create an iPhone app that will make it quick and easy for Wake County residents to determine what healthy food options are nearby. Similarly, the Let’s Move website features a Food Environment Atlas that provides the same type of information about our nation.

Working to reverse childhood obesity is not easy. At times it feels as if we are fighting the entire American culture! To see the work we have been doing is completely in line with plan launched by the White House provides motivation and validation to stay the course.

We applaud Michelle Obama for shining the spotlight on the issues we are passionate about in Wake County and we are excited to be a part of the change that will come from this movement.