January 4, 2010 - Baltimore, MD:

The NAACP Baltimore City Branch will hold a Community Information Meeting and Panel Discussion on its declared State of Emergency related to Childhood Obesity.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010
6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Union Baptist Church – 1219 Druid Hill Avenue – Baltimore, Maryland 21217
Invited Guest:  MD Secretary of Health; NAACP National Health Committee Chair;
NFL Play 60 Program; Baltimore City Health Department Chair; Baltimore Metropolitan Hospitals
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

“The Baltimore City Branch submitted to the NAACP 2009 Convention a resolution requesting a state of emergency related to childhood obesity,” President Dr. Marvin Cheatham states.  “The Convention voted unanimously in support of our submission.  It is now time for us to get to work saving our children’s lives by improving their health.”

The resolution passed by the Convention is as follows:

 Subject:
RESOLUTION ON CHILDHOOD OBESITY
Submitted by:  Baltimore City Branch, MD
Ratified by the National Board of Directors Under Article IX, Section 1 of the Constitution of the NAACP 2009

WHEREAS, Childhood obesity is a condition where excess body fat negatively affects our children’s health or well-being; and

WHEREAS, Childhood obesity is a serious medical condition that affects children and adolescents.  (It occurs when a child is well above the normal weight for his or her age and height); and

WHEREAS, childhood obesity is particularly troubling because the extra pounds often start our children on the path to health problems that were once confined to adults, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol; and

WHEREAS, one of the best strategies to combat excess weight in our children is to improve the diet and exercise levels of our entire family.  (This helps protect the health of our children now and in the future); and

WHEREAS, although there are some genetic and hormonal causes of childhood obesity, most excess weight is caused by our children eating too much and exercising too little; (Our children, unlike us as adults, need extra nutrients and calories to fuel their growth and development.  So if they consume the calories needed for daily activities, growth and metabolism, they add pounds in proportion to their growth.  But our children who eat more calories than needed gain weight beyond what's required to support their growing bodies and will gain excess weight with a sedentary lifestyle); and

WHEREAS, there are many factors, for example: Diet, Inactivity, Genetics, Psychological factors, Family Factors and Socioeconomic factors, usually working in combination- that increases our children’s risk of becoming overweight; and

WHEREAS, we should be worried if our children are putting on too much weight and talk to his or her doctor or health care provider at our earliest convenience; and

WHEREAS, the doctor or health care provider should provide a complete weight assessment, taking into account our child's individual history of growth and development, our family's weight-for-height history, and where our child lands on the growth charts; and

WHEREAS, as part of regular well-child care, the doctor calculates our child's body mass index (BMI) and determines where it falls on the national BMI-for-age growth chart.  (The BMI indicates if our child is overweight for his or her age and height. Using the growth chart, our doctor shall then determine our child's percentile, meaning how our child compares with other children of the same sex and age.  Because BMI doesn't consider things like being muscular or having a larger-than-average body frame and because growth patterns vary greatly among children, our doctor must also factor our child's growth and development into the overall weight assessment.  This helps determine whether our child's weight is a health concern);





WHEREAS, obese children can develop serious health problems, such as diabetes and heart disease, often carrying these conditions into an obese adulthood.  (Overweight children are at higher risk of developing: type 2 diabetes; metabolic syndrome; high blood pressure; asthma and other respiratory problems; several types of cancer, sleep disorders; liver disease; early puberty or menarche; eating disorders, osteoarthritis and skin infections, etc.); and

WHEREAS, social and emotional fallout also can hurt our children (children often teasing or bully their overweight peers, and our children suffer a loss of self-esteem and an increased risk of depression as a result that may lead to suicide); and

WHEREAS, childhood obesity is a truly public health concern in 2009; and

WHEREAS according to the 2008 Update on Legislative Policy Options on Childhood Obesity issued by the National Conference on State Legislatures over the past three decades, obesity relates have nearly tripled for children ages 2 to 5 (from 5 percent to 14 percent), more than tripled for youth ages 12 to 19 (from 5 percent to 17 percent) and more than quadrupled for children ages 6 to 11 (from 4 percent to 19 percent).
BE IT RESOLVED that the NAACP declares a state of emergency where it relates to childhood obesity; and
BE IT ALSO RESOLVED that we are recommending that parents, as soon as possible, seek medical advice regarding their children’s weight; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we encourage: (a) slow and steady weight loss; (b) eating healthier; (c) choosing fruits and vegetables over convenience foods high in sugar and fat; (d) limited sweetened beverages including those containing fruit juice; (e) family members eating together as opposed to eating in front of televisions, computers and video games; and (f) increasing our children’s activity levels; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that NAACP units in conjunction with the American Diabetic Association with NOBIDAN and the local health department, especially branches, be encouraged to conduct educational workshops on childhood obesity developed and created by the NAACP health committee; and
AND BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that Press Releases should issue announcing this state of emergency and calling for a congressional hearing on childhood obesity especially as it relates to the effects on children in urban areas where there has been a sad decrease in physical education and recreational facilities.