All across the country, children and adults alike are battling obesity and Kentucky is in the thick of the fight.
According to recent statistics released by the Centers for Disease Control and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Kentucky weighs in with the 7th highest rate of adult obesity with 29 percent falling in the category, and the 4th highest of overweight youths (ages 10-17) at 37.1 percent.
Health officials say these findings, which also label childhood obesity as the number one public health problem in the nation, should be a call to action.
Locally, Cheryl Graham, a Nurse Practitioner at Corbin Pediatrics is taking the fight personally and she is starting with a place where local children spend a lot of their time; school.
Graham has recently spearheaded an attempt to get the Corbin Independent School District to consider serving healthier lunches to students. In addition to sending a letter to Corbin Superintendent Ed McNeel, Graham said a petition is available at the clinic where she works to allow those concerned to show their support.
In the letter, Graham states that "approximately one third of children in the U.S. are overweight or obese. While school meals are certainly not the only contributor to this epidemic, schools have the opportunity to model healthy nutrition practices starting early in a child’s life."
"First of all, this is predominantly me doing this," Graham said. "Corbin Pediatrics, as a practice, we all have a huge concern about the increasing rate of obesity we are seeing nationwide.
"In the letter, we state the numbers pertaining to the state," she added. "In counseling both parents and children in checkup visits, or any kind of visits where weight becomes a topic, you assess what they are eating. They usually will say we eat breakfast at school and we ask what are you eating at school.
"So I started hearing about some of the foods that were available for them to choose," she added. "One of the things they told me their child had eaten for breakfast was honey buns. With that, I started looking for information relating to their school menus."
The letter goes on to explain that meals, particularly at Corbin Primary School, offer many high-sugar/high-fat items.
"Especially alarming are the honey buns, donuts, Pop-Tarts and gravy and biscuit offerings. The most worrisome aspect of the lunch menu is that pizza is available for selection every day."
The letter claims that an "overabundance of starchy carbohydrates are served at many meals and high fat/high sodium processed meats such as corn dogs, hot dogs, popcorn chicken and chicken nuggets are on the menu. There are no restrictions on the snacks for younger children and the food is frequently used to reward children for achievement."
Graham said she knows the significance of the financial situation regarding the food, but she said she feels strongly about the cause and feels like the letter to McNeel emphasizes that notion.
"The Dietray Guidelines for Americans, which is the cornerstone of federal nutrition policy and nutrition education, emphasize whole grain cereals, bread and pastas, fresh vegetables and fruits, low fat dairy products, lean proteins, decreased saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sodium and added sugars," the letter states. "Menus that follow those guidelines would not only be healthier, but would set a good example for children and families."
"One of the positions I am taking is that we certainly don’t blame school meals for causing this epidemic, you are starting to send a message very early in a child’s life," Graham said. "When I counsel kids regarding healthy food choices we are talking about what they are choosing for breakfast and lunch and stuff like that.
"This goes into the whole teaching of unhealthy practices at an early age and we want to improve upon that," Graham said.
As for the petition, Graham said that currently they have about 20 signatures, but hope for more. She also said that the Corbin Board of Education has contacted her and stated they are interested in working together toward the cause.
Next week, the News Journal will feature part two of a three part series focusing on child obesity and how schools can play a part.
