Obesity threatens lives of thousands of children

Commentary by Tom Butt

I just returned from quick trip to Washington, D.C. to attend the Childhood Obesity Prevention Summit sponsored by the Leadership for Healthy Communities, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
   This was not my first exposure to the subject. The health impacts of community planning and public policy have been a theme of the Local Government Commission (LGC) for years and a mainstay of the annual LGC New Partners for Smart Growth conferences. Earlier this year, Contra Costa County Health Services hosted the Leadership Forum on Health and the Built Environment conference in San Pablo.
    However, it struck me that while violence and homicide continue to dominate the news about Richmond and absorb substantial energy of community activists and a growing part of Richmond’s General Fund, a broader, more enduring and more pernicious health threat is endangering the future of not dozens, but thousands, of Richmond’s young people.
    There is no “Office of Active Living and Healthy Eating” at City Hall, and no one has suggested a Tent City to promote exercise and proper diet. Yet far more people will die young or have the quality of their lives severely curtailed by preventable chronic illness related to diet and physical activity than street violence.
    Unlike fatal gunshots that rip through the night, there is nothing illegal about these killers — the triple threats of childhood obesity, diabetes and asthma. Taken together, the impact is far greater and affects far more people than even that of our current unacceptable rate of homicides. The phenomenal rise in childhood obesity, diabetes and asthma has been caused by changes over just a generation or two in our environment, culture, lifestyle and community design. Thousands of Richmond kids will survive street violence only to succumb at a premature age to chronic illnesses that can largely be prevented.
    While these trends are nationwide, they are accelerated in communities of color, like Richmond. With perhaps 30,000 children under the age of 14 and a combined African American and Latino population of 60 percent or more, the implications for Richmond are staggering.
    American children are growing fatter, and Richmond is surpassing the national averages In last year’s state fitness test, fewer than one in five students in the West Contra Costa Unified School District could run a mile or perform other fitness tests in aerobic endurance, body flexibility, and abdominal, lower back and upper body strength to earn a passing grade.
    In Contra Costa County, 35- 43 percent of non-Hispanic white and Asian American students passed the standards in all six areas compared to only 17- 23 percent of African American and Latino students. The results were similar in Alameda County, where 35-47 percent of non- Hispanic white and Asian American students achieved all fitness standards, compared to 18-27 percent of African American and Latino students.
    In Contra Costa County, 31 percent of fifth graders are overweight. In West Contra Costa, fifth graders are 42 percent more likely to be overweight than the rest of Contra Costa County. Twenty percent of Contra Costa adults are obese, a rate slightly higher than that of California. African American (32 percent) and Latino (21 percent) Bay Area residents are more likely to be obese compared to Bay Area adults overall (16 percent).
    Diabetes is the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S. Rising rates of type 2 diabetes among young Americans is a huge public health concern. Nationwide, African Americans and Hispanics are twice as likely as white adults to have diabetes. In Contra Costa County, African Americans are 12 percent more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes compared to the Bay Area as a whole (5 percent).
    Africans Americans and Latinos, as well as people living in San Pablo, Richmond and Pittsburg, are more likely to die from diabetes compared to the overall population in Contra Costa County.
    Experts predict that if current trends continue, one in four African American and Latino children born in California will develop diabetes in their lifetime, resulting on increased chronic health conditions such as heart disease, strike, blindness, kidney failure and leg and foot amputations. By adulthood, obesity-associated chronic diseases — heart disease, some cancers, stroke and diabetes — are the first, third and sixth leading causes of death in the U.S.
    There are many things the city of Richmond and the West Contra Costa Unified School District can do to improve the health of kids:
• Establish a Wellness/Active Living Committee or Task Force with residents, public health professionals and community- based organizations.
• Establish or revise zoning to create useful, attractive, accessible destinations where residents can easily conduct daily business without a car.
• Accommodate urban agriculture and community gardening.
• Limit the number and concentration of fast food restaurants and outlets that sell tobacco and alcohol.
• Support the establishment of grocery stores that offer fresh, affordable produce and other healthy items in under-served neighborhoods.
• Support the development of safe, accessible parks and recreational facilities in underserved neighborhoods.
• Adopt and implement “complete streets” policies to provide safe and convenient roadway access for people who walk, bicycle or use wheelchairs.
• Institute healthy food and beverage standards for all items available in schools.
• Ensure children receive physical education that meets minimum standards for quality, duration and frequency.
• Eliminate advertising of unhealthy foods and beverages to children and youth.
• Make school recreational facilities available to children and families for use during afterschool hours.
• Richmond has a Health Element in its new General Plan that is now underway. This needs to be monitored and reviewed for adequacy.

Tom Butt is a member of the Richmond City Council.