Kane County officials launch campaign against children's obesity

Kane County officials are alarmed by how many overweight children there are in the county, so they launched the "Fit for Kids" campaign Monday to help fix the situation before it turns into an adult health crisis.

At a summit of community leaders, the county health department unveiled a plan to have cities, schools, churches, civic groups and more collaborate to get children to eat more nutritiously and be more active.

To start the ball rolling, it is putting up $500,000 of its reserves. Within the next few weeks, it hopes to persuade private funding agencies to donate more money, which would help support programs initiated by the community.

At least 20 percent of the approximately 93,000 school-age students in Kane County are overweight or even obese, according to the health department. Children who are overweight and unfit tend to grow up to be adults who are overweight and unfit, leading to deaths from cancer and heart disease.

Health department Executive Director Paul Kuehnert noted that in the late 1800s and early 1900s the public demanded and got improved water sanitation, immunizations and medical advances that cut infant and childhood death rates and resulted in a 30-year gain in average life span in this country.

"We have to have the same kind of policy shift and cultural shift to achieve the rollback of the obesity epidemic," Kuehnert told a crowd of more than 100 leaders.

He outlined four goals of the "Fit for Kids" campaign.

• Provide parents with information in multiple settings about activity and eating habits.

• Support wellness and health promotion in workplaces, schools and other institutions.

• Develop land use and other public policies that foster physical activity.

• Assure that fresh produce is affordable and accessible to all residents.

A former California public health official, a medical researcher from a foundation that provides nutrition and activity education to schools, a YMCA official and a representative from the National League of Cities talked about their programs at Monday's meeting.