Mass. movement against fat

WITH THE POTENTIAL to give the next generation shorter lifespans than their parents, obesity is such a health threat that public officials would be negligent if they did not mount a many-sided campaign to address it.

The state Department of Public Health is doing just that now, helping to coordinate state and local anti-obesity activities and pushing for new regulations, including highly visible calorie labels on offerings at fast-food restaurants. It is a good start, but officials should look for other ways as well to make healthier eating and greater physical activity mainstays of everyday life.

New York City already requires fast-food restaurants to post calorie counts along with prices. According to surveys, this has steered customers away from the highest-calorie items. Another sensible regulation DPH supports would require schools to measure the body-mass index of students in grades 1, 4, 7, and 10. The schools would mail the results home to parents, along with tips on healthy nutrition and exercise.

Arkansas has already seen the benefit of such parent-information efforts. The state's focus on overweight and obese children is well-placed, since these children will face an increased incidence of diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers if the trend is not reversed. One-third of US children are already overweight or obese.

One sharp tactic Arkansas uses is to end some school-bus runs a half mile from schools, obliging students to walk. In Massachusetts, communities might find they could both save on bus costs and improve children's health by restricting bus use to students who live at greater distances or along unsafe routes. At least, municipalities should require developers to include sidewalks in their subdivisions to encourage walking by both children and adults.

School departments must reduce the trend away from physical education: Between 1993 and 2007, the percentage of high school students in the state attending a physical education class at least once a week declined from 80 to 61 percent. With schools pressed to find time amid tougher academic demands, expanding physical education will not be easy. It might require reinstating and enforcing the state phys ed mandate, which was repealed in 1996.

Not surprisingly, the state's "Mass in Motion" initiative has important allies: the foundations established by the state's big health insurers. The health costs of obese adults under 65 have been calculated to be 36 percent higher than for non-obese adults. With these allies, state health officials have to take the broadest possible approach to making healthful eating and exercise routine for children and adults alike.