Incoming NYC health chief says obesity not taken seriously enough

More than half of all adult New Yorkers are overweight or obese, and the city's law requiring chain restaurants to post calorie counts on menus may not go far enough in trying to improve New Yorkers' health, Dr. Thomas Farley said.

"I do think we need to take on obesity more seriously, and that's going to focus on dietary issues probably beyond calorie labeling," Farley said in an interview after Bloomberg announced his appointment.

The New Jersey native comes to New York from the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans and is taking over from Dr. Thomas Frieden, who is leaving to head the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Farley is inheriting a health department known for aggressively fighting public health threats. Under Frieden, the department used public health policy to influence residents' lifestyles, and has been accused of being too invasive.

In addition to requiring calorie counts on menus, the city banned smoking in bars and restaurants and outlawed trans fats in restaurant food.

Frieden has also been working to get foodmakers and restaurants that mass produce meals to voluntarily reduce sodium in their recipes.

Farley, who has served as a senior adviser to Frieden since 2007, said he has been assisting in that effort, and plans to continue it.

Farley, a pediatrician and epidemiologist with years of experience in infectious diseases, will take leadership of the department at a time when it is also struggling to manage the city's response to swine flu.