Sabrina Tavernise reports on promising news concerning one of America's most formidable public health crises: for the first time in decades several American cities are reporting declines in childhood obesity rates.
Detailed in a September report [PDF] by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, small but significant drops in childhood obesity rates in big cities like New York and Los Angeles, and smaller places like Anchorage, Alaska, and Kearney, Nebraska, "offer the first indication that the obesity epidemic, one of the nation’s most intractable health problems, may actually be reversing course," writes Tavernise.
“'It’s been nothing but bad news for 30 years, so the fact that we have any good news is a big story,'” said Dr. Thomas Farley, the health commissioner in New York City, which reported a 5.5 percent decline in the number of obese schoolchildren from 2007 to 2011.
While government programs at every level - from Michelle Obama's Let's Move campaign to local efforts to ban sugary drinks from school vending machines - have tried to tackle the problem, Tavernise notes that researchers aren't sure what's behind the decline.
"They may be an early sign of a national shift that is visible only in cities that routinely measure the height and weight of schoolchildren...Nor is it clear whether the drops have more to do with fewer obese children entering school or currently enrolled children losing weight," says Tavernise. "But researchers note that declines occurred in cities that have had obesity reduction policies in place for a number of years."
Whatever the cause, the declines are welcome news. 17 percent of Americans under 20 are obese (triple what is was in 1980), increasing their risk of becoming obese adults and taking on the associated health risks - from heart disease to cancer to stroke.
FULL STORY: Obesity in Young Is Seen as Falling in Several Cities
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Planning for Accessibility: Proximity is More Important than Mobility
Accessibility-based planning minimizes the distance that people must travel to reach desired services and activities. Measured this way, increased density can provide more total benefits than increased speeds.
World's Largest Wildlife Overpass In the Works in Los Angeles County
Caltrans will soon close half of the 101 Freeway in order to continue construction of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing near Agoura Hills in Los Angeles County.
Colorado Bans No-Fault Evictions
In most cases, landlords must provide a just cause for evicting tenants.
Alaska Village Becomes Test Case for Climate Change Relocation
The Yup’ik village of Newtok is the first Alaska community to begin a full-scale relocation necessitated by the impacts of climate change. Another 31 Alaska communities remain vulnerable.
Amtrak Takes Lead on Texas Central Rail
The high-speed rail project isn’t a done deal, but if it moves forward, trains could begin operating in 2030.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.