here's the down low of how the govt is going to force this down our thraots and make decisions for us:
from http://www.letsmove.gov/pdf/TaskForce_on_Childhood_Obesity_May2010_FullReport.pdf
Summary of Recommendations
Recommendation 1.1: Pregnant women and women planning a
pregnancy should be informed of the importance of conceiving at a
healthy weight and having a healthy weight gain during pregnancy,
based on the relevant recommendations of the Institute of Medicine.
Recommendation 1.2: Education and outreach efforts about prenatal
care should be enhanced through creative approaches that take into
account the latest in technology and communications. Partners in
this effort could include companies that develop technology-based
communications tools, as well as companies that market products and
services to pregnant women or prospective parents.
Recommendation 1.3: Hospitals and health care providers should use
maternity care practices that empower new mothers to breastfeed,
such as the Baby-Friendly hospital standards.
Recommendation 1.4: Health care providers and insurance companies
should provide information to pregnant women and new mothers on
breastfeeding, including the availability of educational classes, and
connect pregnant women and new mothers to breastfeeding support
programs to help them make an informed infant feeding decision
Recommendation 1.5: Local health departments and communitybased
organizations, working with health care providers, insurance
companies, and others should develop peer support programs that
empower pregnant women and mothers to get the help and support
they need from other mothers who have breastfed
Recommendation 1.6: Early childhood settings should support
breastfeeding
Recommendation 1.7: Federal and State agencies conducting health
research should prioritize research into the effects of possibly obesogenic
chemicals.
Recommendation 1.8: The AAP guidelines on screen time should be made more available to parents, and young children should be encouraged to spend less time using digital media and more time being physically active.
Recommendation 1.9: The AAP guidelines on screen time should be made more available in early childhood settings.
Recommendation 1.10: The Federal government, incorporating input from health care providers and other stakeholders, should provide clear, actionable guidance to states, providers, and families on how to increase physical activity, improve nutrition, and reduce screen time in early child care settings.
Recommendation 1.11: States should be encouraged to strengthen licensing standards and Quality Rating and Improvement Systems to support good program practices regarding nutrition, physical activity, and screen time in early education and child care settings
Recommendation 1.12: The Federal government should look for opportunities in all early childhood programs it funds (such as the Child and Adult Care Food Program at USDA, the Child Care and Development Block Grant, Head Start, military child care, and Federal employee child care) to base policies and practices on current scientific evidence related to child nutrition and physical activity, and seek to improve access to these programs
Recommendation 2.1: The Federal government, working with local communities, should disseminate information about the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans through simple, easily actionable messages for consumers and a next generation Food Pyramid.
Recommendation 2.2: The FDA and USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service should collaborate with the food and beverage industry to develop and implement a standard system of nutrition labeling for the front of packages
Recommendation 2.3: Restaurants and vending machine operators subject to the new requirement in the Affordable Care Act should be encouraged to begin displaying calorie counts as soon as possible
Recommendation 2.4: Restaurants should consider their portion sizes, improve children’s menus, and make healthy options the default choice whenever possible.
Recommendation 2.5: The food and beverage industry should extend its self-regulatory program to cover all forms of marketing to children, and food retailers should avoid in-store marketing that promotes unhealthy products to children.
Recommendation 2.6: All media and entertainment companies should limit the licensing of their popular characters to food and beverage products that are healthy and consistent with science-based nutrition standards
Recommendation 2.7: The food and beverage industry and the media and entertainment industry should jointly adopt meaningful, uniform nutrition standards for marketing food and beverages to children, as well as a uniform standard for what constitutes marketing to children.
Recommendation 2.8: Industry should provide technology to help consumers distinguish between advertisements for healthy and unhealthy foods and to limit their children’s exposure to unhealthy food advertisements.
Recommendation 2.9: If voluntary efforts to limit the marketing of less healthy foods and beverages to children do not yield substantial results, the FCC could consider revisiting and modernizing rules on commercial time during children’s programming
Recommendation 2.10: Pediatricians should be encouraged to routinely calculate children’s BMI and provide information to parents about how to help their children achieve a healthy weight.
Recommendation 2.11: Federally-funded and private insurance plans should cover services necessary to prevent, assess, and provide care to overweight and obese children.
Recommendation 2.12: Dentists and other oral health care providers should be encouraged to promote healthy habits and counsel families on childhood obesity prevention as part of routine preventive dental care
Recommendation 2.13: Medical and other health professional schools, health professional associations, and health care systems should ensure that health care providers have the necessary training and education to effectively prevent, diagnose, and treat obese and overweight children
Recommendation 3.1: Update Federal nutritional standards for school meals and improve the nutritional quality of USDA commodities provided to schools.
Recommendation 3.2: Increase resources for school meals.
Recommendation 3.3: USDA should continue its outreach and technical assistance to help provide training for school food service professionals.
Recommendation 3.4: Schools should consider upgrading their cafeteria equipment to support the provision of healthier foods, for example, by swapping out deep fryers for salad bars.
Recommendation 3.5: USDA should work with all stakeholders to develop innovative ways to encourage students to make healthier choices.
Recommendation 3.6: USDA should work to connect school meals programs to local growers, and use farm-to-school programs, where possible, to incorporate more fresh, appealing food in school meals
Recommendation 3.7: Schools should be encouraged to make improvements in their school meal programs through the HealthierUS Schools Challenge in advance of updated Federal standards.
Recommendation 3.8: Increase the alignment of foods sold at school, including in the a la carte lines and vending machines, with the Dietary Guidelines.
Recommendation 3.9: Food companies should be encouraged to develop new products and reformulate existing products so they meet nutritional standards based on the Dietary Guidelines and appeal to children.
Recommendation 3.10: USDA and the U.S. Department of Education should collaborate with states to increase the availability and consistency of nutrition education in schools.
Recommendation 3.11: Where possible, use school gardens to educate students about healthy eating.
Recommendation 3.12: Technical assistance should be provided to schools about how to a cafeteria and lunch room environment can support and encourage a healthful meal
Recommendation 3.13: Schools should be encouraged to ensure that choosing a healthy school meal does not have a social cost for a child
Recommendation 3.14: Schools should be encouraged to consider the impact of food marketing on education.
Recommendation 3.15: School districts should be encouraged to create, post, and implement a strong local school wellness policy.
Recommendation 3.16: Promote good nutrition through afterschool programs.
Recommendation 3.17: Promote healthy behaviors in juvenile correctional and related facilities.
Recommendation 4.1: Launch a multi-year, multi-agency Healthy Food Financing Initiative to leverage private funds to increase the availability of affordable, healthy foods in underserved urban and rural communities across the country.
Recommendation 4.2: Local governments should be encouraged to create incentives to attract supermarkets and grocery stores to underserved neighborhoods and improve transportation routes to healthy food retailers.
Recommendation 4.3: Food distributors should be encouraged to explore ways to use their existing distribution chains and systems to bring fresh and healthy foods into underserved communities.
Recommendation 4.4: Encourage communities to promote efforts to provide fruits and vegetables in a variety of settings and encourage the establishment and use of direct–to-consumer marketing outlets such as farmers’ markets and community supported agriculture subscriptions.
Recommendation 4.5: Encourage the establishment of regional, city, or county food policy councils to enhance comprehensive food system policy that improve health
Recommendation 4.6: Encourage publicly and privately-managed facilities that serve children, such as hospitals, afterschool programs, recreation centers, and parks (including national parks) to implement policies and practices, consistent with the Dietary Guidelines, to promote healthy foods and beverages and reduce or eliminate the availability of calorie-dense, nutrient-poor foods
Recommendation 4.7: Provide economic incentives to increase production of healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, as well as create greater access to local and healthy food for consumers.
Recommendation 4.8: Demonstrate and evaluate the effect of targeted subsidies on purchases of healthy food through nutrition assistance programs.
Recommendation 4.9: Analyze the effect of state and local sales taxes on less healthy, energy-dense foods
Recommendation 4.10: The food, beverage, and restaurant industries should be encouraged to use their creativity and resources to develop or reformulate more healthful foods for children and young people
Recommendation 4.11: Increase participation rates in USDA nutrition assistance programs through creative outreach and improved customer service, state adoption of improved policy options and technology systems, and effective practices to ensure ready access to nutrition assistance program benefits, especially for children.
