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REMARKS BY:TOMMY G. THOMPSON, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES PLACE: On Obesity Report DATE: December 13, 2001
It's a pleasure to be here, and thank you all for coming. Let me say right off the bat that I am pleased to see our guests here.
I am especially proud to see Wendi Bailey from Home Depot. Wendi, you and your "Building Better Health" program have done great things for the employees and neighbors of Home Depot. You know, I've always believed that a healthy business meant a healthy community - and you've proven my point literally.
I am also so glad to see Theresa Clay, who worked for seven years with Pathways. Pathways is a program that we can all be proud of - a multi-site obesity prevention study, supported by HHS's own Indian Health Service, that works with Native American schoolchildren. It's an example of how compassionate conservatism enables communities to seize control of their own destinies. You have a lot to be proud of, Theresa.
Last but not least, I want to welcome Charles Harris, from CHAMP in Baltimore. It's people like you, Charles - who reach out and help traditionally underserved groups - who deserve our praise and support. You represent the very best of what citizens and neighbors can do for one another. You honor us with your presence today.
The three of you - Wendi, Theresa and Charles - are a cross-section of the kind of Americans who make this country great. Dedicated and motivated toward improving the health and welfare of your friends and neighbors, you truly make a difference, and we are pleased that you are with us as we present the Surgeon General's "call to action to prevent and decrease overweight and obesity."
There is one final acknowledgement I would like to make. Dr. Paul Ambrose was the senior editor of this call to action. His spirit and his professionalism motivated the team working on this report, and they shine through on its pages now. Paul was taken from us on the eleventh of September at the Pentagon. His parents and his fiancee are here with us today.
Mr. and Mrs. Ambrose, Ms. Angelino - inasmuch as this call to action will help save the lives and livelihoods of our fellow Americans, I sincerely hope that it will serve as a small memorial to Paul. You have my heartfelt thanks for being with us today. And you should be rightfully proud of the work your son did to improve the lives of people. He made a difference.
This is the holiday season. America's tables are overflowing with the bounty of our great land. As we gather together with our families, neighbors and friends, we have much to be thankful for. Even in these trying times, we still see the generosity and spirit of friendship that are the hallmarks of Americans the world over.
That generosity means big hearts and big meals. From the traditional tamales of Texas, to the traditional cheeses of my own Wisconsin, we will be sitting down and eating more than usual.
But as much as we love to eat, we too often fail to consider the consequences of that love. As the writer Alice Furland once said, "if rich food can kill, people live dangerously here." Unattended by moderation or exercise, we expose ourselves to the twin dangers of overweight and obesity.
I have just come from a homeland security meeting at the White House. The President was there. My good friend Governor Ridge was there. We discussed many things, and many dangers that Americans face. And we reaffirmed our commitment to protecting our fellow citizens from those dangers.
That is a proper role of a federal government. We in that government will lead from the front in matters where it is prudent, proper and wise to do so.
But there are some matters on which the people must lead, and the government must be supportive and helpful. Overweight and obesity are two of those matters. The drive must come from communities, from mothers, from fathers, and from employers. That is why our guests today are ordinary Americans just like you and me.
When we consider the lives cut short by the tragic complications of overweight and obesity, we see that they rival smoking as takers of lives and destroyers of youth.
Those who suffer overweight and obesity are at higher risk for heart disease, asthma, and diabetes. Their physical strength is impaired. They are more likely to die of a stroke. They are more likely to die at a younger age than their peers. They are more susceptible to illnesses of every kind.
This scourge hits children particularly hard. In my home state of Wisconsin, the city of Milwaukee has seen the incidence of obesity more than double in minority children since the 1980's. Obesity-related type two diabetes, once a disease of the middle-aged and elderly, is now setting in with young people in their twenties. It is time to get children off the couch and onto the playgrounds. Parental, school and community support for increased physical activity by children is crucial for their future well-being. We need to pass on to our children the time-honored admonishment that we heard from our parents: go out to play.
And we need to go out to play with them, for adults suffer too. Sixty-one percent of adult Americans are now overweight or obese. Sixteen million of them have diabetes. The deaths from obesity-related causes now top three hundred thousand cases per year, and the economic costs topped one hundred seventeen billion dollars last year.
In the past year, I have visited some of our Indian reservations out west. In these communities, I saw the terrible toll that obesity-related illnesses like diabetes take. The lost limbs and crippled lives break the heart. Old and young must line up for dialysis, tethered to the machine that gives them life for a few more days. That, my friends, is unacceptable.
And yet, it is all preventable. A recent NIH study showed that a simple loss of fifteen pounds would reduce the incidence of diabetes by fifty-eight percent. It would save lives.
This is the focus of the Surgeon General's study. Doctor Satcher, thank you for your wonderful work in preparing this important report for the American public.
It is one of my goals as secretary to make sure that all Americans understand what they can do to protect their health.
The "call to action to prevent and decrease overweight and obesity" is only the beginning. My prescription for 2002 and beyond is prevention.
Starting in January, we will begin a series of initiatives to emphasize the importance of prevention at all levels. Individuals have the power to protect their health. Through adoption of healthy behaviors, most individuals can reduce the risk of illness and disease. Prevention is the power to protect your health.
I intend to ignite a national dialogue about the state of America's health - with prevention as the primary focus.
Therefore, we will partner with corporate America, as well as our unions, to ensure a healthier workforce, and a workplace that allows employees to tend to their own health, even as employers reap the benefits of healthy employees.
We will focus on America's youth, since healthy habits start at the beginning of life, and a healthy present means a healthy future. We will help parents to set the example and lead the way.
We will strive to eliminate America's health gap, working with minorities and underserved communities, to help them help themselves to spread the message about prevention.
And we will begin our women's initiative, recognizing the unique challenges of women's health care at every stage of life.
As we do this - as we spread the word about prevention and its benefits - we'll do more than just fight overweight and obesity. We'll fight cancer, lung disease, heart disease, strokes, diabetes, and dozens of other preventable yet widespread diseases.
There is no greater gift we can give our families this holiday season than the gift of health. And there is no better New Year's resolution than the resolve to take care of your own well-being.
Thank you all for coming today. This is an important mission, and an important report. Remember, our prescription for 2002 and beyond is prevention. With that, I am so very proud to introduce to you the Surgeon General of the United States.