DEPARTMENT On the Web Weighing In: Prevention of Childhood Overweight and Obesity Jennifer P. D’Auria, PhD, RN, CPNP KEY WORDS Childhood, obesity, Web, prevention Childhood overweight and obesity are worldwide health crises. More than one third of children currently are reported to be overweight or obese (Levi, Segal, St. Laurent, & Kohn, 2011). In addition, the majority of overweight teens will track into adulthood as over- weight, putting them at risk for chronic and potentially life-threatening health problems, including cardiovas- cular disease, stroke, depression, and social stigmatiza- tion (Biro & Wien, 2010; Puhl & Latner, 2007). Childhood overweight and obesity are preventable. Interventions to target child overweight and obesity must be multifaceted and responsive to the many environments that influence the lifestyle choices of chil- dren and their families. This article will focus on selected high-quality information and educational resources available on the Web or through the use of mobile technology for children, families, and health care professionals to reduce and prevent childhood overweight and obesity. THE POLITICS OF OBESITY Obesity has entered the political consciousness of the United States. Eddie Kohan, a food writer with an intense interest in agriculture policy, authors the ‘‘Obama Foodorama’’ (http://obamafoodorama.com) blog. The purpose of this popular political food blog is to provide a daily diary and his- torical archive of food and nutrition initia- tives occurring during the Obama Adminis- tration. A flurry of federal government initiatives have been directed to- ward the reduction and prevention child- hood obesity. In Janu- ary 2010, The Surgeon General’s Vision for a Healthy and Fit Na- tion (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services [HHS], 2010) was released, which outlined key strate- gies to target the obesity crisis. In February 2010, First Lady Obama unveiled the Let’s Move campaign that puts into action some of the recommendations in the Surgeon General’s Report. At that launch, President Obama commissioned the first White House Task Force Department Editor Jennifer P. D’Auria, PhD, RN, CPNP University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Nursing Chapel Hill, North Carolina Jennifer P. D’Auria, Associate Professor, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Nursing, Chapel Hill, NC. Conflicts of interest: none to report. Disclaimer: Reference to a Web site does not imply endorsement by the author or JPHC. Correspondence: Jennifer P. D’Auria, PhD, RN, CPNP, Carrington Hall, CB #7460, Chapel Hill, NC 27599; e-mail: [email protected]. edu. J Pediatr Health Care. (2011) 25, e26-e30. 0891-5245/$36.00 Copyright Q 2011 by the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.pedhc.2011.07.011 Interventions to target child overweight and obesity must be multifaceted and responsive to the many environments that influence the lifestyle choices of children and their families. e26 Volume 25 Number 6 Journal of Pediatric Health Care
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