Guest Op-Ed: Making our kids the biggest winners

Earlier this year in Albany, I joined with celebrities from NBC’s “The Biggest Loser,” Time Warner Cable representatives, and State Senate Co-Leader Jeffrey D. Klein to double down on public/private efforts to reverse rising obesity trends among children and young adults in New York. We want all our children to have the chance to be “The Biggest Winners” in good health.

The stakes are high. According to health experts, including the U.S. Surgeon General, obesity, especially among children and minority populations, is approaching epidemic proportions. The percentage of American children who are obese has doubled since the 1980s. One in four obese children has early signs of Type II diabetes formerly seen only in adults. Overweight children as young as eight have been found with risk factors for heart disease.

We need to tackle the problem to protect the children in our communities. A study conducted in New York City elementary public schools found that 43 percent of the students weigh more than they should. The city’s survey of obesity found significant differences among the races and ethnic groups; among Hispanic children the rate of obesity is 31 percent.

I am proud that Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law my recent legislation to increase direct marketing of fresh fruits and vegetables (Assembly bill A.6628).

This law will increase direct marketing of fresh fruits and vegetables in areas of New York with high levels of adult and child obesity, create obesity awareness sessions in schools and encourage the expansion of community gardens to increase the availability and affordability of local produce.

We must build on this and other initiatives to promote healthy and active lifestyles, proper nutrition and rigorous exercise in underserved communities. As parents, we must provide our children with the tools they will need to be prosperous and successful; an important aspect of this is to highlight the importance of healthy eating and an active lifestyle.

Together, we can raise awareness to an even higher level and become part of a healthy solution in which all New Yorkers are winners.

Assemblymember Felix Ortiz was honored by the Alliance of New York State YMCAs earlier this month at the YMCA’s Statewide Healthy Kids Rally in Albany. He received the YMCA Healthy Living Champion Award for his work in children’s nutrition and for his support of YMCA afterschool programs which promote healthy eating and physical activity.

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