Bloomberg: Childhood Obesity Rates Falling In NYC
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that childhood obesity rates in the city have declined over the past five years.
1010 WINS Reporter Stan Brooks Reports
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The announcement comes following a study that was conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention which discovered that obesity rates between the 2006-2007 and 2010-2011 school years had dropped from 21.9 to 20.7 percent.
According to the report the 1.2 percent drop was the most significant change for a large city.
Thomas Farley, the city's Health Commissioner pointed at the results of the study as proof that Mayor Bloomberg's public health policies had been effective.
Those policies include changes to cafeteria food and the time devoted to physical activity in the city's schools, as well as city-wide regulations aimed at improving nutrition.
"The ever rising tide of obesity is finally beginning to ebb," he said.
Farley added that there was still work to be done, as children from Hispanic and low-income families did not experience a significant change.
Mayor Bloomberg also took the opportunity to announce the creation of a task force on obesity and a new policy that will require vending machines to be filled with healthy options.
Government regulation of nutrition in the nation's schools has been a controversial topic in the past, what do you think? Comment below...
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