VMC Foundation and Santa Clara County take action against Childhood Obesity

If you have been following us on Twitter this week, which we know you have, you’ll know that First Lady Michelle Obama launched her obesity awareness, called “Let’s Move.” Let the record show that we think this is a great program with tons of potential. By changing the food served to children in our schools, promoting active lifestyles, and actively educating youth through a social media campaign, Let’s Move will make a huge difference in the lives of our nation’s youth.

1-in-3 three children in the United States are obese. The rate of obesity in children has tripled in the past three decades for children aged 6-11. The first step in any recovery is admitting that you have a problem, so articles like this one published in the Mercury News in January is an encouraging first step; but action is needed to help stymie this epidemic.

Thankfully, we have been directly addressing this at the county level for some time. Currently, the VMC Foundation helps support a program, VMC’s Pediatric Healthy Lifestyles Center, which intervenes directly with populations at the highest risk for childhood obesity. The SCC Board of Supervisors is also making this epidemic a priority. County President Ken Yeager committed to promoting prevention and healthier living for all residents today in an opinion piece in the Mercury News. Supervisor Liz Kniss with support from the SCC Library, SCC Office of Education, and San Jose Public Library Foundation, is also taking action by using the Silicon Valley Reads program to educate both adults and children on healthy eating habits.

When we work together to combine our resources, our ability to affect change grows exponentially. Let’s hope these actions are sustained far into the future.

If you would like to support any of the programs run by the VMC Foundation, please contact us at 408-885-5299