Bloomberg Announces Citywide Decrease In Childhood Obesity

Mayor Bloomberg announced yesterday that across the city, childhood obesity rates in elementary and middle school students have gone down over the past five years.

The decrease is significant, and it represents the biggest decline in childhood obesity by any large city in the nation.

“Even as childhood obesity in the rest of the nation has remained flat or gotten worse, in New York City, it is declining,” the Mayor said. “Children who are more physically fit have fewer health problems – and fewer trips to the hospital. That’s great news for kids and their families, and for taxpayers too.”

The obesity rates for kindergarteners through eighth graders have decreased an impressive 5.5 percent.

The decline is partially due to already existing city initiatives, like Playstreets, which are quiet street blocks closed off to cars and opened to kids for some much deserved play time. Schools use these streets to create bigger, better spaces for recess and gym class.

There’s also the Health Department’s “Pouring on the Pounds” campaign, which encourages New Yorkers to drink low calorie beverages like water, unsweetened iced tea, and low fat milk instead of soda and high-sugar juices.

The city has now announced even more initiatives to help us keep those pounds off, like the creation of a multi-agency task force charged with coming up with more innovative solutions to help further the city’s progress when it comes to fighting the fat.

Deputy Mayor Cas Holloway said, “This new task force will bring the full force of the city’s resources and creativity to bear in the effort to continue and accelerate our success—which will improve the quality of life for the thousands of New Yorkers.”