AMA supports requiring obesity education for kids

The American Medical Association on Wednesday put its weight behind requiring yearly instruction aimed at preventing obesity for public schoolchildren and teens.

The nation's largest physicians group agreed to support legislation that would require classes in causes, consequences and prevention of obesity for first through 12th graders. Doctors will be encouraged to volunteer their time to help with that under the new policy adopted on the final day of the AMA's annual policymaking meeting.

Another new policy adopted Wednesday says the AMA supports the idea of using revenue from taxes on sugar-sweetened sodas as one way to help pay for obesity-fighting programs. But the group stopped short of fully endorsing such taxes.

Some doctors think soda taxes would disproportionately hurt the poor and disadvantaged. Others said taxes shouldn't be used to force people to make healthful decisions they should be making on their own.

Doctors at the meeting shared sobering statistics and personal stories in urging the AMA to sharpen its focus on obesity prevention.

"I can't tell you the number of 40-pound 1-year-olds I see every day," Dr. Melissa Garretson, a Stephensville, Texas pediatrician, told the delegates before Wednesday's vote. She said requiring obesity education "is a great idea."

The measure was drafted by the AMA's Pennsylvania delegation. It cited data showing that more than 300 million people worldwide are obese and said requiring nutrition education to prevent obesity has never been proposed.

Obesity affects more than one-third of U.S. adults and almost one in five children, or more than 12 million kids. Recent evidence suggests those numbers may have stabilized, but doctors say that's small consolation when so many people are still too fat.

Excess weight is strongly linked with diabetes, heart disease and some cancers, and weight loss of just 5 percent can help improve health, the Pennsylvania doctors' measure said.

Dr. Bruce Wilder, a delegation member, said he will ask Pennsylvania legislators to introduce legislation to enact that requirement in schools.

In other action at the meeting, the AMA voted to:

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Physical Education Is Good for Kids' Grades, Study Finds

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Sex Education Efforts Lagging in Schools, CDC Says

HealthDay – Thu, Apr 5, 2012 THURSDAY, April 5 (HealthDay News) -- There's been little progress in recent years in boosting the number of American secondary schools that teach students how to prevent pregnancy and protect themselves against HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

That's the finding from researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who analyzed 2008 and 2010 data from 45 states taking part in biennial surveys of school health practices.

The surveys assessed the percentage of schools in each state that teach specific topics related to HIV, STD and pregnancy prevention. The topics differ in middle schools and high schools, but generally include basic information on the transmission and diagnosis of HIV and other STDs, as well as pregnancy risk reduction. Condom use is one of the topics that's covered only in high schools, the CDC said.

The surveys revealed few indications of progress between 2008 and 2010. For example, the percentage of middle schools that taught all essential topics to grades 6, 7 and 8 declined in 11 states and did not rise in any of the other 33 states.

In high schools, the percentage that taught all eight essential topics to grades 9, 10, 11 and 12 declined in one state and increased in two states. And the percentage of high schools that taught three condom-related topics fell in eight states while increasing in only three.

Broken out by states in 2010, the report showed that the percentage of middle schools that taught all topics ranged from 12.6 percent in Arizona to 66.3 percent in New York. The percentage of high schools that taught all topics ranged from 45.3 percent in Alaska to 96.4 percent in New Jersey. And the percentage of high schools that taught all three condom-related topics ranged from 11.3 percent in Utah to 93.1 percent in Delaware.

Education on avoiding infection with HIV and other STDs is critical, especially for children in middle schools who most likely have not begun sexual activity, experts said in an editorial accompanying the new study.

"HIV prevention can also address misperceptions about how HIV is transmitted," they noted. For example, they say, one poll conducted in 2011 found that "20 percent of persons aged 18-29 believe incorrectly that a person can become infected with HIV by sharing a drinking glass, or are unsure of whether this statement is true or false."

Schools remain integral to educating young people about ways they can keep themselves and others safe, the experts added.

"Families, the media, and community organizations, including faith-based organizations, can play a role in providing HIV, other STD, and pregnancy prevention education," the editorialists pointed out. "However, schools are in a unique position to provide

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