Bush takes aim at 'obesity epidemic'

Members of the governor's new task force say targeting young Floridians is critical to stemming an alarming trend.

	[AP photo] Florida Commissioner of Education Jim Horne, right, and Commissioner of Agriculture Charles Bronson, left, speak about the creation of the Governor's Task Force on the obesity epidemic. The task force will address the rising rates of overweight and obesity among adults and youth.

Worried that too many Floridians are getting too fat, Gov. Jeb Bush on Wednesday named a task force to find ways to fight the "obesity epidemic."

Florida faces "a tidal wave of unhealthiness," with higher health costs and more deaths in the future if obesity rates keep rising, said Dr. John O. Agwunobi, secretary of the Florida Department of Health.

"I'm really worried about the fact that if we don't start formally coordinating and developing a strategy, (the epidemic) is going to overwhelm us all," Agwunobi said Wednesday.

The task force will meet over three months, gathering information and then developing recommendations for Bush and legislative leaders. Schools are likely to be a key focus since experts say obesity needs to be prevented at an early age.

Agwunobi said he hopes task force members will consider all types of ideas, from community-based education programs to proposals that "may seem, at first glance, to be a little out there."

Obesity rates have skyrocketed over the past 20 years. About 60 percent of American adults are overweight or obese. About 15 percent of American children and teens are overweight.

Florida has similar problems. Dr. Zachariah P. Zachariah, a Broward County cardiologist and top Republican fundraiser, will chair the new task force.

"The vast majority of my patients . . . they're all people who don't exercise and are obese," he said. "It's a very serious battle."

The task force will have to find ways to motivate people to change their lifestyles, Agwunobi said, much the way that education campaigns have influenced people to stop smoking.

"The art of public health is to know how to get the community to buy in," he said.

Bush began discussing forming the task force after he talked to national experts and became concerned about Floridians' health and rising health care costs, Agwunobi said.

Bush, who was traveling Wednesday, said in a statement that he hopes the task force can counter the obesity trend.

"By addressing this issue now, Florida will lead the way in changing lifestyles and saving lives," he said.

A top priority: schools. Agwunobi, Zachariah and others talked about adding more health education, slimming down lunch menus and increasing physical education classes. Fewer than half of Florida high school students attend physical education classes during an average week, Bush said.

Faced with state budget cuts, some school districts have embarked on exclusive contracts with soft drink companies that pay millions in exchange for putting drink machines in schools.

Zachariah became worried about school food several years ago, when his son began gaining weight from school burgers and fries. Zachariah campaigned to make lunches healthier at his son's private school, then at other Broward County schools.

Task force member Dr. Jim Gills, a Pinellas County eye surgeon, also said the state needs to target children.

"Schools are the most important area," he said. "You've got to get people changed early in life."

The task force needs to emphasize schools, said Dr. Frank Diamond, a pediatric endocrinologist at All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg. More and more of his young patients are arriving with adult problems, he said: high blood pressure, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes.

"By the time you're a teen, if you're overweight, you've got an 85 percent chance of being an overweight adult," he said. "This is a problem that requires a public health and a community response."

Gills, a triathlete who has a company that runs the Ironman Triathlon, would like to stress fitness on the task force as well.

Agwunobi said he hopes the group pushes the envelope a little. His example: finding ways to encourage healthier urban planning, so more places have sidewalks and people walk more often. Another possibility that Diamond threw out was rewarding restaurants that serve healthy food.

The state has not yet allocated funds for task force recommendations. Agwunobi said he's saving a spot in his budget, but it's too early to set a specific amount for recommendations not yet made.

Other local members of the 14-member task force are two Pasco County residents: Lt. Michael J. Ferrantelli of the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, and James T. Bell, founder of the International Fitness Professionals Association.

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