Nearly one-third of America’s children and
adolescents are overweight or obese. It’s an alarming statistic that remains front-and-center in the public debate on our country’s nutrition and exercise habits. Joining the conversation is HBO’s just-released multi-part documentary, The Weight of the Nation, which takes a critical look at health issues we’re facing today. —
To get the inside scoop on the new series and its accompanying book, we spoke with John Hoffman, Vice President of HBO Documentary Films.
1. What sparked your
interest in obesity?
I was struck by the fact that one out of three children born
in the year 2000 will develop diabetes in his or her lifetime – one out of two
if that child is African-American or Latino. It’s not just developing diabetes.
If that child develops the diabetes before the age of 10, his or her lifetime
will be cut by 19 years, and the life will be an unhealthy one. It will be a
painful one. It will have kidney failure or amputations, heart attack or
stroke. So, diabetes is an awful disease, but because we are able to manage it
to a great extent, I think that people are not reacting with the sense of alarm
as if they were given a cancer diagnosis. But any doctor will tell you, the
same sort of alarms should be happening, if you are at risk for diabetes as if
you are at risk for cancer.
2. What findings in
the “Children in Crisis” portion of the documentary did you find most
surprising? What will parents be surprised to learn from watching it?
Obviously we know there’s a lot of focus on childhood
obesity. But the social determinants of what is driving this increase in weight
in children have to be discussed. It’s the marketing of unhealthy food to
children. It’s the unhealthy food that’s being served to them in schools. It’s
the lack of physical activity. I was shocked to learn that only 4 percent of
elementary school children have required physical activity every day, and less
than 2 percent of children in high school. And even when you look at schools
having PE 3 times per week, it’s only one in six schools. Parents may know that
their children don’t have P.E. every day, but they may be surprised to look
inside the cafeteria and see exactly how bad the food is that is being offered
up to their children.
3. To what degree
does genetics play a role in obesity?
Genetics is much more complex than we might like to think
when it comes to obesity and explanations are slippery slope with no clear
answers. With 2/3 of the nation already overweight or obese and predicted to rise,
it’s clear that the environment we’re living in is overpowering our capacity to
control our weight.
4. For parents of
overweight or obese kids (older kids or teens), how should parents navigate the
emotional terrain of changing their children’s habits?
That question is actually best answered by Marlene Schwartz, the Deputy Director at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity
at Yale University. She writes about how home environments, communities and schools shape the eating attitudes and behaviors of children
in her WaPo parenting blog, which you can check out here.
5. What changes would
you like to see in the food marketplace? What about with regard to children’s
food options, both in our schools and outside? Should federal subsidies be
changing?
We need to work together to make some big changes to the
systems that govern the food we grow; the economies that drive the food we
manufacture; the policies that regulate what we market and serve, particularly
to kids; the values we place on the overall quality of the schools to which we
send our children; the design of our communities, parks and roads so they
promote health; and the perspective of our health care system so that it’s
focused on preventing illness from happening, rather than just treating it once
it develops.
In particular, the issue of the subsidies that are going out
to farmers is fundamental to the discussion of the obesity crisis in this
country. And we’ve got to really redistribute these farm dollars to enable a
very different food supply to be produced and to give farmers the confidence to
plant fruits and vegetables. Right now, less than 3 percent of American
farmland is devoted to fruits and vegetables. More than 50 percent is devoted
just to two crops, corn and soy.
And so when you have this kind of imbalance, and which is
almost entirely due to the confidence of the farmer to plant different crops,
then you are – we’re not going to solve this problem.
6. What do you hope
to accomplish with the book and documentary series? What response would make
you particularly proud?
The aim is to sound a very loud alarm — to say, we have
enough evidence about the terrible toll obesity is exacting on individuals, our
communities and our society. The consequences of us not acting decisively,
boldly and systemically are dire for the future competitiveness and security of
the country. We have to make the healthy choice the easy choice for ALL
Americans. “The Weight of the Nation” asks: if we know what those choices are,
what’s standing in our way of making them?
Suggested viewing for parents: The first part of the
three-part series The Weight of the Nation for Kids, entitled “The Great
Cafeteria Takeover,” debuts Wednesday, May 16 (7:00-7:30 p.m.), with all three parts to be presented during
back-to-school season this fall.
For more information on The Weight of the Nation, visit theweightofthenation.hbo.com/films.
