Kurbo Health Response to Leaked White House Memo on Childhood Obesity

A leaked internal memo from the White House on October 19 indicates the White House intends to change its stance on childhood obesity. Officials state that childhood obesity is “not a priority of this administration” and any funding designated to address it “should probably be reversed.” The memo also stated childhood obesity was a priority of the former Health and Human Services Secretary for “inexplicable reasons.”

This is not a partisan issue. Former (Republican) Secretary of Human Health and Human Services Tom Price made childhood obesity one of his top three priorities, tweeting that "Childhood Obesity is a national crises with far reaching implications". He did this for a good reason - the data on childhood obesity and its implications are clear: childhood obesity is one of the biggest public health crises in the United States. Despite decades of CDC reports warning of the growing obesity epidemic in the U.S., one in three American children are overweight or obese today. As of 2016, 12.7 million (17%) youth are obese, and the numbers have increased considerably in recent years. Since 1980, childhood obesity rates have nearly tripled in children and adolescents ages 2 – 19.

Obese children have a higher risk of becoming obese adults and developing other chronic conditions, such as asthma, sleep apnea, bone and joint problems, Type II diabetes, heart disease and some cancers. Obese children also face negative mental and emotional effects brought on by bullying and social isolation. The cultural stigma against overweight and obese people increases the likelihood of depression, anxiety and low self-esteem.

The White House memo suggests cutting funding for programs addressing chronic conditions, including obesity and diabetes. Yet the CDC reports chronic conditions related to obesity annually cost the U.S. more than $150 billion. If current trend continue, with more children becoming overweight and obese every year, the health care costs will rise as well.

The consequences of the childhood obesity epidemic are clear — increased spending on chronic diseases, decreased wages for overweight adults, and a less healthy society. Kurbo recognizes these troubling statistics and supports the millions of families working hard to get healthy and stay healthy. A healthy future for the U.S. depends on the health of its citizens. Especially its children.

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Joanna Strober is the CEO and Founder of Kurbo Health, the only mobile solution to childhood obesity. Kurbo works with insurers, employers, medicaid plans and government agencies to provide weight loss solutions to children nationwide.