Partnership for a Healthier America Announces Food and Beverage Manufacturer Steps to Fight Childhood Obesity
Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation Members Pledge Product Changes to Reduce 1.5 Trillion Calories by 2015
Washington, DC (May, 17, 2010) – The Partnership for a Healthier America today announced a new commitment to the organization’s effort to address the serious epidemic of childhood obesity. The Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation (HWCF) has signed an agreement with the Partnership, pledging to take actions aimed at reducing 1.5 trillion product calories by the end of 2015. As an interim step to this goal, HWCF will seek to reduce calories by 1 trillion in 2012.
“Solving the obesity epidemic requires far more than anything government can do alone and today’s announcement represents an important step forward to providing Americans with healthier choices so that they can choose to lead healthier lives,” said First Lady Michelle Obama, who also serves as honorary chair of the Partnership. “This is precisely the kind of private sector commitment we need. I want to thank the Healthy WeightCommitment Foundation for stepping up to the plate and I hope this encourages others to do the same.”
“On behalf of the Partnership, I am pleased to acknowledge this major first step by the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation. Pledges like this one – with targeted and achievable results that are meaningful and measurable – will help us reach our goal of curbing childhood obesity within a generation,” said Dr. James R. Gavin III, chairman of the Partnership’s board of directors.
Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation manufacturing companies will pursue their calorie reduction goals by growing and introducing lower‐calorie options; changing product recipes where possible to lower the calorie content of current products; or reducing portion sizes of existing single‐serve products. These changes will help Americans reduce their calorie intake, improve their overall nutrition and close the energy gap.
Through pledges like this, the Partnership is working to mobilize the private sector, thought leaders, media, and local communities to undertake actions that will further the goals of the First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign to curb childhood obesity within a generation. To ensure that the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation stands by its pledge, the Partnership will work with the organization and the data it collects to monitor progress towards fulfilling its commitment on an annual basis.
“Accountability is a critical element of our agreement with the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation. These types of calorie reduction efforts can have a significant impact on the obesity trend, so we want to be sure that organizations making commitments are following through with real results,” said S. Lawrence Kocot, interim President and CEO of the Partnership and a member of its board of directors.
The Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation is working to promote ways to help Americans achieve healthy weight by balancing the energy (calories) they consume with the energy they expend through physical activity. HWCF focuses on increasing access and opportunities for physical activity, healthier nutrition options and raising awareness of the energy balance approach – in the marketplace, in the workplace and in schools.
“The First Lady has shown tremendous leadership in calling for national action to end child obesity,” said David Mackay, chair of the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation and CEO of Kellogg Company. “Through this effort, Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation member companies will further strengthen their emphasis on healthier food options to better help consumers achieve and maintain a healthy diet.”
To assess the impact of the pledge, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) will support a rigorous, independent evaluation of how the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation’s efforts to reduce calories in the marketplace affect calories consumed by children and adolescents. RWJF will publicly report its findings.