PHA Statement on Food Access and the Obesity Epidemic

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 10, 2012) – Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) President and CEO Lawrence A. Soler released the following statement in response to today’s Washington Post article about food access and obesity:

“Increasing access to healthy, affordable foods is an important part of solving the childhood obesity crisis. While PHA is proud of our partners’ commitments to increase access to such foods by building or improving more than 1,500 stores around the country, we – along with many who join us in this fight every day – have maintained that it is just one part of the solution. Working with food companies to get children to eat more vegetables; encouraging some of the nation’s largest restaurant chains to make their kids’ menus healthier; and ensuring child care centers create healthy environments for those in their care, among other initiatives, also are key strategies to reversing this epidemic.

“The U.S. is on pace to see half of all American adults obese by 2030. Tackling a crisis of this size requires all of us – across all sectors – to work together to implement effective strategies. PHA is committed to partnering with the private sector to create individual initiatives that are part of an effective, comprehensive approach.”

The Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) is devoted to working with the private sector to ensure the health of our nation’s youth by solving the childhood obesity crisis. In 2010, PHA was created in conjunction with – but independent from – First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! effort. PHA is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that is led by some of the nation’s most respected health and childhood obesity experts. PHA brings together public, private and nonprofit leaders to broker meaningful commitments and develop strategies to end childhood obesity. Most important, PHA ensures that commitments made are commitments kept by working with unbiased, third parties to monitor and publicly report on the progress our partners are making. For more information about PHA, please visit www.aHealthierAmerica.org and follow PHA on Twitter @PHAnews