HJAR Mar/Apr 2023

With all due respect American Academy of Pediatrics, your recent recommendations for treating childhood obesity with weight loss pills and gastric bypass surgery, while stating that “the guideline does not discuss obesity prevention, which will be addressed in another forthcoming AAP policy statement,” strikes me as … well … honestly, I am at a loss for words. Yes, we have an adult and childhood obesity problem in the U.S.; Arkansas ranks low in this category. And yes, we are condemning children with obesity to a lifetime of chronic disease if we do not do something about it. But you know what? We are the adults here. Kids don’t control what they eat or where they live. They eat what they have access to. What are we giving them access to? What are we feeding them? Look, I realize there may be outliers — kids who may actually need this treatment. But your recommendation does not take into consideration that the majority of “food” sold in American grocery stores or in vending machines is not worthy of being digested. It is processed, it is laden with pesticides, filled with ingredients we have no idea how to pronounce, pumped with hormones and who knows what else to make it bigger. Just compare a Costco rotisserie chicken to the size of an organic whole chicken. The Costco chicken is delicious and cheap, but it is huge! What are they pumping that chicken with? What is making it huge compared to a chicken not raised that way? Do we no longer think we are what we eat? There are so many factors in a child’s environment to consider and adjust before we jump to giving medicine or providing surgery for obesity. Why are we looking for quick fixes that may have their own unintended health effects and likely won’t be permanent unless other lifestyle changes are made? Why are we medicating instead of educating? Instead, why don’t we, as the healthcare industry — led by the American Academy of Pediatrics — beg McDonalds and Burger King to cut out the fast food and serve organic, nutritious meals? Why don’t we ask Walmart to cut out the junk food and processed foods and carry meals and snacks for kids and families that are whole, healthy, and affordable? Why don’t we make sure real grocery stores are accessible to all, so meals aren’t cobbled together from shelf-stable items at the convenience store? Nope. Just pop a pill or show up for surgery. Have we honestly just given up as a society? Dianne Marie Normand Hartley Chief Editor editor@healthcarejournalar.com EDITOR’S DESK 8 MAR / APR 2023  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS   “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” —Hippocrates