Childhood Obesity Just One of Myriad Challenges Facing U.S.

May 25, 03:35 AM

Current Headlines: By Jim Warren, The Lexington Herald-Leader, Ky.

May 25--Dr. James Holsinger would find plenty of complex health issues waiting for him if he becomes U.S. surgeon general, including the nation's obesity epidemic, Americans' poor nutrition and sedentary habits, smoking and access to health insurance.

President Bush said he wants Holsinger to focus on combating childhood obesity. Dr. Jeff Harris, director of health promotion at the University of Washington, said he hopes Holsinger will do just that -- but also serve as an advocate on more controversial topics such as universal health insurance and the new HPV vaccine, which protects against cervical cancer vaccine but is thought by some conservatives to encourage sexual activity in young women.

"Childhood obesity is a pretty safe issue," Harris said. "But it doesn't mean that HIV has gone away; it doesn't mean tobacco has gone away; and it doesn't mean that the HPV vaccine doesn't need leadership."

Dr. Larry Cook, executive vice president for health affairs at the University of Louisville, said obesity probably would head the list of public health issues, because it ties into diabetes, hypertension and stroke. The problem of secondhand smoke still needs action at the national level, he said.

"I also would hope that someone with Dr. Holsinger's background would lobby the president and the Congress on the importance of investing in medical research," Cook said. "UK can't become a top 20 research university, and the University of Louisville can't become a pre-eminent metropolitan research university with a flat budget at the National Institutes of Health."

Childhood obesity just one of myriad challenges facing U.S.

-----

Copyright (c) 2007, The Lexington Herald-Leader, Ky.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.