Fighting Back Against Childhood Obesity Through the Cape May County Children’s Health Summit

Because we regularly work with children and families, we knew that our clientele mirrored the national statistics on obesity, which state that 13% of children aged six to 11 years and 14% of adolescents aged 12 to 19 in the United States are overweight (1). These numbers represent a nearly three-fold increase for adolescents in the past two decades, the effects of which can be devastating both physically and emotionally. Adult health issues, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes, have increased dramatically in children (2). Further troubling statistics show that overweight adolescents have a 70% chance of becoming overweight or obese adults, the likelihood of which increases to 80% if at least one parent is overweight or obese (2). Overweight children suffer emotionally, too, facing social discrimination, poor self-esteem, and depression (3). In fulfilling our mission as an educational outreach organization, RCE responded to community needs for research-based information on the causes, treatments, and prevention of childhood obesity. RCE organized a comprehensive educational forum, bringing together resources from Rutgers University, the New Jersey State Department of Education, New Jersey State Department of Human Services, United States Department of Agriculture, New Jersey Department of Agriculture, and many other local and regional entities.