Post on 30-Dec-2015
transcript
Obesity Prevention Summit:Policy Solutions for a Healthier
Washington
Hugh EwartSeattle Children’s Hospital
November 15, 2011
Overview
Seattle Children’s Institutional Snapshot• Cafeteria and Vending Philosophy and Changes• Beverages
SSB Consumption: Role of Individual• Impact possible• Sustainable only in concert with other supports
SSB Policy Change by Government: Politics• Power of the T word in a recession• Powerful interest groups
Seattle Children’s Institutional Snapshot
• 250 bed pediatric referral center• Serving largest landmass of any free-standing
children’s hospital in US (Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho)
• Over 2/3 of patients have multiple chronic conditions
• 1/3 of patients are overweight or obese. 40% in our Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic
• Breadth of obesity research
Seattle Children’s Institutional Snapshot
• Increased healthy food and beverage options in cafeteria and food vending machines
• Soda not on patient menus• Soda Free Sundays
• New vendor will allow significant increase in healthy vending machine beverage options in coming months
SSB Consumption: Role of Individual
• Beverage consumption a modifiable behavior change• Changing food consumption behavior much more
complicated• Food=indisputable human need• Soda=unnecessary for human survival• External supports imperative to sustain behavior change
SSB Policy Change by Government: Politics
• Taxes hard during economic downturns
• Philadelphia SSB tax • $10M obesity research grant
offered by soda industry• Tax effort halted
• Modest Washington State soda tax • American Beverage Association
spends $17M to overturn legislative-approved ‘grocery tax’