Obesity in United States families costs about $200 billion in healthcare costs around the country. Extraordinary measures are sometimes called for in these extraordinary situations. Child obesity in United States families is so epidemic, mere admonitions for a healthy diet or a bit of regular exercise are no longer at all enough. The government is getting out the heavy artillery now. Doctors in several states around the country are trying a whole new approach. They have begun writing children prescriptions for fruit and vegetables. That's right, children are going to carry prescriptions to their local farmers markets and have their prescriptions filled with a bag of fresh fruits and veggies. And they will be free too.
What with every local fast food restaurant putting out dollar menus, obesity in United States families is at risk of turning more uncontrollable than ever. When the government hands out dollar coupons for fruit and veggies everyday, they are also trying to find a way of winning back some market share among children for the farmers of the state. This isn't that new, this scheme though. About 20 years ago, the state of Massachusetts brought out a program just like this to help young nursing mothers and small children stave off malnourishment. Most states in the country now have these farmers market nutrition program for vulnerable poor women. What's new about this program is that it takes aim at obesity in children, and not at malnutrition.
The first prescription greens program has just kicked off in the state of Massachusetts. And doctors are going to be watching the children who take advantage of this program to see how it affects the way they eat, and how their health benefits from it. The way you see children lounging around and dipping into bag of chips, or slurping out of a Big Gulp cup, doctors hope that this new program will turn them into fruit juice-sipping apple-munching healthy young kids.
Are rates of obesity in United States children going to be seriously affected by a cute little well-intentioned move like this? Weight problems happen to be pretty complex; and it is unlikely that just switching to fruits and vegetables could do any good. What proponents of the program are hoping though is that children will see the goodwill that goes behind this move, and will begin to care about their health for themselves.Anything that can go to promoting healthy eating and a wholesome lifestyle can actually save people a lot of trouble.
There is plenty of anecdotal evidence to prove that this is a program that is on the right track. Low income families all over keep enthusing over how the program has introduced children in the family to vegetables they never knew existed. Children only welcome the color and variety they bring to their plates.
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