Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health professor Marcia Ory knows she can't halt the childhood obesity epidemic. But she hopes to make a dent over the next five years.
Ory is working with a $2 million grant devoted to the study of state-level policies related to childhood obesity prevention. She and fellow researchers will evaluate select policies and provide feedback to legislators about their effectiveness, with the ultimate goal of waging a war against childhood obesity.
"It is true. If we don't change the obesity epidemic rates, this generation of children will be less healthy than adults and their parents," Ory said.
The grant was awarded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a national organization dedicated to improving all Americans' health and health care, according to its Web site.
The work is being conducted jointly by the rural public health school and the Michael and Susan Dell Center for Advancement of Healthy Living at the University of Texas School of Public Health Austin Regional Campus. The partnership will collaborate with Live Smart Texas, a coalition of more than 80 state agencies, policy institutes, academic institutions, community organizations and advocacy groups -- all dedicated to rolling back the obesity epidemic, Ory said.
Rattling off a list of staggering statistics, Ory noted that 40 percent of fourth-graders are considered overweight or obese. Overweight and obese children tend to grow up to be overweight and obese adults, she said. Those same children, she said, often aren't as academically successful as their healthy counterparts. Overweight mothers also tend to have overweight babies, she said.
In America, things traditionally improve with each generation. But Ory said that may no longer be the case with regard to childhood obesity. Now, children as young as 5 are beginning to show precursors for diabetes, Ory said.
"The good news is, we know the scientific links. The bad news is, can we really do what we know we ought to as a community and a state?" Ory questioned. "Texas is committed to turning this tide. As a university, we're pleased to be a partner in understanding and providing information that can make a difference."
Researchers will focus on physical inactivity and poor eating habits as they study the Texas Safe Routes to School program, which encourages children to walk to school, and revisions made to the Texas Women, Infants and Children nutrition program --commonly referred to as WIC.
There are some designated safe routes to school in the Brazos Valley, but the key is taking a look at the infrastructure, Ory said, explaining that sidewalks and crosswalks make it much safer to walk to school. Researchers in Austin will focus on this aspect of the project.
A&M researchers will focus on the WIC food package, which helps low-income women gain access to more healthful foods and was updated last year to include more resources for fruits and vegetables, Ory said.
Researchers will take a look at 125 communities across the state, randomly picking schools that have been awarded Safe Routes to School grants. Audits also will be conducted at 125 food stores -- large chains and small, regional stores -- to determine the availability and affordability of better foods.
Both the Safe Routes to School and WIC policies were implemented in the past year.
"We're following them up over time to see if behaviors change over time, if kids are healthier over time," Ory said.
"We don't want to just collect this information and have it be all academic. The whole purpose is to understand what's going on and see if [we] can make a difference and feed the information back to Austin."
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