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President Obama has announced the creation of a Task Force on Childhood Obesity
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release February 9, 2010
February 9, 2010
MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES
SUBJECT: Establishing a Task Force on Childhood Obesity
Across our country, childhood obesity has reached epidemic rates
and, as a result, our children may live shorter lives than their
parents. Obesity has been recognized as a problem for decades,
but efforts to address this crisis to date have been
insufficient. My Administration is committed to redoubling our
efforts to solve the problem of childhood obesity within a
generation through a comprehensive approach that builds on
effective strategies, engages families and communities, and
mobilizes both public and private sector resources.
Nearly one third of children in America are overweight or
obese -- a rate that has tripled in adolescents and more
than doubled in younger children since 1980. One third of
all individuals born in the year 2000 or later will eventually
suffer from diabetes over the course of their lifetime, while
too many others will face chronic obesity-related health
problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer,
and asthma. Without effective intervention, many more children
will endure serious illnesses that will put a strain on our
health-care system. We must act now to improve the health of
our Nation's children and avoid spending billions of dollars
treating preventable disease.
Therefore, I have set a goal to solve the problem of childhood
obesity within a generation so that children born today will
reach adulthood at a healthy weight. The First Lady will lead
a national public awareness effort to tackle the epidemic of
childhood obesity. She will encourage involvement by actors
from every sector -- the public, nonprofit, and private sectors,
as well as parents and youth -- to help support and amplify
the work of the Federal Government in improving the health
of our children. But to meet our goal, we must accelerate
implementation of successful strategies that will prevent
and combat obesity. Such strategies include updating child
nutrition policies in a way that addresses the best available
scientific information, ensuring access to healthy, affordable
food in schools and communities, as well as increasing physical
activity and empowering parents and caregivers with the
information and tools they need to make good choices for
themselves and their families. To succeed, these efforts must
be strategically targeted, and accountability should be clear.
They will help our children develop lifelong healthy habits,
ensuring they reach their greatest potential toward building a
healthier and more prosperous America. To these ends, I hereby
direct the following:
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Section 1. Establishment of the Task Force on Childhood
Obesity. There is established a Task Force on Childhood
Obesity (Task Force) to develop an interagency action plan to
solve the problem of obesity among our Nation's children within
a generation. The Assistant to the President for Domestic
Policy shall serve as Chair of the Task Force.
(a) Membership of the Task Force. In addition to the Chair,
the Task Force shall consist of the following members, or any
senior official designated by one of the following members who
is a part of the member's department, agency, or office, and who
is a full time officer or employee of the Federal Government:
(1) the Secretary of the Interior;
(2) the Secretary of Agriculture;
(3) the Secretary of Health and Human Services;
(4) the Secretary of Education;
(5) the Director of the Office of Management and Budget;
(6) the Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to
the First Lady;
(7) the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy;
and
(8) the heads of other executive departments, agencies, or
offices as the Chair may designate.
At the direction of the Chair, the Task Force may establish
subgroups consisting exclusively of Task Force members or their
designees under this section, as appropriate.
(b) Administration of the Task Force. The Department of Health
and Human Services shall provide funding and administrative
support for the Task Force to the extent permitted by law and
within existing appropriations.
Sec. 2. Mission and Functions of the Task Force. The Task
Force shall work across executive departments and agencies to
develop a coordinated Federal response while also identifying
nongovernmental actions that can be taken to solve the problem
of childhood obesity within a generation. The functions of the
Task Force are advisory only and shall include, but are not
limited to, making recommendations to meet the following
objectives:
(a) ensuring access to healthy, affordable food;
(b) increasing physical activity in schools and communities;
(c) providing healthier food in schools; and
(d) empowering parents with information and tools to make good
choices for themselves and their families.
Sec. 3. Interagency Action Plan. Within 90 days of the date of
this memorandum, the Task Force shall develop and submit to the
President a comprehensive interagency plan that:
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(a) details a coordinated strategy by executive departments and
agencies to meet the objectives of the Task Force and identifies
areas for reform to ensure complementary efforts and avoid
duplication, both across the Federal Government and between
other public or nongovernmental actors;
(b) includes comprehensive, multi-sectoral strategies from each
member executive department, agency, or office and describes the
status and scope of its efforts to achieve this goal;
(c) identifies key benchmarks and provides for regular
measurement, assessment, and reporting of executive branch
efforts to combat childhood obesity;
(d) describes a coordinated action plan for identifying
relevant evidence gaps and conducting or facilitating needed
research to fill those gaps;
(e) assists in the assessment and development of legislative,
budgetary, and policy proposals that can improve the health and
well-being of children, their families, and communities; and
(f) describes potential areas of collaboration with other
public or nongovernmental actors, taking into consideration
the types of implementation or research objectives the Federal
Government, other public actors, or nongovernmental actors may
be particularly well-situated to accomplish.
Sec. 4. Outreach. Consistent with the objectives set out in
this memorandum, the Task Force, in accordance with applicable
law, and in addition to regular meetings, shall conduct outreach
with representatives of private and nonprofit organizations,
State, tribal and local authorities, and other interested
persons that can assist with the Task Force's development of
a detailed set of recommendations to solve the problem of
childhood obesity.
Sec. 5. General Provisions. (a) The heads of executive
departments and agencies shall assist and provide information
to the Task Force, consistent with applicable law, as may be
necessary to carry out the functions of the Task Force. Each
executive department, agency, and office shall bear its own
expense for participating in the Task Force.
(b) Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed to impair or
otherwise affect:
(i) authority granted by law to an executive department,
agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) functions of the Director of the Office of Management
and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or
legislative proposals.
(c) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
(d) This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create
any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at
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law or in equity by any party against the United States, its
departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or
agents, or any other person.
Sec. 6. Publication. The Secretary of Health and Human
Services is authorized and directed to publish this memorandum
in the Federal Register.
BARACK OBAMA
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