3:45pm | The Long Beach City Council unanimously approved a proposal by Councilmember Robert Garcia and co-sponsored by Vice-Mayor Lowenthal, and Councilmembers James Johnson and Steven Neal, to begin a city-wide Move Long Beach initiative, modeled after First Lady Michelle Obama’s national Let’s Move campaign.
The Move Long Beach item will organize all health related physical activities and organize them in the Mobility element of the City’s General Plan. This will ensure that the city’s long term planning include creating a healthy city and healthy citizens. It also asks the City to promote a series of physical fitness events and create an online resources for residents to encourage participation in citywide health events.
Supporters that came to speak on the initiative included Memorial CEO Diana Hendel, Building Healthy Communities Leader Rene Castro, and representatives from the American Heart Association and St. Mary’s Hospital.
February 6, 10:45am | Obesity is not just a problem in the south or midwest — a common misconception and ill-grounded belief that is rooted in the equally mythic perception that Southern California is riddled with nothing short of amazingly toned, healthy people. One of the most tragic and disturbing factors remain the children involved in such health issues, fighting not only to maintain a healthy diet but severe weight issues that exacerbate illnesses.
In fact, according to a report by the Press-Telegram, Long Beach’s K-12 children and teens are facing an epidemic, with than 30% of 5th graders, 35% of 7th graders, and 21% of 9th graders being obese. Even more disturbing lies the cost of unhealthy behavior: in a recent study by the Center for Public Health Advocacy, obesity costs the state of California $41 billion annually, with Los Angeles County accounting for $11.9 billion alone. Obesity is medically defined when one has a body mass index (BMI) that exceeds 30 kg/m2, or about 20lb/feet2. The danger of childhood obesity is twofold, given the onset of early illnesses — hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and fatty liver — and the increased chances that such unhealthy behavior easily continues into adulthood.
Following First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! program initiative, which has found enormous success and even has heavyweight rapper Fat Joe as its spokesperson, Councilmember Robert Garcia, with the co-sponsorship of fellow councilmembers James Johnson, Steve Neal, and Vice Major Suja Lowenthal, have introduced two new pieces of legislation for the February 7 agenda, both aimed at improving the health of Long Beach residents by encouraging participation in physical fitness, extending healthful food choices into underserved neighborhoods, and creating policies that support nutrition, exercise, and a healthy lifestyle.
The Move Long Beach initiative campaign, clearly harking the First Lady’s own national program, will encourage exercise, physical fitness, and healthy food choices, particularly for children. The Move Long Beach item would organize all health related physical activities and organize them in the Mobility Element of the City’s General Plan. This would ensure that the city’s long term planning include creating a healthy city and healthy citizens. It also asks the City to promote a series of physical fitness events and create an online resources for residents to encourage participation in citywide health events.
As part of the initiative, Garcia will sponsor and participate in a series of Move Long Beach events in 2012 , and has announced he will participate in the Long Beach Marathon, Long Beach Triathlon, Justin Rudd’s Turkey Trot, and Bike Tour of Long Beach – and will be inviting the other local elected officials to run, swim, walk and bike alongside him throughout the year.
Garcia also introduced the HEAL Resolution, an initiative being promoted by the League of California Cities and the California Center for Public Health Advocacy. The Resolution commits signatory municipalities to a series of health-related policy goals.