**Updated Feb. 17, 2010 5:55 p.m. EST**
Former President Bill Clinton is on a mission to battle childhood obesity — and it appears he practices what he preaches.
Today, Clinton participated in a press conference to promote the achievements of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a joint venture between the Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association to battle the childhood obesity epidemic threatening our nation’s kids.
This news comes less than a week after the former commander-in-chief underwent a successful procedure to clear a blocked artery via a stent. His doctor declared that his “prognosis is excellent” and it appears he is taking his commitment to exercise — or at least activity — seriously. We applaud him for not simply adopting a sedentary lifestyle after his latest procedure, and almost immediately getting moving again.
Today’s press conference came nearly five years after the Alliance for a Healthier Generation debuted in May 2005, less than a year after Clinton’s quadruple bypass surgery.
Its official mission is “to reduce the nationwide prevalence of childhood obesity by 2015 and to empower kids nationwide to make healthy lifestyle choices.” How? Through a series of programs it sponsors to help kids and their parents make smart decisions at school, at home and in their community.
The organization points out that over the past 20 years, childhood obesity rates have alarmingly doubled and can lead to serious medical problems such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and heart disease — something Clinton knows a thing or two about.
The former president made it exceptionally clear during the press conference that he’s paying for his youthful health mistakes and hopes today’s young people can learn from his errors. “The root causes were the habits I acquired in my childhood, mostly the way I ate and the way it interacted with my own biology and propensity to produce bad cholesterol,” he said, according to People.com. “I ate too much fried food, too much ice cream, too much everything. Many, many young people are facing exactly the same circumstances I did unless they change their eating and exercise habits,” Clinton added. “They may or may not be as lucky as I was.”
Among its many initiatives, the Alliance is working with more than 7,800 schools to promote healthier offerings in its cafeterias and vending machines, and to promote physical activity both through gym class and recess. They are also working hard to educate parents and caregivers about the importance of diet and exercise for kids, working with them to help minimize salt in their food, incorporate more fruits and vegetables into their diets and much more.
Childhood obesity seriously threatens the long-term health of the next generation and we applaud Clinton and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation for working hard to make sure kids are in optimum condition to be the leaders of tomorrow.
Photo courtesy of Bob McNeely, The White House via Wikimedia Commons.
