Time to Cut the Fat

“We all know the numbers,” Obama said in a recent interview. “One in three kids are overweight or obese, and we’re spending $150 billion a year treating obesity-related illnesses. So we know this is a problem, and there’s a lot at stake.”

With childhood obesity rates soaring, it’s good that the White House is taking the issue seriously. For the record, the Obama behind the initiative is Mrs. Obama. The First Lady has decided to make this her signature issue. In February, she announced her Let’s Move initiative, and this March, she’s out promoting the concept in speeches and meetings across America.

Obesity is a legitimate public-policy issue. Certainly, it affects the health of our children. Between 1999 and 2005, the number of hospitalizations attributable to childhood obesity doubled. But it’s more than simply a matter of health. It’s an issue for our armed services, which had to turn away brigades worth of willing volunteers for Iraq and Afghanistan simply because of their poor physical conditioning. It’s an issue for taxpayers, since obesity is a leading cause of health inflation in America.

So the First Lady picked the right target when she decided to attack childhood obesity. She’s emphasized several times that she’s interested in good ideas and has already reached out to Republicans, doing an interview with former Gov. Mike Huckabee on Fox News and joining Gov. Haley Barbour for an event. In Washington, the rumor is that next week she’ll announce that a prominent Republican will co-chair her taskforce. Her willingness to make this a bipartisan effort is not only an example of how her husband could be governing, it’s also an opportunity for conservatives to help shape an important debate.

First Lady Michelle Obama’s plan to fight childhood obesity is – so far – vague but focuses on some reasonable ideas: better food in schools and more physical education. And she’s careful to recognize the limitations of Washington. Asked about the role of the federal government in fighting childhood obesity, the First Lady is clear: it’s a “minor player in a very big approach.” Indeed, her approach seems federalist, reaching out to states for partnerships.

Let’s Move will likely expand national efforts to promote fitness, just as Republican programs did under Presidents Reagan and George H. W. Bush. But – good news here – Let’s Move doesn’t have a one-size-fits-all food policy, like New York’s strange food police campaign to micromanage the nation’s supper.

And Let’s Move doesn’t include a call for a soda tax – an idea that has gained support in New York and California. Nor should it. State experiments with the idea have been mixed; and, in terms of revenue, the easiest way to fund any costs in the First Lady’s plan is to save, not tax, by cutting subsidies for unhealthy ingredients like fructose. Let’s Move includes funding for better school meals, and partnerships to bring fresh local produce into food deserts in inner cities. One conservative labeled these measures “FoodCare,” but she ignored the fact that America already spends $20 billion a year subsidizing industrial food producers (and profitable ones at that).  Cut those subsidies, and you could fund MichelleObamaCare, and have plenty of money left over to cut the deficit.

The First Lady can look to across the Atlantic for ideas. In the UK, obesity is now a preoccupation for celebrity chef – and working class hero – Jamie Oliver. He’s spent much of his time in the last decade on a crusade to educate working parents on the preparation of simple yet healthful meals, and emphasized fresh food and balanced diets. In a grassroots experiment, he pushed to reform British school-lunch programs to serve more nutritious meals and to do so at a minimal cost to taxpayers.

Oliver’s reforms paid off. In standardized tests, students in Oliver’s target schools scored measurably better in science, English and math. Teachers also reported improved discipline and a decline in absenteeism.

Whether it’s restless high school students or rejected Army recruits, America faces new challenges as the result of changing eating habits and declining activity levels. A country once admired for rugged individualism and everyday athleticism is now seen at home and abroad as a leading icon of obesity. It’s literally hitting us in the pocketbook: a paper published in Health Affairs pegged obesity and obesity-related illnesses as consuming almost one in every ten cents in health spending.

Mrs. Obama and her East Wing advisors have left the door open for bipartisan input. Conservatives should repay the favor with sincere suggestions to make Let’s Move more affordable, more specific, and more effective.

And here are some of my policy recommendations.