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REMARKS BY:
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TOMMY G. THOMPSON, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
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PLACE:
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The Great Hall, Humphrey Building, Washington, D.C.
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DATE:
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March 9, 2004
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New Strategies Against The Overweight Epidemic
Welcome everyone. I’m so excited to see so many of you here to discuss
one of the most urgent health challenges facing our nation today: preventing
unnecessary disease and death.
Ladies and gentleman: Our poor eating habits and lack of activity are
literally killing us. And they’re killing us at record levels.
An astounding new study by our Centers of Disease Control and Prevention,
which is being published tomorrow in the Journal of the American Medical
Association, shows that poor diet and physical inactivity are on the verge
of surpassing tobacco as the leading preventable cause of death in America.
Some researchers believe they already are the leading causes.
In the ten years since the first data were released, most of the major
preventable causes of death showed declines or little change. But deaths
due to poor diet and physical inactivity increased 33 percent –
from 300,000 to 400,000.
The number of tobacco deaths has only changed slightly and currently
stands at 435,000. That number is still too high and we must remain unwavering
in our efforts to reduce smoking in America. That’s why HHS is pursuing
many smoking-cessation efforts, the latest of which is a national smoking
quit line.
But the comparison with tobacco puts into perspective how the increase
in America’s waistlines is shrinking our lifelines.
Who would have ever imagined that weight – through poor diet and
inactivity -- would be on the verge of surpassing tobacco use as the leading
cause of preventable death? But that is how serious the health threats
of overweight and obesity have become in America.
These health threats underscore why we have made prevention a cornerstone
priority for the Department of Health and Human Services ever since I
got here. And the seriousness of these issues is why the leading scientists
at HHS’ renowned institutions and centers have rallied around the
cause of prevention.
Clearly, overweight and obesity have reached epidemic proportions. The
statistics are staggering:
- Two out of every three American adults are overweight or obese.
- Obesity cost our economy $117 billion in 2000, according to a
2001 Surgeon General report. About 75 percent of our health care dollars
are spent treating chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and
cancer.
- These chronic illnesses—many of which can be prevented
by healthy lifestyles—cause seven out of every 10 deaths.
The good news is that while the problem is vast, the solution is achievable.
We want to raise America’s awareness about the seriousness of being
overweight, but we’re not here to make people feel depressed or
guilty. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in talking about
healthy living, it’s that guilt doesn’t help people change
the way they live, at least in the long-run.
Positive encouragement and constructive action do help – and that’s
what this Department will continue to provide.
We’re going to help motivate Americans to take small steps to a
healthier lifestyle with a new education campaign we produced with the
help of the Ad Council. This campaign will educate citizens about the
achievable steps they can take within their current lifestyles to help
ensure effective, long-term weight control.
We’ll show the ads in a few minutes. They are provocative, light-hearted
and entertaining. They send the message that small steps can make a big
difference in our health. And they do so without the guilt that turns
so many people off.
But we’re also going to tackle the issues of overweight and obesity
through the research community. Today, we are announcing an aggressive
new research strategy at the National Institutes of Health. The NIH strategic
plan emphasizes cross-cutting research. We must explore prevention and
treatment approaches that encompass many aspects of life, including behavioral,
cultural, socioeconomic, environmental, physiological, and genetic factors.
Now I would like to introduce three of our leading scientists and doctors
to speak about these health issues. We’ll begin with Dr. Zerhouni
who can speak more to the NIH research strategy, then Dr. Gerberding who
can speak to the CDC study, and Surgeon General Carmona who is working
hard to educate Americans on these issues.
Dr. Zerhouni,
(Dr. Zerhouni speaks)
Thank you, Dr. Zerhouni. I’m delighted with the new obesity strategy
at NIH, and am excited to see the results that this research will yield.
Now I’d like to introduce Dr. Gerberding who can expand on the
CDC study.
(Dr. Gerberding speaks)
Thank you, Dr. Gerberding for that information. And thanks for the fine
work your team did on that study, and the fine work you do every day running
CDC.
And now I’d like to introduce the Surgeon General of the United
States, Dr. Richard Carmona. Dr. Carmona.
(Dr. Carmona speaks)
Thank you, Dr. Carmona for your good work.
And now I’d like to introduce our partner in education, Peggy Conlan.
Peggy is the President of the Advertising Council, which has done a great
deal of good work over the years, educating the public about important
issues. Peggy will discuss our strategy in making the ads.
(Peggy Conlan speaks)
Thank you, Peggy. And thanks again to everyone at the Ad Council for
your contributions to this effort.
Now we get to have some fun—I’d like to show you some of
our new ads. And first I’d like to thank the advertising agency
of McCann Erickson, which donated much of its professional time to develop
this comprehensive PSA campaign. We are pleased with the work they’ve
done for us and thank them for their hard work.
As I said, these ads are intended to be fun and catchy. But also very
compelling.
The underlying message is that we can take small achievable steps to
better health. We don’t need to make drastic changes to our lifestyles
to be more healthy. We’re not asking anyone to run a marathon, join
a gym or give up eating.
We’re talking about small steps such as playing outside with your
children, snacking on fruits and vegetables, and taking the stairs instead
of the elevator. By taking small steps, we can make a profound difference
in our health.
Let’s take a look.
(Air the ads)
You can see why I’m excited about the potential of this campaign.
As I said, we tried to keep the tone light-hearted and the message achievable.
And I think they are entertaining. But the message is very serious, and
we hope people will take it to heart.
We’re also getting some special help in delivering our message
from our friends at Sesame Street. Sesame Workshop has developed a PSA
campaign of their own that is consistent with ours, but directed at children.
And I’m pleased to welcome Emilio Delgado, who plays Luis on Sesame
Street to tell us some more about their ads. Thanks for being with us
today, Emilio.
(Emilio talks for 1 min, then we air the Sesame Street PSA).
Thank you, Emilio. Over the years, Sesame Street has touched a great
many lives, and I’m pleased that you are taking this step to partner
with us to promote healthy living.
I’d also like to thank our other important partners in this campaign,
Lifetime Television and United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association.
And I’d like to recognize the following networks who have committed
upfront to air these PSA’s. Thanks to ABC, Fox, NBC, CBS, PBS, Turner
Networks, Clear Channel, and Dollinger.
We’ve had many important partners in this campaign, and I’d
like to encourage more businesses and organizations to join us in supporting
the cause of prevention. We all need to get involved and we all need to
take steps to better health. And Americans can find more information at
our new web site, www.smallsteps.gov.
Ladies and gentleman, we need to tackle America’s weight issues
as aggressively as we are addressing tobacco. We must address overweight
and obesity in the same comprehensive manner that we fight smoking.
We must have individuals take responsibility for their health, but we
must also have government, schools, employers, restaurants, industry,
insurance companies and the medical community work in a united fashion
to support better health for our citizens, our families, and our communities.
As the CDC study shows, we’re paying for our poor eating habits
and inactivity with our very lives.
Now, let’s take some small, achievable steps to better health and
longer life.
Last Revised: April 13, 2004
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