Progress in Preventing Childhood Obesity: How Do We Measure Up?

A new report from the Institute of Medicine, Progress in Preventing Childhood Obesity: How Do We Measure Up?, finds that, while our country is beginning to grasp the severity of the childhood obesity epidemic, we are not applying enough resources to the problem. Additionally, there is a pressing need for evaluation of existing programs and better tools to monitor progress moving forward. The report says we currently lack a reliable evidence base that would allow us to inform future childhood obesity programs across the United States, and it urges that evaluation be an essential component of all efforts undertaken.

The progress report, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), builds on IOM's 2005 report, Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance, which recommended ways that families, schools, industry, the media, communities, and government could work together to address rising rates of obesity in children and youth.