Op-Ed Page

Childhood Obesity
An Editorial by Brittney Parker

The city of Monmouth is failing to collect and provide critical information to its residents about childhood obesity, despite increasing awareness and concern about the problem

Several national magazines have published cover stories on the problem recently, and First Lady Michelle Obama has made childhood obesity a personal crusade. But even with this raised awareness, it’s virtually impossible to find statistics about obesity in Monmouth and Warren County. There are no government or medical offices that can offer statistics on how serious the problem is here.

Schools in the county are doing their part by requiring students to regularly attend gym classes and outdoor recess. But prevention can only succeed if the problem is studied and classified. So far, no one appears to be doing that.