How one state fights childhood obesity

When I write about "healthcare innovations," I use the broadest definition of the word 'healthcare.' That's why I write about the innovative way the state of Arkansas has been dealing with obesity as reported in the NY Times.

Gov. Huckabee and his government has been trying to make a healthier lifestyle a more attractive choice. "Many of his policies include incentives like exercise breaks for state employees. He has expanded state insurance coverage to cover obesity treatment."

However, he has used his power to restrict choices too.

The policy that has brought the most attention to the governor, however, was not his initiative. In the spring of 2003, Herschel W. Cleveland, then the Arkansas House speaker, introduced a bill to remove vending machines from elementary schools and send home the body mass index report cards.

The bill passed easily, but the public generally did not notice until Mr. Huckabee had become the health governor. The news made national headlines and brought vehement objections from parents concerned about government intrusion and fragile young egos, recalled the sponsor, State Representative Jay Bradford, a Democrat...

Plus in the South, eating fried foods filled with fat is considered a birthright.

Mr. Huckabee knows what he is up against, namely all-you-can-eat buffets, cheese grits and a local ice cream flavor called Woo Pig Chewy. One of his own family dogs is named Sonic, after the fast-food chain whose cherry limeades are favored by his wife, Janet.

“It’s not just your culture,” he said, speaking in his office in the Capitol building. “It’s your comfort.”

And the state's policis have done little to change waist sizes so far, since "in three years of recording children’s body mass index and reporting it to parents, the number of children at risk of obesity has decreased — by half of 1 percent."

Still, he believes he can -- through smart, and sometimes forceful and quite unpopular policies -- change hearts and minds. "But Mr. Huckabee insists that a lifestyle revolution can happen, citing four behaviors that have been reshaped over the years by concerted government effort: littering, seatbelt use, smoking and drunken driving."