A number of bills announced by the Wisconsin Speaker’s Task Force on Childhood Obesity are expected to help get families back on track with healthy eating and better options to access food.
Rep. Peter Schmidt, R-Bonduel, was a member of the bipartisan task force and said in a phone interview Jan. 16 that the bills are a step in the right direction. He noted that there was an obesity task force assembled in the late 2000s, but legislation did not materialize from that panel, so he’s proud that his panel is making greater strides.
“Our motto is ‘Healthy Kids, Healthy Future,’ and I’m very optimistic that it’s going to get through,” Schmidt said. “We’ve got bipartisan support, and it builds off a foundation for the future.”
The first two bills appropriate $5 million to the state Department of Health Services for childhood obesity prevention and management programs as two-year grant awards.
The third bill reallocates and administers existing $425,000 to DHS for a statewide healthy food incentive while seeking federal match funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Under the Double Bucks program, FoodShare recipients would receive an amount up to the benefit amounts used at the eligible retailer for purchasing fruits and vegetables.
The fourth bill requires private schools participating in a parental choice program, including independent charter schools, and public schools to offer 180 minutes of physical activity each week to pupils in kindergarten to eighth grade.
The fifth and final bill is an assembly joint resolution proclaiming April 29 to May 3 as School Nutrition Professionals Appreciation Week.
Schmidt is optimistic that, should the measures get through the legislature, Gov. Tony Evers will sign all of them into law.
“The governor, one of the campaign themes he ran on is helping our children,” Schmidt said. “This is up his alley.”
Schmidt noted that the legislation under the Double Bucks program would provide more options to those living in poverty and using FoodShare.
“The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program can purchase additional fruits and vegetables,” Schmidt said. “Participating farmers markets, community supported agriculture programs, grocery stores and other healthy food retailers can participate. For example, if a family spends $10 on SNAP, they’re given another $10 on Double Bucks to spend.”
Schmidt noted similar programs have been introduced in Ohio, Kentucky and Michigan. He said local programs from Brown, Dane, Milwaukee and Eau Claire counties were utilized in crafting the legislation.
“We’re taking those models and then taking the positives and expanding them statewide,” Schmidt said. “The funding for this program was already approved in 2017 through Act 266 with $425,000 allocated through a pilot program, and then we’re also getting federal matching dollars through the USDA.”
Schmidt also touted his support for the $5 million in funding DHS will use to provide grants to nonprofits to provide support for healthier food options.
“These grants can be used for early interventions and screenings and provide healthy growth and development,” Schmidt said. “A lot of those nonprofits will be able to use that money to catch people early before it gets to be too big of an issue. It provides parental support for education on childhood weight management and supporting their guardians or caregivers that have a responsibility to the child besides the parent.”
Childhood obesity is a problem in Wisconsin, Schmidt noted. He was surprised by some of the statistics he learned about from DHS, including that 10% of children ages 2-5 are obese, and that increases to 15.2% for ages 6-11 and 17.9% for ages 12-17. Obesity continues to increase as residents age until 47.1% of Wisconsin’s population is obese by the age of 65.
“We need to support the families and the local communities, because a lot of our children and families are in food deserts,” Schmidt said. “They don’t have enough resources to fight the waistline issue.”
Obesity is not caused by one thing, Schmidt said. It’s from a number of issues “stacked up on each other.”
“We all agree that poor dietary choices and a lack of physical activity are the two general causes of obesity, but there can be contributors, like adverse childhood experiences and social deterrents, which causes stress on the child or parents and may cause them to seek out comfort food or junk food that are high in sugar to allow them to escape from their current stressful environment,” Schmidt said.
He noted that the shame or guilt of being in poverty can be a factor, too.
“They believe they’re a failed parent,” Schmidt said. “Then that stigma reinforces a negative mindset, and it’s just a never-ending cycle that people get trapped in. As a parent, they feel they can never provide for their kids.”
Another factor that surprised Schmidt was milk formulas for infants when mothers are not able to breastfeed lack the same nutritional value as mother’s milk.
“You would think the baby formulas would have more nutrients than breast milk,” Schmidt said. “That was a big surprise for me. You would think with the improvement of technology, there would be better formulas than breast feeding.”
Schmidt also pointed to social media influences on children that are not able to determine for themselves if something is bad for them among the factors that contribute to obesity.
“You see all these energy drinks at the gas stations; they’ve even got Kool-Aid as an energy drink now,” Schmidt said. “It’s got a picture of the Kool-Aid man on the energy drink, so they think it’s good for you.”
ONLINE
More information about the Wisconsin Speaker’s Task Force on Childhood Obesity can be found at https://legis.wisconsin.gov/assembly/committees/childhood-obesity. There are videos and testimonies from public hearings on the site.