To the editor:
"Pressing Concern: Nearly 50% of N.Y. School Children are Overweight" (July 9, 2003) raises legitimate concerns about the obesity epidemic, however some of the remedies suggested are off base.
Placing pressure on the Department of Education to limit food in vending machines exempts overweight children and their parents from primary responsibility for their dietary choices. Taking candy and soda away from children while in school will not teach children how to eat responsibly outside of school. Quite the opposite is true: children will crave these "forbidden foods" even more. If school chancellor Joe Klein wants to decrease obesity amongst school children he should be encouraging parents to change their own diets. Children will not ask for a grilled chicken sandwich while they see their parents eating cheeseburgers.
Debra A. Korn
Research Intern
American Council on Science and Health
New York
