HBO puts Madison, schools in obesity spotlight

Matthew DeFour:

The Madison School District's lunch program serves as a window into the national debate over school nutrition and childhood obesity in an upcoming documentary film series.

The documentary, set to air on HBO on May 14 and 15 and for free on HBO.com, also features two Madison families who participate in the UW Hospital's Pediatric Fitness Clinic.

The four-part series, titled "The Weight of the Nation" and produced in collaboration with the Institute of Medicine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health, is intended as a wake-up call for the country. According to the CDC, over the past 30 years the adult obesity rate has doubled and the child obesity rate has almost tripled, fueling a surge in heart and kidney disease, diabetes, cancer and strokes.

But the segment featuring Madison schools as the typical American cafeteria experience should alarm a city that prides itself on its farmers' markets and community-supported agriculture, said Martha Pings, a local parent nutrition advocate who appears in the film.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at April 26, 2012 9:42 PM
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