Rally combats rising rates of childhood obesity in Mich.

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Theresa Viaches’ fifth-grade class at Lewton Elementary School in Lansing has gym class twice a week, and recess never is a guarantee.

It’s far from the daily physical education program Viaches would like to see her students receive, but that might change soon.

On Thursday, Viaches’ class attended the Sixth Annual Health Care Rally, an event hosted by the American Medical Student Association, or AMSA, and MSU’s colleges of Human Medicine and Osteopathic Medicine.

The event’s topic was childhood obesity, a growing epidemic particularly in Michigan, which ranks seventh nationally in obesity rates, said Sahar Eftekhar, a medical student and president of the College of Osteopathic Medicine chapter and the national regional director for AMSA.

“We wanted to have something we could be effective in supporting,” said medical student Vidhi Doshi, who helped coordinate the event.

The event provided both education and activities to about 100 children in Lansing public schools, as well as an opportunity for medical students to help lobby for four bills promoting physical education and awareness in schools.

Michigan Surgeon General Dr. Kimberlydawn Wisdom; Marsha Rappley, dean of MSU’s College of Human Medicine; Tom Peterson, a pediatrician; and Ron Morelli, a contestant from the reality show “The Biggest Loser,” also spoke to a crowd of about 200 adults, including several dozen MSU students, from the Capitol steps about various aspects of obesity.

Travis Gordon, an MSU medical student, said many issues contribute to the rise in childhood obesity.

“It’s very much a combination of a lot of factors,” he said. “I think it’s convenience people are striving for and now convenience has substituted a healthy lifestyle. People drive instead of bike. It’s easier to buy fast food than eat out.”

Gordon was one of 40 MSU medical students to meet with 37 representatives from the Michigan House and Senate to talk about four bills that would set specific requirements for the amount of physical education children in Michigan elementary and middle schools would receive, as well as giving them instruction on diet and health in grades 3-12.

Although Eftekhar said the group will try to see the bills passed before the end of 2010, there are many factors which could affect their passage.

But even if the bills do not pass, the event still was effective in encouraging students to adopt healthier lifestyles, Wisdom said.

In addition, activities were set up to teach kids about healthy lifestyles and encourage physical activity. Lansing fifth-grader Dmiestro Watson, one of Viaches’ students who practices tae kwon do and follows the food pyramid, said the day was educational.

“It’s teaching us more about health and stuff that we didn’t know about how our body works and what we need to do to keep healthy,” he said.

Wisdom said the event also provided the community with encouragement to work to reduce childhood obesity.

“Events like these are oftentimes inspirational and motivational and a catalyst for long-term efforts,” Wisdom said. “It’s important that long after the rally is over, long after the fun and the raffle, that we stay vigilant.”

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