Health experts say adults today may be the first to raise children who can expect a shorter life than their parents.
One of the biggest reasons: Increasing numbers of Americans are overweight and obese, even children and teens.
The Municipality of Anchorage, recognizing the concern, two years ago created a task force and wrote a plan to address this public health disaster.
But a progress report this week by the city Health Commission revealed that the city has just been sitting on its hands. It has done almost nothing to follow up, with the exception of the Anchorage School District, which has taken significant steps to reverse the obesity trend.
The city's inaction is not acceptable.
Obesity leads to heart disease, stroke, diabetes, disabilities and earlier death. Besides damaging individual lives, it lowers the productivity of workers and pushes medical costs ever higher.
Alaska is right in with the worst.
A 2004 study of 41,000 Anchorage School District students showed that one of every three children entering kindergarten was already overweight or at risk of weighing too much.
In 1991, 10 percent to 14 percent of Alaska adults were overweight. By 2000, that figure rose to more than 20 percent, according to government reports.
Our overweight society is a result of too little physical activity and too much eating -- pretty basic.
Since people all around Alaska are overweight or obese, the state should play a big role in trying to nudge Alaskans toward healthier lives.
But so should the city. Many of the best ways to intervene are local, says Brian Saylor, a health systems expert and chair of the city Health Commission.
For example, the city licenses child care centers and homes, and can influence how healthful the food is for little kids in day care.
School district policies and programs, lunches and after-school activities play a big role in weight control.
How city planners shape Anchorage will make a huge difference. We're a sprawling city that demands car travel. But in many neighborhoods, children can still walk to school. We need to hang on to that and nurture more neighborhood walking.
The city right now is trying to get a handle on development in Midtown, one of the least walkable parts of town. What can it do to make it safer and more pleasant to walk or ride bikes in Midtown?
The point, says Saylor, is that someone in the city should be designated to promote healthful eating and other lifestyle practices.
He's right. Change as monumental as this isn't going to happen on its own. Or quickly.
But such changes have taken place. Many fewer people smoke today than used to, because of just such a societal shift.
City health and human services director Diane Ingel says the city's obesity plan is ambitious. Agencies that can influence the course of obesity -- such as the School District, city parks department, planners and recreational program managers -- need to form a working group to make the plan happen, she says.
Saylor says a city staff person should be devoted to it.
Maybe both approaches would be helpful.
Sitting around and watching Anchorage fatten up like a Christmas turkey is not an option.
BOTTOM LINE: It's disappointing that the city created a plan for dealing with obesity, then stuffed it on a shelf.
Kids' health
Local schools join anti-fat fight
Unlike city hall, the Anchorage School District has responded well to the call to join the fight against obesity.
The junk food came out of vending machines in 2006.
A year ago, the district added health teachers to give consistent, up-to-date information on nutrition and other topics to each elementary school child two hours per month.
Starting this fall, elementary school children will get an additional half hour of physical education per week, for a total of 1 1/2 hours.
Also this fall, swimming classes will be available during sixth hour at all the high schools.
The lunch menus meet national nutrition standards, though Superintendent Carol Comeau says more work is needed there. The veggie burgers and whole wheat pizza crust are healthier, but still look like fast food. Not a good message for kids.
The district also still allows some chains such as Subway and a pizza franchise to sell their food in high schools.
Still to come, Comeau would like to add more intramural sports for middle and high school students. Kids who were very active as 9-year-olds do far less when they hit the teen years, says a national study out this week. Sports aimed at the less athletically inclined would help.
The School District is doing a lot more to fight obesity than the city is.