CNSNews.com - Childhood Obesity Report Calls For Government Regulations to Limit Access to ‘Unhealthy’ Restaurant Chains

CNSNews.com - Childhood Obesity Report Calls For Government Regulations to Limit Access to ‘Unhealthy’ Restaurant Chains: "(CNSNews.com) - A newly released report by the Institute for Medicine and the National Research Council details strategies for local governments to combat what it calls an epidemic of childhood obesity, including enacting zoning and land-use regulations that would “restrict fast food establishments near school grounds and public playgrounds.”

The report, “Local Government Actions to Prevent Childhood Obesity,” was compiled by the Committee on Childhood Obesity Prevention Actions for Local Governments, a committee of health care professionals, academics, and policy makers. The report offers nine “action strategies” for healthy eating and three “actions for increasing physical activities.”

The report, unveiled at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington on Tuesday, also advises local governments to impose higher taxes “to discourage consumption of foods and beverages that have minimal nutritional value” and to mandate that chain restaurants (those with 20 or more stores) provide caloric information on menus."