page_title: Childhood obesity
section_title: Social policies
hierarchical_section_title: Childhood obesity / Causes / Social policies
caption_attribution_description: English: First Lady Michelle Obama has lunch with students at Parklawn Elementary School in Alexandria, Va., Jan. 25, 2012. The First Lady and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack visited the school to sample a healthy meal that meets the United States Department of Agriculture's new and improved nutrition standards for school lunches. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)
context_page_description: Childhood obesity is a condition where excess body fat negatively affects a child's health or well-being. As methods to determine body fat directly are difficult, the diagnosis of obesity is often based on BMI. Due to the rising prevalence of obesity in children and its many adverse health effects it is being recognized as a serious public health concern. The term overweight rather than obese is often used when discussing childhood obesity, especially in open discussion, as it is less stigmatizing.
context_section_description: Different communities and nations have adopted varying social practices and policies that are either beneficial or detrimental to children's physical health. These social factors include:
  the quality of school lunches
  the emphasis of schools on physical activity
  access to vending machines and fast-food restaurants
  prevalence of and access to parks, bike paths, and sidewalks
  government subsidies for corn oil and sugar
  advertising of fast-food restaurants and candy
  prices of healthy and unhealthy foods
  access to fresh, healthy, and affordable food
caption: Former First Lady Michelle Obama with students in Virginia sampling healthy meals being introduced by the United States Department of Agriculture
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "First Lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack visit Parklawn Elementary School in Alexandria, Virginia, Jan. 25, 2012. They join children for lunch in the cafeteria where the school\u2019s food service employees and celebrity cook Rachael Ray serve a healthy meal that meets the United States Department of Agriculture\u2019s (USDA) new and improved nutrition standards for school lunches.  (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)", "Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 5D Mark II", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "240", "Image YResolution": "240", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS5 Macintosh", "Image DateTime": "2012:02:10 14:09:11", "Image Artist": "Chuck Kennedy", "Image Copyright": "This photograph is provided by THE WHITE HOUSE as a courtesy and may be printed by the subject(s) in the photograph for personal", "Image ExifOffset": "844", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1486", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "11229", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/100", "EXIF FNumber": "5/2", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Manual", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "800", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2012:01:25 12:11:19", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2012:01:25 12:11:19", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "415241/62500", "EXIF ApertureValue": "165241/62500", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "5/8", "EXIF SubjectDistance": "203/100", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "50", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "74", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "74", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "4096", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2731", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "5616000/1459", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "1872000/479", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Manual Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF BodySerialNumber": "720304940", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[50, 50, 0/0, 0/0]", "EXIF LensModel": "EF50mm f/1.2L USM"}