Caring for Populations: Part I Huntington, WV was named by the Center for Disease Control in 2010 as the least healthy city in the least healthy state of America in the most overweight nation in the developed world (Kilmer,et.al, 2008). Jamie Oliver, known as the Naked Chef, came to Huntington in the fall of 2010 to try to teach the school cooks how to prepare a healthier menu that the school children would eat. He was not met with open arms by the school cooks, the school system or children. Huntington, WV is a dying town in the rust belt of the United States that has lost its manufacturing and railroad employment. Unemployment is worse than the national average and, poverty hovers around 19% much greater than the national average …show more content…

Discrimination and social marginalization occurs as well.
Federal food programs in the school mandate a “healthy menu” but what the government considers “healthy” is not nessesarily the best. Frozen tator tots for a vegetable? Physical activity has been decreased to 10-15 minutes nationwide in schools. Four hours of TV watching per night by children is over 31% in the state. The use of video games has climbed as well in the last ten years. According to the CDC, West Virginia has an obesity problem (CDC, 2009). More than 35% of the children in the state are overweight or obese. The average has gone from as low as 5% in the early 1970s to a national average now of 17%. According to the National Center for Children’s Health, 43.5% of the children on public health insurance in the state of WV are overweight or obese compared to 31% on private insurance in the state. 47% of the children that fall below the Federal Poverty Line are obese while only 27% above the Line are obese. According to the CDC, even the consumption of fruits and vegetables among the children in the state are 18% vs. 22% for the nation.
Natural History of the Disease
Children are not born obese or overweight. Before this “disease” , there is a prepathogenesis period in which there is an opportunity for health promotion and prevention. During this period, children (and their parents) can be taught a good