Pediatrician says just talking about healthy eating isn't cutting it.
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Dr. Francisco Corbalan is a pediatrician from Addison County who is fighting for healthy choices for Vermont kids. Putting pen to paper, Dr. Corbalan has written opinion pieces for the Addison Independent and VTDigger and promoted S.70 so parents can get healthy food and drinks for their kids when they go out to eat.
He has also testified in support of the legislation as he feels strongly that making the healthy choice easy for families can reduce obesity.
You can check out the Addison Independent story about his work here:
http://www.addisonindependent.com/201801childhood-obesity-rise-heres-one-way-resist-it
And a portion of this testimony is below:
Another common concern when legislation of this sort is introduced is that it represents legislative overreach and is an attempt by the government to tell people how to raise their kids. While these concerns are not without merit, there is precedent for the legislature stepping in and passing laws in the interest of improving public health and safety and decreasing healthcare expenditures. Mandates on seat belt use, restrictions on cell phone use while driving and limitations on the sale and advertising of tobacco products are just a few that come to mind.
If you really think about it though, this bill is not in the same vein as these aforementioned laws. Start by looking at our current system: if a family is dining out and ordering a kids’ meal for their child, but would like to make it healthier, they have to take the extra step of substituting or adding to what is offered on the kids’ menu. The proposed bill would simply flip that paradigm around; if a family decided they wanted to swap out the healthy offerings for something else, as is their right to do as parents and customers, they’d simply have to take the extra step of requesting a substitution. Rather than dictating the decisions that parents make for their children, this bill simply puts the emphasis on the healthy choice.
This small change- making the default, easiest option to choose when dining out the healthiest option- would send a strong and meaningful message loud and clear that the health of our state’s children is important to us.
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