In 2012, when Governor Nathan Deal learned that children aged between 10-17 in Georgia had the second highest obesity rate (40%), he decided to do something about it. That year, partnered with the Georgia Department of Public Health, Deal launched Georgia SHAPE, a statewide program merging governmental, philanthropic and academic and business communities to address childhood obesity.
“We must work together to improve the health of children in our state,” Deal said. “Some suggest that we’re raising the first generation of American kids to have shorter life expectancy than their parents because of problems related to obesity. We can and will do better to promote healthy lifestyles.”
Nathan Deal And Childhood Obesity
We appreciate that Governor Nathan Deal acknowledges that childhood obesity has serious immediate and long-term effects not only on health and well-being, but also on the academic achievement of children and the economy of his state.
