Food Companies contribute to reducing obesity with 6.4 trillion calories cut per year
January 30, 2014
Every day, Americans take in an average of 100 calories more per day than they need. If we reduce that number, we can halt the rise of obesity by 2020.
In May 2010, the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation made a commitment to First Lady Michelle Obama and the Partnership for a Healthier America to reduce 1.5 trillion calories from the marketplace by the end of 2015.
On January 9, 2014, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, an independent evaluator, confirmed that the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation had in fact reduced 6.4 trillion calories from the marketplace, exceeding the commitment by 400%.
The 6.4 trillion calorie goal represents a reduction of 78 calories per person per day, which includes adults and children. A study by Claire Wang, MD, ScD, Tracy Orleans, PhD and Steven Gortmaker, PhD that appeared in the May 2012 American Journal of Preventative Medicine concluded that in order to close the “energy gap” for children, a reduction of 41 calories per child and adolescent per day would halt rising obesity levels in the United States. Additionally, James O. Hill, PhD has documented that reducing an average of 100 calories per adult per day will close the adult energy gap.