Children's International Obesity Foundation sees too many financial benefits going to interests which keep children fat.
New York, New York September 18, 2008 -- According to the CHILDREN'S INTERNATIONAL OBESITY FOUNDATION (CIOF), an acknowledged authority and voice regarding childhood obesity, the short-term financial benefits and incentives for fattening up children are making childhood obesity into a profit opportunity for too many, and at the ultimate expense of children's lives.
Douglas Castle, speaking for CIOF, said, "It is acknowledged by every major healthcare agency and authority in the United States and throughout the world that obesity is the greatest threat facing our children today. The obesity epidemic is the gravest threat to kids' health that we know, and a whole generation's very survival is threatened by it.
The public is being deceived and misled into believing that their funds are going toward saving kids. Meanwhile, these groups are getting richer and more powerful, and CIOF has to work even harder to get its essential humanitarian work done.We have to stay alive so that we can fight to keep children alive. The economic deck is stacked against legitimate efforts at getting youngsters from fat to fit. Our awareness, education, prediction and prevention programs need even greater resources to fight the efforts of these wolves in sheep's clothing.
"No one argues that more than one in every three children is dangerously overweight or obese. No one disputes that complications from childhood overweight are, by far, the greatest single cause of death amongst our youngsters. And it is well established that this generation of children is the first in recorded history to have a shorter life expectancy than their own parents. CIOF has been shouting this.
"The obvious question is, 'if we, as a decent society know this, why aren't we doing something to reverse the epidemic?'
"The answer is chilling," said Castle. "Too many companies, agencies and even foundations are simply making too much money by keeping kids fat. The snack food and beverage giants, the pharmaceutical companies, the pop-psychologists, the clothing manufacturers, the fad diet pundits -- even some unscrupulous healthcare providers and foundations which are actually just puppets for these same special interest groups are getting richer and richer by feeding off of this epidemic.
"These groups are either oblivious to the future of humankind, or they are engorged leeches, without any conscience. They are trading children's lives for profits and cash flow. Until there is anincentive for these profiteers to behave differently, and until they are revealed for who they really are, they will continue to confound every sincere effort to stop this killer," warned Castle.
Robert Hinnen, CIOF's Executive Director, said, "Too much money is going to these profiteers and political interests -- and not nearly enough is going to organizations like CIOF, where our agenda is completely transparent and our mission is to predict, prevent and treat obesity; in that order.
"We recently launched our September awareness and fund raising campaign to help stop the obesity epidemic, and we are competing for every single dollar with these 'so called' charities and other groups which are actually controlled by the same interests that push the products which make children fat and keep them even fatter.
"Yes, the economy is very shaky right now, but can we allow this to dictate the quality of health for our children?
"Donations are desperately needed now more than ever...We fully understand that people want to know where their money is going, especially now with what we all just witnessed with Lehman, Merrill, AIG and everyone impacted by the catastrophic changes on Wall Street...but the difference here is we don't have the option to have the Federal Reserve send 'lifeboats' for our kids, instead, CIOF has to fight for even a small fraction of the funds which actually go toward the promotion of obesity.
"My observation is that sadly very few of us realize how much harm is being done...These other players are re-routing dollars right back into the power source that is making our children sick with cardiac problems, diabetes, respiratory failure, kidney and liver diseases and even cancer.
"The public is being deceived and misled into believing that their funds are going toward saving kids. Meanwhile, these groups are getting richer and more powerful, and CIOF has to work even harder to get its essential humanitarian work done."
Hinnen continued, "We have to stay alive so that we can fight to keep children alive. The economic deck is stacked against legitimate efforts at getting youngsters from fat to fit. Our awareness, education, prediction and prevention programs need even greater resources to fight the efforts of these wolves in sheep's clothing."
To make a tax deductible gift to CIOF, visit
www.ciofoundation.org and donate. You can donate by mail, or directly online, through a secured portal on the website. CIOF is funded almost entirely bycontributions from individuals and small organizations.
ABOUT CHILDREN'S INTERNATIONAL OBESITY FOUNDATION (CIOF) CIOF is an approved IRS Section 501(c)(3)not-for-profit public foundation and charity whose international mission it is to eliminate dangerous overweight and obesity in children and teens through prediction, prevention, support and treatment. Each year, health complications caused by overweight and obesity in children and teens are responsible for a steadily increasing mortality statistic. CIOF notes that this is the first generation of children in the United States Of America who are not expected to live as long as their parents. To learn more about this problem and what you can do to help, visit
www.ciofoundation.org
