by KYW's David Madden
New Jersey’s health commissioner has taken the battle of the bulge to a new level -- forming an office to deal specifically with obesity.
It’s not about how you look but how you feel that’s prompted Dr. Fred Jacobs to form the Office of Nutrition and Fitness, with a director to be appointed who will report directly to him.
Sounds like more bureaucracy, but Jacobs insists the office was recommended by a panel that studied the obesity problem in the Garden State:
"The way that things get done is to take an issue and focus on it and apply resources to it, and then set up time lines and goals and accomplish them with an action plan."
He hopes to change attitudes among young and old alike. Much of the emphasis will be on getting school children to eat better and exercise more.
Jacobs is also considering a call to include a child’s body mass index ("BMI") number on his or her report card, but he admits there would be legal, social, and privacy concerns to address first.
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