By Adam Becker, PhD, MPH, Executive Director, Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children
On January 28th, President Obama released a memorandum 
calling for the creation of the “White House Cancer Moonshot Task Force.” In it he states, “It is of critical national importance that we accelerate progress towards prevention, treatment, and a cure….” At CLOCC we believe that prevention should be a top priority. The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network states (www.acscan.org/obesity) that “The science is clear – being overweight or obese is the number one cancer risk for people who don’t use tobacco. In fact, one in four cancer cases in the U.S. are from poor diet, physical inactivity, being overweight and obesity.” Today, World Cancer Day, we celebrate all of the hard work of CLOCC partners to ensure that children and families can eat healthy and be physically active where they live, work, learn, and play. Our Blueprint for Accelerating Progress in Childhood Obesity in Chicago: The Next Decade lays out goals and objectives for preventing obesity in Chicago and describes numerous strategies that can help us as a community to reach them. As we think about this devastating disease, the many lives lost and the many who have struggled to overcome, we commend the President for reminding us and re-focusing us on this key public health problem. We at CLOCC remind all of you that your work to prevent obesity is, in fact, cancer prevention. We look forward to continued collaboration and to success at the national and local levels in conquering this formidable foe.
Resources about the relationship between cancer and obesity can be found here:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
American Cancer Society – Cancer Action Network
National Cancer Institute