HEALTH COMMITTEE TO HEAR FROM STAKEHOLDERS ON CHILDHOOD OBESITY REPORT IMPLEMENTATION

VICTORIA — Members of the Select Standing Committee on Health will be holding a public hearing in Vancouver tomorrow to hear from stakeholders on the implementation of key recommendations contained in the Committee’s report on childhood obesity.

The report, A Strategy for Combatting Childhood Obesity and Physical Inactivity in British Columbia, contains 36 recommendations on how governments, parents and children can work together to improve the health of B.C.’s kids. These recommendations for action include removing the PST exemption for snack foods and pop, investing in public health and fitness facilities, and creating a council to work with industry to reduce the sugar, fat and salt content in the food we consume.

This will be the final meeting of the all-party Committee prior to the report being presented to the Legislative Assembly. The purpose of the meeting is to obtain feedback and comments from key health-care stakeholders.

Representatives from the Provincial Health Office, Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, the British Columbia Medical Association, and the Childhood Obesity Foundation of British Columbia will provide their feedback on the report’s contents to the Committee. Ministry representatives will also be present as observers.

The members of the Select Standing Committee on Health are:

Information about the committee’s work, transcripts of previous hearings, and an electronic copy of the report can be found at http://www.leg.bc.ca/cmt/health, or http://www.myhealthyspace.ca.

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