Watch Weight of the Nation Tonight

From the Center for Science in the Public Interest:

Tonight is the premiere of The Weight of the Nation, a four part HBO documentary series that takes an unflinching look at America’s obesity epidemic. The series airs tonight, May 14, and tomorrow evening, beginning at 8:00 pm ET/PT on HBO and online at http://theweightofthenation.hbo.com/films.

An unprecedented collaboration with the Institute of Medicine, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institutes of Health, and with funding from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and Kaiser Permanente, The Weight of the Nation draws on interviews with many of the nation’s leading experts, including Margo Wootan, DSc, director of nutrition policy at Center for Science in the Public Interest.

“We really have to come together as a nation and treat this as a priority,” says Margo in Part 1: “Consequences,” which begins the series by exploring the grave health consequences of being overweight or obese. Margo has lead efforts to require calorie labeling at chain restaurants, improve school foods, and reduce junk-food marketing aimed at children. She appears throughout the series.

In Part 3: “Children In Crisis,” Margo presents a nuanced perspective on the environmental factors that have led 32% of America’s young people to become overweight or obese. “Government has a responsibility to act, but they’re not the whole answer,” she explains. “We also need companies to step up, to reformulate their products, to change their marketing practices and to make healthy options available in restaurants.”

I applaud Margo’s role in The Weight of the Nation, and I hope that you will tune in tonight and tomorrow to view this groundbreaking documentary series. Please share it via email, Facebook, and Twitter, and use it educate your family and friends about ways to address this epidemic. The documentary will be available online, free of charge, at http://theweightofthenation.hbo.com/films.
Thank you, in advance, for helping to spread this important message.

Sincerely,
Michael F. Jacobson
Executive Director
Center for Science in the Public Interest