Schwarzenegger, Former President Clinton Take On Childhood Obesity
Former President Bill Clinton and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) appeared at Columbia Middle School in El Monte on Monday to promote an initiative aimed at curbing rising rates of childhood obesity, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune reports (Ortega, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, 9/20).
Clinton and Schwarzenegger are co-chairs of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a joint effort of the William J. Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association (San Diego Union-Tribune newsblog, 9/19).
Clinton commended the Schwarzenegger administration for its work in combating childhood obesity.
The governor said that California laws banning junk food and soda sales in schools help advance the effort, as does a $40 million increase in state funding for physical education teachers and equipment.
The school is one of only 26 nationwide that received a bronze award from the alliance, and its physical education program is considered a model for other schools (San Gabriel Valley Tribune, 9/20).
Video and a transcript of comments by Schwarzenegger and Clinton are available on the governor's Web site.