It was my pleasure this month to attend the American Heart Association’s Youth Lobby Day - and to search with five Filer high school students for solutions to the health problems facing Idaho children. Budget cuts to schools and social services have limited the opportunities our youth have to develop life-long, healthy habits. Children may be resilient, but their health issues shouldn’t be treated lightly. “Several studies,” warns the American Heart association, “have indicated that this generation of youth may be the first generation to have a shorter lifespan than their parents.”

The students I talked with told me that Filer schools have cut physical education in response to continuing budget cuts. I spoke with two young men who benefitted personally from these programs with profound weight loss. “At the same time the number of obese and overweight Idaho students is increasing,” the American Heart Association also notes that the number of students taking physical education “is decreasing.” Programs like these need to be reinstated and adequately funded so they can be staffed by competent, trained teachers.

It makes good fiscal sense to prevent children from embracing unhealthy lifestyles (and added healthcare costs). Since 2000, the Idaho Millennium Fund has made the interest from a settlement with the nation’s largest tobacco manufacturers (an estimated $790 million dollars from the year 2000 to 2025) available for programs designed to reduce the impact of smoking and drug addiction. This year, the American Lung Association is requesting $2 million from the Millennium Fund to partner with three other groups in a prevention effort called Fighting against Commercial Tobacco with Idaho Students (FACT IS).The program “integrates tobacco prevention in the existing school curriculum to meet the health education and common core standards from elementary through high school.” The smoking problem starts when children are still in school – nine in ten adult daily smokers, says the Heart Association, used their first cigarette by age 18. A grant from the Millennium fund could educate Idaho’s youngest before addiction begins and discourage people who would buy cigarettes for under-age smokers.

The health problems of young Idahoans have serious and broad implications for our state. Like Idaho’s mental health system, health education is too often neglected. Our reluctance to foot the bill – or even to take advantage of opportunities, like the Millennium Fund, that are well within our reach – is simply irresponsible. It feeds the ever-worsening crises we now face, endangers our children’s quality of life, and results in many millions of dollars in extra costs to our citizens. Our citizens expect us to be good stewards of their tax dollars. Our enduring commitment to smart and cost-effective programs would be a good start.

Two updates as we begin the second week of the Legislative session: 

First, the Governor's State of the State Speech is now transcribed and can be viewed online. If you haven't read it, you can click here to catch up. 

Second, the Joint Finance Appropriations Committee (JFAC) will be holding public hearings on February 1st and February 8th. In her weekly newsletter, Katherine Hansen of Community Partnerships of Idaho explains why public testimony matters - and how we can participate effectively: