I learned recently by reading the New York Times that 51 percent of schoolchildren in Corona, Queens are overweight or obese according to new data from the city’s health department. This was “despite the Bloomberg administration’s dogged efforts to improve the health of city residents.”

If the city health department continues with the strategy it has been using for the past couple of decades, I’ll bet that it will continue to see poor results.

I haven’t written much about obesity because there isn’t much hard evidence that it is caused by vitamin deficiency. The article in the times inspired me to write again because the situation in Corona, Queens is a catastrophe. 51 percent of the children are overweight or obese! More children are being born every day in Corona, Queens. Are we going to just stand back and watch 51% of these babies grow into obese children?

A 51% obesity rate isn’t about genes. It’s the environment. Even the city health department suspects that the food the kids are eating is at least part of the problem.

Here are my recommendations. A large part of the problem is that the women of child bearing age in Corona Queens are probably not in excellent health. In my experience, controlling diet is difficult and controlling micronutrients (through sunshine and supplements) is less difficult. I recommend that all the teenage girls consider getting extra vitamin C, niacin, thiamine, vitamin D, and vitamin A. Good doses to start with can be found here.

Next I’d focus on the children. My recommendations for kids are here.

There actually is scientific data supporting a link between lack of sunshine and obesity. Sunlight produces a hormone in the skin that is involved in weight regulation. I read about this in Oliver Gillie’s, “Sunlight Robbery” which was published in 2004 and is freely available on the internet. The science linking vitamin C, niacin, thiamine, vitamin A, and obesity is admittedly pretty weak.

There is an almost unimaginable crisis in Corona Queens. There’s so much to gain, and so little to lose. What’s the harm of trying something so safe? What other practical options are under consideration?