Geoff Mulgan Quotes

Obesity is a societal issue. We have to come together with government, business, civil society, and NGOs to create solutions for this.

Rio is an energetic, vibrant place, full of beauty and nature. But we face the kinds of problems any developing metropolis does - with pollution, traffic congestion, poverty. Distribution of green areas, for example, is not uniform. Madureira, the heart of the suburb in Rio, is a concrete jungle.

We can all agree that government can't solve the obesity crisis alone. It's an ongoing issue that will require a collaborative effort across private and public sectors if we want to see some long-term success.

We need a grassroots movement and government policies and programs to change the food landscape and the built environment to give our children a chance to have happy, healthy successful lives.

One of the problems in America is that everybody focuses on their own narrow little bit of the problem without connecting punishment and prevention together, without connecting the schools and the police together, without connecting the pediatricians and the social workers together.

Many people believe that dealing with overweight and obesity is a personal responsibility. To some degree they are right, but it is also a community responsibility. When there are no safe, accessible places for children to play or adults to walk, jog, or ride a bike, that is a community responsibility.

After working in cities for nearly 40 years, I am telling you that every city can improve its quality of life in less than three years, no matter the scale or the financial conditions.

In Rio, 1.4 million of the 6.3 million people live in favelas, or slums. They are all over the city, but favelas are not always a problem - sometimes they can be a solution, if you have the right public policies.

There are three major social issues that this country is struggling with: education, poverty, and drugs. Two of them we talk about, and one of them we don't.

Do you remember campaigns like 'Keep America beautiful'? What about 'Buckle up'? I believe we need an approach like this to attack obesity. Let's be a good industry that does 100% of what it possibly can - not grudgingly, but willingly.

We've got to get people out of their cars, out of those drive-thru windows, get them walking, get them in parks and get them more active.

I also meet with city officials, representatives from governors' offices, really anyone in that sort of position who has shown an interest in youth fitness, to let them know why this sort of program is so important. I give the same message when I speak at conferences.

Fitter Families for Future Firesides

Public welfare … must be directed increasingly toward prevention and rehabilitation—on reducing not only the long range costs in budgetary terms but the long range costs in human terms as well.

This country must break the cycle of childhood obesity. Unless we reverse course, this epidemic will continue to put more of our children and the future of our nation at risk.

I would hope that government officials have a healthy respect for the complexity of the gang problem. They should never lose sight of the fact that there are human beings involved. There is no single solution.

Parks represent an efficient, cost-effective way to improve public health.

I've said in the past that if I were Prime Minister, I would ban obesity.

Things like promoting healthy behaviours, including nutrition and activity, and beginning that at school is so critical. We used to have a healthy eating, healthy action plan, elements of which really were dumped by the last government, so we're trying to rebuild a bit of a program of action in that space.

We deserve a Senator who cares about our children's safety.

People should have access to sports, especially in cities like Mumbai, where we have a shortage of space.

I want to work on changing the way this country views exercise and nutrition.

I grew up in the inner city and have spent a lot of time there and have dealt with a lot of patients from that area and recognize that we cannot have a strong nation if we have weak inner cities.

From the strictest humanitarian viewpoint, any attempt to stop the processes by which over crowded cities purge themselves is not a kindness.

So here's my advice to city planners. Make your city runnable. Runners are the first wave of troops bringing human activity back to the urban core of any city. Where we go, others will follow. The connection between runnability and livability is so clear (at least to me), that it's surprising that new developments consistently leave pathways out of the plans.