A Crusader for Children’s Health Takes On a New Role in Preventing Obesity

Howell Wechsler jokingly credits a case of beer with changing his career path.

As a Peace Corps volunteer in the 1980s, he was teaching English in Zaire when he saw many children dying of measles in his small village. The local health clinic had the vaccine, but parents were unaware of how it could save their children’s lives.

The clinic nurse told Mr. Wechsler if he brought in 100 children to be vaccinated, he would buy him a case of beer. Mr. Wechsler then organized a two-day blitz in which 2,200 children received the vaccine.

“Just the sheer number of children I saw die, it haunts me to this day,” says Mr. Wechsler, who scrapped his plan to become a journalist and instead chose to work at public-health organizations. “I have committed my career and life to doing everything I can to keep kids healthy.”

He adds: “In the end, the beer didn’t matter.”

Last month Mr. Wechsler, 54, took on a new health cause as head of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a group that seeks to end childhood obesity.

Created in 2005 by the American Heart Association and the Clinton Foundation, the group works to improve nutrition, access to exercise, and treatment for obesity for young people across the country.

Holistic Approach

Mr. Wechsler joins the alliance after spending 18 years at the Centers for Disease Control, most recently as the director of the division of adolescent and school health. He served on an advisory board of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation and says a key element that drew him to his new job is the group’s focus on taking a holistic approach to fighting every factor that contributes to obesity.

“It’s about not going into a school and having an auditorium event, where some funny play is shown or celebrity athlete comes in and tells kids what they ought to do,” says Mr. Wechsler. “Things don’t get solved in one-shot auditorium programs or in sending a newsletter home. They get solved through steady, persistent coaching, guidance, and respectful technical assistance to build the capacity of the people who comprise the school community.”

Alliance leaders say they have the right person to guide the group into its next phase, which will include attracting more attention among the public about what it takes to fight childhood obesity and diversifying the sources of financial support.

“Howell’s passion for children’s health and expertise in this field is unparalleled,” says Bruce R. Lindsey, chairman of the alliance’s board, in an e-mail to The Chronicle. “Not only does he bring an incredible scientific background to the organization but he understands the deep-rooted environmental causes of childhood obesity and the need to focus on both the conditions and systems that lead to healthier children.”

No Quick Solutions

Among the challenges for the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, says Mr. Wechsler, is keeping the public interested in and focused on the issue of obesity, which puts children at greater risk for diabetes, asthma, heart failure, and other medical problems. One in three children in the United States is obese.

“It’s taken us a long time to get into this mess, and funders and government entities need to recognize that it is going to take some time to get out of this hole,” says Mr. Wechsler.

One of his tasks will be to help raise money for the alliance’s $19-million annual budget. Fundraising was not among his responsibilities while in government. But Mr. Wechsler says his past work will assist him in making the case to potential donors.

“Everyone wants evidence now, no one gives resources away on whims and fancies,” he says. “My expertise in evaluation and scientific background will be helpful in that regard.”

Mr. Wechsler, who raised five children, offers some advice for families seeking to make healthy food choices at their own dinner tables.

“Turn the TV off, the Internet off, and look at each other, and talk and laugh and enjoy,” he says. “Distract them enough with jokes and good conversation, and they might eat something they might not otherwise eat.”

About Howell Wechsler, chief executive officer, Alliance for a Healthier Generation

Education: B.A., journalism, Northwestern University; M.P.H. and Ed.D., Columbia University

Career highlights: Spent 18 years at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most recently as the director of the division of adolescent and school health. Previously, he was project director for Washington Heights-Inwood Healthy Heart Program.

Salary: Declined to disclose

Favorite healthy food: Melon

Favorite sweet: Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey

Book he’s reading: Hello Gorgeous: Becoming Barbra Streisand, by William J. Mann