Retail clinics have both their advocates and their detractors. All in all, it’s something of a sticky issue, burdened with arguments over safety, security and insurance costs.

Supermarkets, however, have made their position clear: They intend to increase their investment in in-store clinics. Just yesterday, Kroger announced a “significant investment” in The Little Clinic, a Nashville, Tennessee-based company that operates walk-in clinics in seven states, and currently has 26 locations inside Kroger stores. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Kroger indicated that it would include a “substantial clinic rollout.”

“More and more, our customers are becoming proactive about managing their health and wellness,” said Donald Becker, executive vice president of merchandising for Kroger, in a statement.

Kroger isn’t the only one meeting this consumer need. Earlier this year, Wal-Mart announced a partnership with the St. Vincent Health System, hoping to operate 400 co-branded clinics by 2010. Other big chains will likely follow.

Consumer support is certainly there. A Harris Interactive/Wall Street Journal poll released last week showed that the majority of people are somewhat or very satisfied with the cost (86%), convenience (93%) and medical staff (88%) that retail clinics provide. In addition, the survey found that 78% somewhat or strongly agreed that these clinics provide cost effective care for those who might not be able to afford other healthcare options.

It’s not a perfect system, of course: When to visit a walk-in clinic and when to visit a traditional physician? The choice can sometimes be a blurry one. Sixty five percent of the survey’s respondents said they doubted clinics could accurately diagnose a serious condition. It’s also unclear if and how a patient’s medical information could be passed through the system.

But in a nation where nearly 20% of people are without health insurance, clinics like this are a good start. Retailers like Kroger need to make sure that they advance the issue by balancing the need to expand with the need to provide quality — and innovative — healthcare.

A couple weeks ago, I wrote about the precocious new class of healthy kids out there, and about how they could change the face of youth marketing. That may or may not have grabbed your attention (since, c’mon, there’s a lot of conjecture out there about healthful eating habits). And if it didn’t, well, listen up:

As reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association and The New York Times, childhood obesity rates appear to be leveling off. The finding hints that the country could be entering a period when the numbers also start dropping. That’s great news, especially when you consider how rapidly this alarming trend grew: Between 1980 and 2002, the percentage of children considered “obese” increased from 6.5% to 16.3%

Scientists are careful not to herald the end of the epidemic, stating this could just be a temporary lull, unrelated to efforts by food companies and the healthcare sector. It’s also no cause for congratulations that nearly a third of American children are classified as overweight or obese.

It’s always good to take results like this with a grain of salt, of course. But I’ll go out on not too long of a limb here and say that the tide seems to be turning in favor of health and wellness for young shoppers. The food industry has been building momentum of late, with beverage and candy companies recently agreeing to halt marketing geared towards children 12 and under. Retailers and various other manufacturers have kept the ball rolling. Heck, even Disneyland is serving up sides of fruits and vegetables these days.

Retailers especially shouldn’t let themselves get complacent. These new results should spur them to continue healthful marketing and not let up anytime soon. Or ever.