Community Perspectives on Obesity Prevention in Children Workshop Summaries (2009) / Chapter Skim
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7 Decision Makers: How Do Community Perspectives Influence Policy?
7 Decision Makers: How Do Community Perspectives Influence Policy?
Pages 63-74
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From page 63... ...
While all six presenters were extremely supportive of the broad range of policies available to local governments to reduce childhood obesity, they presented real-world accounts of the challenges they face in enacting policies amid competing demands. The presenters were both elected and appointed and from jurisdictions of various sizes -- from Fairfax City, Virginia, with a population of 23,000, to New York City.
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From page 64... ...
Walter Tejada elaborated on how local zoning and other regulations can encourage smart growth, which in turn translates to amenities such as sidewalk connectivity and transportation options. George Leventhal, Montgomery County Council member, also favors an active role for county government, but noted some pitfalls in pressing for strong policies, including pushback from some constituents and even from the school system, which has other priorities.
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From page 65... ...
Trails Day, Bike-to-Work Day, the National Parks and Recreation Association's Step Up to Health Day, and a task force for families are among the initiatives undertaken to engage the public in increasing their physical activity. The Importance of Starting young Policy makers often support anti-obesity measures based on their own or their family's experiences, and Drummond acknowledged that personal experience was one motivator for his strong support of recreational opportunities for youth.
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From page 66... ...
City Agency Food Standards The city serves, on average, more than 1 million meals a day in its schools, prisons, and other facilities. The goals of new nutrition standards for these agencies are to create sustainable improvements in nutritional quality, reinforce public health messaging, reduce illness and mortality related to poor nutritional intake, and create a market for healthier institutional food.
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From page 67... ...
As an example of a low-cost intervention that did not require a high level of evidence, the city is encouraging sidewalk vendors to sell fresh fruits and vegetables in underserved neighborhoods. Vendors had applied for permits to operate carts selling hotdogs and soft pretzels.
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From page 68... ...
The county is publicizing trails, recreational programs, and other offerings online and through the public-access cable television channel, but Tejada also stressed the "old-fashioned way" of using flyers at libraries and other locations. An attempt to enact county law to ban trans fats in restaurants turned out not to be possible because of Virginia law covering what local governments can and cannot legislate.
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From page 69... ...
Leventhal described some of the county's efforts to support healthier living. The county council enacted a ban on trans fats served in restaurants; a requirement that chain restaurants list menu items' nutritional content is pending.
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From page 70... ...
The Maryland Adolescent Survey, Maryland Youth Tobacco Survey, and Youth Risk Behavior Survey (part of CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System) all provide data, but those data need to be consolidated.
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From page 71... ...
In discussing the role of evidence in policy making, Musicant clarified that she did not speak from her own perspective as a health expert, but from the point of view of an elected official dealing with a myriad of issues. In terms of obesity prevention, if a proposed strategy dovetails with a policy maker's other objectives and personal opinions about healthy behaviors, his or her interest in taking action increases.
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From page 72... ...
The department's community activity takes place on different levels, such as development of a District of Columbia obesity action plan and
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From page 73... ...
Tejada sug gested finding ways to encourage citizen participation by asking the mayor and other elected representatives what the jurisdiction is doing to combat obesity and having information to give them. Coalitions raise the visibility of an issue, such as through a forum where people can discuss the issue and not just reinvent the wheel.
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From page 74... ...
A participant asked panelists how they dealt with opposition to menu labeling and banning of trans fats in restaurants. Thomases explained that the New York City Board of Health enacts these policies.
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