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The Current State of Obesity Solutions in the United States Workshop Summary (2014) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:

7 Communities and States
Pages 43-50

The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
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From page 43...
... • In Massachusetts, a coordinated effort by community leaders that included body mass index screening for students, school nutrition regulations, public information campaigns, municipal wellness grants, farmers' market programs, safe sidewalks and lighting, and a wide range of other measures has reduced the prevalence of obesity among state residents. (Bartlett)
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From page 44...
... NLC also has been providing local elected officials with technical assistance; supporting peer-learning opportunities; and offering customized guidance through webinars, conferences, calls, and other methods. In just a year and a half, said Andrews, NLC has been able to engage more than 400 local elected officials and communities across the country, even though it previously had been difficult to engage local leaders in conversations about obesity.
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From page 45...
... Andrews then detailed a wide variety of strategies designed to provide recreational opportunities: • joint-use agreements for recreation facilities; • mandated physical activity requirements for city-funded youth programs; • commitments to ensure that all children live within walking dis tance of a playground or recreation center; • conversion of unused railways to trails; • roadways designed to provide access for cars, pedestrians, and bicyclists ("complete streets") ; • conversion or rehabilitation of blighted areas into community gar dens, parks, or green spaces; • public–private partnerships with local gyms and recreation facilities to offer reduced-cost fees for low-income residents; • city master plans that include provisions to encourage walking and biking; • policies requiring the construction of new recreation facilities along trails or public transit routes to make them more accessible to residents; • policies to ensure sidewalk continuity and direct routes for pedes trians and bicyclists to city centers and recreation areas; and • streetscape design guidelines aimed at improving streetscapes to promote walkability and bikeability.
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From page 46...
... and SNAP benefits; • land use protections for community gardens; • incentives for mobile produce markets to locate in low-income areas; • government and school procurement policies that favor local, healthy foods; and • financial assistance to regional produce farmers for processing and distribution to governments and schools. Finally, Andrews discussed the idea of false universalism (Powell, 2009)
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From page 47...
... Individual initiatives have included corner store programs; farmers' markets, including mobile farmers' markets that go to public housing facilities; community gardens; the implementation of school nutrition standards; the building and repairing of sidewalks; the provision of lighting and safe activities in communities; joint-use agreements so that people in communities can make use of facilities at educational institutions; and the creation of new walking and biking trails. Because of the early successes of this work, Massachusetts was able to apply for Community Transformation Grants and was the only state awarded two such grants.
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From page 48...
... epidemic." Good policies are scalable; work that succeeds at the local level can be scaled up to the national level quickly. This has been seen with school meals, menu labeling, water in schools, competitive food regulations, and other innovations.
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From page 49...
... People working on obesity issues often are quite isolated, but many constituencies care about the issue, even if they may talk about it in different ways. The health care sector is one such constituency, but others include sustainable food groups, community development organizations, disease advocacy groups (such as those focused on diabetes)
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Key Terms

  • physical activity
  • local elected
  • school nutrition
  • policies requiring
  • recreation facilities

  • elected officials
  • healthy eating
  • public information
  • nutrition regulations
  • healthy communities

  • combating obesity
  • wellness grants
  • body mass
  • aggregate data
  • nutrition standards

  • mass index
  • information campaigns
  • favor local
  • disease advocacy
  • hospital community

  • community health
  • establishes sustained
  • cal activity
  • included corner
  • municipal network

  • include sustainable
  • health approaches
  • obesity prevention
  • wellness committees
  • pilot grants


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