Advancing Obesity Solutions Through Investments in the Built Environment Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief (2017) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
Advancing Obesity Solutions Through Investments in the Built Environment: Proceedings of a Workshop - in Brief
Advancing Obesity Solutions Through Investments in the Built Environment: Proceedings of a Workshop - in Brief
Pages 1-10
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 1... ...
Specifically, presenters discussed successful multisector strategies that encourage physical activity and improve diet, equity, environmental justice, and overall community health and well-being, as well as discussed approaches for scaling up and institutionalizing these strategies to advance obesity solutions. This Proceedings of a Workshop–in Brief highlights key points made by workshop participants during the presentations and discussions and is not intended to provide a comprehensive summary of information shared during the workshop.4 The information summarized here reflects the knowledge and opinions of individual workshop participants and should not be seen as a consensus of the workshop participants, the Roundtable on Obesity Solutions, or the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
|
From page 2... ...
The result, he argued, has been a built environment that discourages physical activity and encourages unhealthy eating. Sallis observed that increasing awareness of the links among the built environment, physical activity, and obesity has led to new insights, but he noted, "We are still building places that we have evidence are going to cause ill health," and "Many people, if not the majority of people, in the United States are living in places that create ongoing serious barriers to healthy eating and active living." He closed by stating, "There is much more to be done." BUILT ENVIRONMENTS, OBESITY, AND HEALTH Urban planning and design decisions influence health and well-being through a variety of direct and indirect pathways (see Figure 1)
|
From page 3... ...
Glanz described how food environments are unique from physical activity environments and how food is complicated -- it is a retail product, it is highly regulated, and food products are a big business -- and she reiterated that environments are just one of many factors that influence what people eat. Glanz then noted that there are associations between the food environment and a person's body mass index (BMI)
|
From page 4... ...
Nance observed that starting at the local level was key to successful implementation: "Don't start at the top … go to the local community where you have a principal that is really supportive." Additionally, the department set out to understand the barriers and opportunities for physical activity in these neighborhoods, and developed walkability and park access audits that could be used with local residents. Nance explained that the audits offered a way to understand the barriers residents face and connect neighborhood officials with tools and information to make changes in their communities.
|
From page 5... ...
In addition, Meehan said that the Tennessee Department of Health hired seven health development coordinators, one for each of the seven regions of the state, to improve access to food and opportunities for physical activity, adding that new grants are enabling counties to plan, build, and evaluate the built environment infrastructure. Tennessee is one of just a few states that has a state-level "health in all policies" approach, Meehan continued.
|
From page 6... ...
Siegal described how the organization seeks to build not only great parks and playgrounds, but also to integrate play into spaces where families and children are already spending time, including bus stops, grocery stores, health clinics, public housing facilities, and public elementary schools, a concept they call "Play Everywhere." "It is shocking that in most major cities across the country, most elementary schools in underresourced communities do not have adequate play opportunities," he said, noting, "You take it for granted in most communities, but it is not the case where most kids live." Siegal emphasized the importance of community ownership in the entire process, stating, Our process starts with the kids … and culminates with … a modern day urban barn raising for kids. It is a cathartic moment that makes people care about the changes that are happening in their community and gets them to think bigger about what is possible.
|
From page 7... ...
"Innovative partnerships among real estate developers, nonprofit organizations, philanthropy, and community institutions," Hammerschmidt noted, "can produce a development … that is really focused on improving health and equity." Finally, Shai Lauros, national health program director at LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation) National, described her organization's efforts to bring capital investment from banks, foundations, investors, the public sector, and other sources together with technical resources from community development corporations, community action agencies, community-based organizations, and real estate development organizations to build community assets and local capacity.
|
From page 8... ...
"If the evidence is starting to indicate that our original assumptions are not playing out, don't be afraid to question them." Lavrenz discussed the importance of sharing data and performance measures with stakeholders, emphasizing the value of collecting data and tying them to health and transportation performance measures to persuade stakeholders in the transportation profession to become invested. Communicating with Stakeholders The role of the built environment in advancing obesity solutions can be conveyed to a variety of stakeholders, several of the panelists observed.
|
From page 9... ...
First, he described a transportation and health task force at the Institute for Transportation Engineers that has been developing short-, medium-, and long-term action items and goals. Second, he stated that health can be linked more explicitly to safety.
|
From page 10... ...
SPONSORS: This workshop was partially supported by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics; Alliance for a Healthier Generation; American Academy of Pediatrics; American College of Sports Medicine; American Council on Exercise; American Heart Association; American Society for Nutrition; Bipartisan Policy Center; Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation; The California Endowment; ChildObesity180/Tufts University; Edelman; General Mills Foundation; Greater Rochester Health Foundation; Health Partners; Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation; The JPB Foundation; Kaiser Permanente; The Kresge Foundation; Mars, Inc.; National Recreation and Park Association; Nemours Foundation; Nestlé Nutrition; Nestlé USA; Novo Nordisk; Obesity Action Coalition; The Obesity Society; Partnership for a Healthier America; Reebok, International; Reinvestment Fund; Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Salud America! ; Weight Watchers International, Inc.; and YMCA of the USA.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.