CDC Recommendations and Study on School Environment

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has just released recommendations strategies for obesity prevention. Attached below are links that outline strategies and best practices to accomplish these goals as well as recommendations for changes on the policy level. Both documents are available for download.

CDC’s Recommended Strategies for Obesity Prevention:

1. Increase availability of healthier food and beverage choices in public service venues

2. Improve availability of affordable healthier food and beverage choices in public service venues

3. Improve geographic availability of supermarkets in under served areas

4. Provide incentives to food retailers to locate in and/or offer healthier food and beverage choices in under served areas

5. Improve availability of mechanisms for purchasing foods from farms

6. Provide incentives for the production, distribution, and procurement of foods from local farms

7. Restrict availability of less healthy foods and beverages in public service venues

8. Institute smaller portion size options in public service venues

9. Limit advertisements of less healthy foods and beverages

10. Discourage consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages

11. Increase support for breastfeeding

12. Require physical education in schools

13. Increase the amount of physical activity in physical education programs in schools

14. Increase opportunities for extracurricular physical activity

15. Reduce screen time in public service venues

16. Improve access to outdoor recreational facilities

17. Enhance infrastructure supporting bicycling

18. Enhance infrastructure supporting walking

19. Support locating schools within easy walking distance of residential areas

20. Improve access to public transportation

21. Zone for mixed-use development

22. Enhance personal safety in areas where persons are or could be physically active

23. Enhance traffic safety in areas where persons are or could be physically active

24. Participate in community coalitions or partnerships to address obesity

CDC is pleased to release the first set of comprehensive recommendations
to promote healthy eating and active living and reduce the prevalence of
obesity in the United States. The report contains 24 recommended
obesity prevention strategies focusing on environmental and policy level
change initiatives that can be implemented by local governments and
school districts. The MMWR report, Recommended Community Strategies and
Measurements to Prevent Obesity in the United States, is available at:


http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5807a1.htm


To assist local governments, states, and policy makers implement the CDC
recommended obesity prevention strategies and report on the associated
measurements a detailed Implementation and Measurement Guide was
developed. The guide includes measurement data protocols, a listing of
useful resources, and examples of communities that successfully
implemented each obesity prevention strategy. The Implementation and
Measurement Guide is available at:

http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/downloads/community_strategies_guide.pdf

On the other end of the spectrum, according to a Center for Health and Health Care in Schools
News Alert -- July 29, 2009, many schools fail to provide a healthy school environment. Please see the below study.

Study of School District Wellness Policies Shows Many Fail to Provide A Healthy School Environment:

In school years 2006-2007 and 2007-2008, many school wellness policies were underdeveloped and fragmented, lacking sufficient plans for implementation and monitoring, according to a report released by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Bridging the Gap program.