Fighting Obesity

By Meghan Lyle, WHF Associate

Most of us are familiar with the headlines about the US obesity epidemic. In Washington State about 1 in every 4 adults is obese, and even more are overweight. The national spotlight is now on the issue with Michelle Obama promoting her Let’s Move initiative to combat childhood obesity. “One in three kids are overweight or obese,” says the First Lady, “and we’re spending $150 billion a year treating obesity-related illnesses.”

Everyone knows the problem--the question is, what’s the solution? In all likelihood, there isn’t just one solution. Obesity is a many-fold problem, with researchers pointing to factors like an environment filled with advertising and easy access to unhealthy foods, limited time for exercise and poorly designed neighborhood infrastructure, as well as diminishing cooking skills of the average American. A multi-dimensional problem requires a multi-dimensional answer. That’s why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) awarded funds earlier this year to all of the states to start working on the issue. They are calling this work “Communities Putting Prevention to Work.” The CDC wants the states to use evidence-based MAPPS strategies (which stands for Media, Access, Point of Purchase, Price and Social Services) to make change happen across the country.

One of the hot topics of nutrition research is healthy food access. We know that not everyone lives near a large grocery store with lots of healthy food options. In fact, one of the problems seems to be that disadvantaged groups seem to have more limited access to big grocery stores, while convenience stores seem to cluster in these neighborhoods. The Let’s Move campaign refers to these areas as “food deserts.” Some neighborhoods are getting behind the issue by trying to transform existing convenience stores into places with healthier options. A West Seattle store owner in Delridge got headlines for doing this in December 2009, with help from the Delridge Neighborhood Development Association. Projects like this are needed to increase access to healthy food around the state.

Want to get involved? The Healthiest Communities Partnership with help from the Washington State Department of Health is reaching out to communities across the state to build a broad-based public/private partnership to prevent chronic diseases. It is all about exploring together the best ways to make healthy choices about diet, exercise and tobacco the easy choices.

To learn more about the Healthiest Communities Partnership, click here.