Strategies for Integrating Obesity Management into Communities

A community is maintained by its people and their ability to SIFT through the issues.

Speak Out: If you have an idea or a comment about obesity and creating a healthy community, then speak out.
Inform Others: If your community is unaware of the facts, then take the initiative to inform others.
Find Out: If you don't know where to speak out or how to take action, then find out.
Take the lead: If there is no leadership in your community on this issue, then take the lead or start a group to take action.

Here are some strategies for integrating an obesity action program into your community:

1. Form a community coalition or neighborhood association. Look for volunteers that can share their skills and resources.
• Learn how to build and run a healthy community coalition from the U.S. Department of Health's Healthy People in Healthy Communities.
  
• Find out how a coalition was formed in a Florida community from the Healthy Community Initiative of Greater Orlando.
  
• Learn how to start a neighborhood association from The Council of Albany Neighborhood Associations.
  
• Read the Centers for Disease Control's Planned Approach to Community Health.

2. Evaluate the infrastructure of your community. Find out where improvements can be made to reduce the prevalence of obesity and make it healthier.

Suburban sprawl has created communities with fewer sidewalks, and where schools, shopping, and recreational areas are no longer in walking distance. People rely more on driving cars than walking.

• Read an article on how Suburban Sprawl is Inducing a Sedentary Lifestyle from Smart Growth Online.
  
• Read Healthy Places, Healthy People: Promoting Public Health & Physical Activity through Community Design from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
  
• Learn about the Northwest Obesity Prevention Project's The Interface of Urban Design, Public Health and Physical Activity in Preventing Obesity.

In some parts of the country, neighborhoods, parks and recreational areas are considered unsafe. In low-income areas, the lack of neighborhood safety is a significant barrier to physical activity, as is the lack of recreational opportunities.

Learn about the Rebuilding Communities Initiative, that has helped to turn troubled, low-income neighborhoods into safe, supportive and productive environments.

1. Transportation - Re-designing the layout of a community can promote physical activity by reducing dependence on driving cars.
   • Learn about SMARTRAQ, a transportation and land use research project being conducted by Georgia Tech for the Atlanta metropolitan area.
     
   • America Walks
     
   • The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center
     
   • Walkable Communities Inc.
   
   
2. Parks, Recreation Areas and Sidewalks - Re-zoning or planning cities with parks, recreation areas, and sidewalks can provide opportunities for physical activity.
• Active Community Environments (ACEs) is a CDC-sponsored initiative to promote walking, bicycling, and the development of accessible recreation facilities.

3. Determine the important issues, and back them up with facts to give to a policy maker that supports your case.
• Find helpful abstracts from research studies on various health-related topics at the National Library's PubMed.
  
• Search a database of articles on various topics at Find Articles.com.

4. Partnerships - Developing partnerships with local businesses can create important resources to minimize cost and open lines of communication to the community. Hospitals, media (newspaper, TV and radio stations), and various government agencies are some examples of potential partners.
• Sustainable Communities Network "Linking citizens to resources and to one another to create healthy, vital, sustainable communities."
  
• Read the Healthy People 2010 State Toolkit, A Free Guide to Health Planning: Identifying and Engaging Community Partners.

5. Bring your case to the city council. Find out of what is happening in city council committees (such as land use committees) that are important to helping your community to prevent and manage obesity.
• Read about how a youngster made a case for building a skate park in his Michigan community.

6. Publicize your activities and information in the newspaper, on TV, and radio.
• Learn about public service announcements and how the Ad Council may be able to help you promote your campaign.

7. Create a website for your coalition to keep the community informed about your activities and to solicit volunteers and partners.