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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Heidi S. Churchill, MPH¹, Lynda J. Owen, PhD², Susanne Schmal, MPH¹, Lauren M. Whetstone, PhD², Susan L. Morrissey, MA², and The Duke/ECU Childhood Overweight Collaborative³. (1) Department of Community and Family Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, DUMC 2914, Durham, NC 27710, (2) Department of Family Medicine, East Carolina University Brody School of Medicine, Lakeside Annex 5, 600 Moye Blvd, Greenville, NC 27834, 252-744-2607, owenl@ecu.edu, (3) Duke University Medical Center and East Carolina University Brody School of Medicine, Lakeside Annex 5, 600 Moye Blvd, Greenville, NC 27834

Obesity is a life-threatening health issue. Children who are overweight at an early age are subject to increased health risks, including Type II diabetes. The percentage of overweight children in the United States is rapidly increasing and North Carolina is no exception. Our state leaders recognize the importance of early intervention. The Fit Together Initiative, funded by the North Carolina Health and Wellness Trust Fund (HWTF), is a statewide effort to address childhood overweight through community-based programs. Ensuring that prevention programs will be sustained is a priority for funding agencies. Supporting grantees' efforts toward environmental and policy change is one way to accomplish sustainability. The Fit Together initiative includes a Technical Assistance Team from Duke University Medical Center's Department of Community and Family Medicine and an Evaluation Team from East Carolina University's Department of Family Medicine. These teams work with Fit Together grantees to promote environmental and policy changes and to document these changes over the three-year grant period. With the HWTF staff, the Technical Assistance Team has developed tools and provided opportunities for the Fit Together grantees to work toward environmental and policy outcomes. After two years of funding, over 200 environmental and policy outcomes have been documented in an electronic database. Reports summarizing these outcomes are produced by the Evaluation Team and shared with the grantees, the HWTF staff and commission, and state leaders. These reports not only document successful environment and policy outcome efforts, but provide evidence of efforts to ensure sustainability of important obesity prevention programs.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant will be able to

• Discuss the importance of developing sustainable obesity prevention programs.
• Identify the link between environmental and policy outcomes and sustainability.
• List efforts to support Fit Together grantees’ work toward environmental and policy outcomes.
• Discuss the types of environmental and policy outcomes achieved in the first two years of the Fit Together initiative.

Keywords: Obesity, Public Policy

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered