178602 Environmental Nutrition and Activity Community Tool: Influencing healthy eating and physical activity through policy and organizational practice change

Tuesday, October 28, 2008: 12:45 PM

Linda M. Shak, MSW , Prevention Institute, Oakland, CA
Carol Chao, BA , Prevention Institute, Oakland, CA
Sam Davidson, BA , Prevention Institute, Oakland, CA
Sana Chehimi, MPH , Prevention Institute, Oakland, CA
Manal Aboelata, MS , Prevention Institute, Los Angeles, CA
Leslie Mikkelsen, MPH, RD , Prevention Institute, Oakland, CA
The field of chronic disease prevention is increasingly recognizing the influence of the environment in shaping eating and physical activity behaviors. Prevention Institute developed the Environmental Nutrition and Activity Community Tool (ENACT) to stimulate environmental change on a local level in order to improve opportunities for healthy eating and physical activity, particularly in underserved communities.

ENACT gives community leaders a practical tool to assess their local nutrition and physical activity environments, prioritize strategies for change, and use the resources provided as starting points towards policy implementation. The tool offers an array of achievable strategies for making improvements to eating and activity environments in seven sectors including: communities, schools, childcare and preschool settings, after school programs, workplace environments, health care, and government. As an online resource, ENACT is continually updated to provide practical "how-to" information to complement each strategy, including successful policies and programs, hands-on tools, data & evaluation, publications, and other resources. Successful local polices are available in a searchable database that includes the actual policy language and an analysis of the health implications for each policy.

This presentation will introduce people to the tool and emphasize some of the most promising strategies for influencing eating and activity. This session will also highlight several relevant success stories and model policies included in ENACT and its companion tool, the ENACT Local Policy Database.

Learning Objectives:
1. Utilize the ENACT web tools to assess and prioritize policy strategies and identify successful policies that can be replicated. 2. Identify the importance of targeting local level policy change to improve healthy eating and activity 3. List five to seven concrete examples of local policies that can improve eating and activity environments.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: of our extensive experience developing tools for community-based practice.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.