Oral

Current data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that 16.3% of children and adolescents 2-19 years of age have a body mass index (BMI) at or above the 95th percentile, which may be considered “obese.” This session will focus on the prevention childhood obesity. We begin with a presentation of how law can contribute to chronic diseases prevention by “building in” opportunities for active living into the fabric of local environments. We will discuss possibilities for advocacy and law reform. The rest of this session will describe an innovative program, the San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative. The Initiative was formed in 2006 to engage community partners and assure effective implementation of the strategies outlined in the Action Plan, a comprehensive approach that identifies seven sectors that influence environmental supports for healthy choices and behavior change. These are county and city governments; healthcare systems and providers; schools and after-school providers; preschool and childcare providers; community-based, faith and youth organizations; media and marketing; and businesses. Leaders from public and private agencies and organizations have voluntarily stepped forward to champion the cause, guide work in and across sectors, and engage colleagues to work together. With much work in progress, this tremendous effort has resulted in policy change, advancement and implementation of childhood obesity prevention strategies, and development of best practice models that are suitable for replication.

Session Objectives: At the end of this session, participants will be better able to: • Identify a framework for understanding core legal components of a healthy local environment • Recognize strategies for environmental and policy change that address the underlying causes of childhood obesity • Identify traditional and non-traditional partners from the healthcare sector to participate in a community-based public/private collaboration • Identify methods of partnering with other sectors to impact policy and environmental change