Gaining traction: What Maine has done to move the needle on childhood obesity

Let's Go! is a childhood obesity prevention program aimed at increasing physical activity and healthy eating for kids in Maine. It started in Greater Portland and continued to spread throughout the state of Maine. Based upon the best available evidence, Lets Go! developed 10 strategies to be implemented across settings. During the 2011-12 program year, Let's Go! collaborated with 18 dissemination partners in 15 of Maine's 16 counties. Let's Go! works to deploy a consistent message (5-2-1-0) across six community settings to reach children and their families where they live, learn, work and play. Let's Go!'s 5-2-1-0 Goes to School program focuses on helping schools create environments that make the healthy choice the easy choice. Evidence indicates that 5-2-1-0 Goes to School is a program that can create sustainable change in any school environment — large or small, urban or rural, rich or poor. Our program was created to provide schools with the resources, support and guidance they need to successfully implement evidence-based healthy eating and active living strategies. And this year, our community partners worked with schools to help change the environments where kids learn. Here are some results thus far: Each of the 10 Let's Go! strategies was implemented or sustained, in more than 50% of 134 schools reporting. Compared to other strategies, schools did best to implement and sustain changes that limit sugar sweetened beverages and provide more opportunities for students to drink water.