Background Information on Childhood Obesity, Healthy Eating and Active Living | Local Iniatives | State Initiatives | Bay Area Initiatives | Initiatives in Other States

Background Information on Childhood Obesity, Healthy Eating, and Active Living

Childhood overweight by CDC has links to defining childhood overweight, overweight prevalence, contributing factors, consequences, tips for parents, and references.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation published report A Nation At Risk: Obesity in the United States. Statistical Sourcebook

The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity (2001 report)

Institute of Medicine published Progress in Preventing Childhood Obesity: How Do We Measure Up (2006). Report available for purchase online. 

Congress requested the Institute of Medicine to develop an action plan to reduce the number of overweight and obese children in the U.S. Nineteen experts in health, obesity, nutrition, physical activity, and public health came together to form a committee and write the report Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance.

UCSF Childcare Health Program offers facts sheets on general information about childhood obesity and how to prevent it.

Institute of Medicine published Government Leadership in Preventing Childhood Obesity.

Local Initiatives

San Mateo County Specific Resources

Get Healthy San Mateo County (GHSMC) Task Force wrote Blueprint for Prevention of Childhood Obesity: A Call to Action.

Qualitative Research Findings: Focus Group and Key Informant Interviews on the Prevention of Childhood Obesity in San Mateo County, September 2005

Report on Overweight and Obesity in Children and Adolescents, San Mateo County, April 2006 

GHSMC Task Force is committed to providing the community with education about healthy eating, active living, and other related topics. The Speakers Bureau offers a resource for local organizations to partner with expert speakers who can deliver a presentation and/or provide training. If you are interested in requesting a speaker for your organization, please complete the request form and send/attach the completed form to FSDickson@hospitalconsort.org.

Previous and current issues of the GHSMC Task Force newsletter:

Get Healthy San Mateo County Task Force Newsletter - December 2008 

Get Healthy San Mateo County Task Force Newsletter - May 2008

Get Healthy San Mateo County Task Force Newsletter - February 2008

Get Healthy San Mateo County Task Force Newsletter - December 2007

Prevention of Childhood Obesity Task Force Newsletter - October 2007

Kidsdata has information on weight and physical fitness including 7th grade students who meet all fitness standards from 1999-2006, children in each county who meet all fitness standards by grade level (e.g. 5, 7, and 9), percentage of children who are overweight in each county according to physical fitness tests, percentage of parents concerned about their children's weight in each county, parent's perception of child's weight in each county, and percentage of unfit children by assembly district.

Progress in Preventing Childhood Obesity: Focus on Communities - Brief Summary. Institute of Medicine Regional Symposium (2006)

Fact sheet published by Institute of Medicine.  Communities Can Play a Role in Preventing Childhood Obesity (September 2004)

The Strategic Alliance for Healthy Food and Activity Environments designed the Environmental Nutrition and Activity Community Tool (ENACT), a concrete menu of strategies designed to help you improve nutrition and activity environments on a local level. Each ENACT strategy presents useful information based on current research and practice and includes model policies and programs, hands-on tools, articles and other publications, and resources.

Get Fit EPA website has links to videos on how and where to get healthy in East Palo Alto, CA.

Health Environment Agriculture Learning Project (HEAL) is a unique, hands on, award-winning program that instills healthy lifestyle habits in elementary school children while inspiring environmental and agricultural awareness through a comprehensive, interactive curriculum.  Thanks to consistent support from Kaiser Permanente, the Silicon Valley Community Foundation and the Hatch Parent Teacher Organization, HEAL will benefit over 600 students in the Cabrillo Unified School District in San Mateo County this year.

The mission of Starlings Volleyball Clubs USA San Mateo Chapter is to help prevent childhood obesity in vulnerable populations by addressing its two main causes, poor nutrition and lack of physical activity. The Starlings program helps minority and low-income girls ages 12 to 18 by 1) developing their athletic skills through participation in a team sport, 2) teaching them healthy eating and exercise habits, and 3) providing them with a safe haven where caring, involved adults encourage them to stay away from drugs and gangs, do well in school and go on to college. 

Second Harvest Food Bank of San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties includes information about how individuals and families can access food, how organizations can partner with Second Harvest, how you can volunteer at the Food Bank, how you can donate and how you can run a food drive.

Family Service Agency of San Mateo County has been providing quality child care that supports working families for over 30 years. Sites are located throughout San Mateo County. Each site has a similar approach applying evidence based on the best practices and the recognition that the first five years of a child’s life are the most important in terms of learning and development.

State Initiatives

California Department of Health Services wrote California's Obesity Prevention Plan: A Vision for Tomorrow, Strategic Actions for Today.

California Department of Public Health’s Coordinating Office for Obesity Prevention.

The California Action for Healthy Kids Team, in collaboration with a diverse group of stakeholders is working to provide school districts with assistance to identify and prioritize their Local Wellness Policy implementation strategy in four districts. The Team developed an assessment tool to assess base-line measures of each district relevant to school wellness.

Governor's Vision for a Healthy California

Coalition on Children and Weight San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative are working to reduce the prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity in San Diego County.

Bay Area Initiatives

Center for Healthy Weight works with community programs that promote healthy eating and active living in the Bay Area.

With Healthy Silicon Valley's web resource guide, it's easy to learn about healthy food choices, and discover fun physical activity opportunities near you.

BANPAC is a regional collaborative of public and private organizations involved in nutrition and physical activity promotion for communities in the Bay Area, especially low-income communities.

Central California Regional Obesity Prevention Program (CCROPP) is the Central California Public Health Partnership's 3-year initiative to reduce disparities in obesity and diabetes in the San Joaquin Valley. Funded by the California Endowment,  CCROPP seeks to improve the food and physical activity environments for Central California communities and to create momentum for widespread changes in the policies and practices that contribute to the rising rates of obesity in our region.

Initiatives in Other States

Coalition for Activity and Nutrition to Defeat Obesity in Fort Collins, CO