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Groups Launch New Foundation Devoted to Reducing Obesity Rates
A coalition of more than 40 retailers, food and beverage manufacturers and nongovernmental organizations teamed up to launch the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation (HWCF), which aims to reduce obesity rates by 2015, particularly among children, the El Dorado Times reports. The foundation will encourage balancing calories consumed through a healthy diet with calories burned through physical activity by reaching individuals in the places where they spend much of their time: the marketplace, the workplace and schools. As part of the marketplace initiative, retailers and food manufacturers in the coalition may alter products, packaging or labeling; offer smaller portions and more complete caloric information; or provide more information or educational materials to consumers. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) will support an independent, objective evaluation of the marketplace initiative. As part of the workplace initiative, participating companies will launch new or enhance existing employee wellness programs, such as offering healthier foods in cafeterias and snack machines, providing access to exercise opportunities at work, and hosting weight management programs to help employees achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Finally, the HWCF will expand the successful Healthy Schools Partnership to additional schools in Kansas City, where the program has been successfully piloted, and to schools in Des Moines, Iowa; Washington, D.C.; Chicago and a tribal community in Iowa. HWCF members, including General Mills, Campbell Soup, Sara Lee, Kraft Foods and Coca-Cola, as well as nonprofit partners such as the American Council for Fitness and Nutrition Foundation, Girl Scouts of the USA and the National Wildlife Federation, have committed $20 million to the efforts so far (El Dorado Times, 10/6/09; HWCF release, 10/5/09).