Helping to halt the rise in childhood obesity by promoting healthy eating and physical activity in schools and communities throughout the nation.

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HILDHOOD OBESITY in the United States has grown into a public health epidemic. Over the past 30 years, obesity has more than doubled in children ages 2–5 and 12–19, and more than tripled among those ages 6–11. Overweight children are at higher risk of becoming overweight adults who face a battery of diseases—diabetes, osteoarthritis, heart disease, cancer. The United States must act now to reverse the alarming trend of childhood obesity or risk raising the first generation of American children who will live sicker and die younger than previous generations.

We are placing special emphasis on children ages 3 to 12, focusing on low-income minority communities that suffer disproportionately high rates of obesity. We plan to help those children primarily by targeting the environments, programs and policies that promote healthy eating and physical activity in schools and communities nationwide. Foundation programs in 2004 advanced three main strategies:

• Building the Evidence. Programs and policies addressing childhood obesity are being implemented across the nation, but there is little evidence yet to indicate which approaches most effectively help kids and families eat healthier and get more physical activity. To this end, the Foundation supported a variety of research initiatives, including an evaluation of efforts in Arkansas to implement Act 1220 of 2003, a law requiring Arkansas schools to take explicit steps to combat childhood obesity. This evaluation should inform other school-based efforts across the nation. The Foundation also helped fund the Institute of Medicine’s report, Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance, a thorough analysis of the nation’s childhood obesity epidemic that provides a set of recommendations on how to reverse it.
• Promoting Healthy Changes in Schools and Communities. The Foundation aims to increase the number of schools and communities that provide access to healthy foods and opportunities for physical activity. For example, in Philadelphia, we supported efforts to survey food and activity environments surrounding schools in low-income areas. RWJF funds helped the Philadelphia-based Food Trust encourage corner store owners to stock and promote healthy snacks; work with local recreation centers to expand physical activity programs; and collaborate on a curriculum that teaches students about healthy eating and active lifestyles. RWJF also helped the Plainfield, N.J. public school district create four vegetable gardens at two middle schools in economically and racially diverse communities. Students oversee the gardens and use them as “outdoor classrooms.” Their produce will supplement the standard lunch program and be distributed to community groups.
• Focusing Efforts and Attention on Childhood Obesity. RWJF was the principal sponsor of the TIME/ABC News Summit on Obesity, a three-day event in June that convened more than 400 leaders to forge solutions to America’s obesity epidemic. TIME published a special issue, and ABC and many local affiliates devoted a week of broadcast news to the topic. We also supported efforts to broaden the base of leaders and advocates committed to driving down obesity rates and improving children’s health. For example, our Active Living Leadership program educated state and local government leaders throughout the United States about the health, economic and quality-of-life benefits of activity-friendly communities.