Assessing policies and environmental supports for healthy weight: The Michigan experience


Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

4027.0: Tuesday, December 13, 2005 - 8:50 AM

Abstract #120508

Karen Petersmarck, MPH, PhD, Division of Chronic Disease & Injury Control, Michigan Department of Community Health, 3423 N. Martin Luther King Jr., Blvd., PO Box 30195, Lansing, MI 48909, 517-335-9492, petersmarckk@michigan.gov and Rochelle Hurst, Michigan Department of Community Health, Cardiovascular Disease & Nutrition Section, 3423 N. MLK Jr. Blvd, Lansing, MI 48909.

Obesity prevention efforts must go beyond education about nutrition and physical activity. Education will not affect an individual's behavior if that person finds it difficult or even dangerous to practice the desired health-promoting behaviors. The Michigan Department of Community Health has developed a series of web-based tools to help a local community assess the extent to which the community has adopted policies and infrastructure that will make it easier for residents to perform healthful behaviors. This session will describe the development of three community assessment tools, presenting a sampling of the indicators included in the tools. Finally, the experience of three communities that used the assessment tools as a springboard to making their communities healthier places to live will be described. An emerging role for local public health agencies in the assessment and planning process will be described.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of this session, the participant will be able to

1. Describe three steps that a community governing body could take to develop a plan for improving access of residents to physical activity and healthy foods.
2. Name at least six actions a community governing body could take to make it easier for residents of the community to be more physically active or obtain healthy food.

Keywords: Food and Nutrition, Obesity

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Battling Obesity: A Report from the States

The 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition (December 10-14, 2005) of APHA