Childhood Obesity Month
September is Childhood Obesity Month, a time to raise awareness about preventing and reducing childhood obesity. A critical focus during this month is the first 1,000 days of life, spanning from pregnancy to a child’s second birthday. This period is essential for rapid development and provides an optimal window for establishing healthy dietary patterns that can prevent chronic diseases, including obesity. Exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, followed by continued breastfeeding with appropriate, nutrient-dense complementary foods, is vital for reducing the risk of obesity and other chronic diseases for both lactating parents and their children. However, many children do not have easy access to culturally responsive healthy foods during these crucial early years and beyond. Additionally, research shows that children with excess weight incur an extra $120 in medical costs each year, while adults with excess weight face an additional $1,900 in medical expenses annually. NACCHO is committed to improving nutrition security to help address these issues.
Family Healthy Weight Programs
Family healthy weight (FHW) programs, also known as intensive health behavior and lifestyle treatment (IHBLT) or pediatric weight management interventions (PWMIs), seek to treat overweight and obesity and reduce chronic disease risks in children ages 2 to 18 years through participation in evidence-based programming designed for children and their caregivers. NACCHO worked to identify local health departments’ capacity to implement lifestyle management programs to prevent and reduce excess weight in children. Through this project, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity (DNPAO), NACCHO engaged with over 200 local health departments to understand the needs and experience of implementing these programs. These findings are represented in this infographic.
LHD Readiness to Implement FHW Programs
There is interest and capacity from local health departments to engage in prevention and treatment programs. This was evidenced by the surprising number of LHD that replied to the initial survey (n=234) and self-selected to participate in the listening sessions. There were a variety of levels of staff, from direct service personnel to local health officials, showing that there is overall potential leadership buy-in and staff capacity to deliver the services. The LHDs participating in NACCHO’s surveys and listening sessions showed interest in implementations, exhibited a wide variety of experience and resource levels, but many shared challenges and priorities. LHDs acknowledge a need to address childhood obesity at multiple levels of prevention, linking families to direct programming while also recognizing structural barriers to services, and advocating for changes in social determinants of health approach.
Recommendations for LHDs
- Incorporate childhood obesity-related objectives into CHA and CHIP planning to allow for more sustainable funding sources and leadership support.
- Share success stories with leadership and policymakers to build and maintain support.
- Partner with trusted community stakeholders to deliver, leverage skills and resources, and promote program recruitment and retention.
- Maintain organizational-level inter-agency partnerships (such as having Memorandum of Agreements in place) that do not rely on individual staff members for communications, and program maintenance.
In addition to NACCHO’s partnerships with FHW programs, NACCHO aims to improve local approaches to breastfeeding protection, promotion, and support through the advancement of continuity of care for optimal infant and toddler nutrition security through the first 1,000 days of life. NACCHO does this through the Reducing Breastfeeding Disparities through Continuity of Care project, funded by the CDC’s DNPAO.
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