By Liz Kresse
February 9, 2004

The Standing Committee on Membership, chaired by Burnsville (MN) Mayor Elizabeth Kautz, met on January 21. The meeting began with a presentation from Marla Hollander, Director of the Active Living Leadership Program. The Program, supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, encourages government leaders' attempts to promote policies and programs that enable active living to improve the health of communities. Coordinated at San Diego State University, Active Living Leadership is a partnership effort with support from the United States Conference of Mayors and other organizations including the International City/County Management Association, the Local Government Commission, National Association of Counties, National Conference of State Legislators, and the National Governors Association.

Noting that "obesity is spreading faster than AIDS," Hollander provided an alarming overview of the extent of overweight and obesity in the U.S. and its cost to society. Through a slide presentation, Hollander provided a visual demonstration of how the epidemic of obesity has spread over recent decades from a handful of states to a majority of states so that currently 61% of the US population is considered overweight or obese. In 2000, the cost of overweight and obesity in the US was $117 billion. A major factor in this epidemic is the fact that most communities are designed for convenience and for cars, not for pedestrians. This is underscored by public spending on highways, which is $50 per person while spending on pedestrian projects is only 87 cents per person.

The solution to the obesity epidemic in the U.S., said Hollander, is active living, defined as "the ability to engage in routine physical activity on a regular basis." Mayors can help in this endeavor by supporting policies that encourage active living, such as beautifying city neighborhoods to increase pedestrian traffic or promoting Walk to School programs. Hollander invited mayors to visit her organization's website at www.activelivingleadership.org for more information on the initiative.

After the presentation on Active Living, Kautz reported on the Mayoral Ambassador Program, whose goal is to recruit at least one new member from each state. Wichita Mayor Carlos Mayans, a new member, stated that the personalized letter he received inviting him to join the Conference of Mayors was a factor in his decision to become a member, particularly because it bore the signature of Conference Executive Director Tom Cochran. Tamarac (FL) Mayor Joe Schreiber reported on his efforts to personally recruit new members from the state of Florida. The rest of the discussion focused on ways to increase USCM membership. In concluding the meeting, Kautz encouraged committee members to continue their efforts in recruiting new members.