Mayors Bloomberg, Newsom Recognized as Leaders in Creating Healthy Cities
By Patricia Carter and Crystal Swann
May 25, 2009
Mayors Bloomberg, Newsom Recognized as Leaders in Creating Healthy Cities
By Patricia Carter and Crystal Swann
Today nearly 33 percent of children and adolescents and about 65 percent of adults in the United States are overweight or obese. This health crisis disproportionately affects African Americans, Latinos, American Indians and Alaska Natives, as well as people living in lower-income communities, placing them at increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and other serious, chronic problems. Studies estimate that the obesity epidemic is costing the country more than $177 billion per year in direct medical expenses and indirect costs such as reduced productivity and absenteeism.
More than 200 elected and appointed officials and other leaders attended the second Childhood Obesity Prevention Summit earlier this month, hosted by Leadership for Healthy Communities, a $10-million national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The leadership program is designed to support local and state government leaders nationwide in their efforts to reduce childhood obesity through public policies that promote active living, healthy eating and access to healthy foods.
At the summit’s award dinners Robert Wood Johnson President and CEO Risa Lavizzo-Mourey helped present awards to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and Columbia (MO) Mayor Darwin Hindman for leadership in promoting healthy eating and active living in their cities.
Bloomberg helped make New York City the first in the nation to require fast food and chain restaurants to provide nutrition information on menus. It also was the first city to adopt formal nutrition standards for schools and city agencies. Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs accepted on behalf of Bloomberg.
Hindman helped lead a 3.5 million ballot initiative to raise $25 million funds to build sidewalks around schools, to improve walkability and enhance student safety. Columbia has also implemented an innovative Walking School Bus program, where groups of children walk to school, accompanied by adult volunteers.
Newsom supported an ordinance expanding farmers’ markets in lower-income communities and requiring vendors to accept payment from federal, state and local food assistance programs. He also provided funding to 25 public schools for salad bars featuring locally grown produce and whole-grain breads. Newsom urged attendees to “keep pushing the envelope.” “We have a moral and ethical obligation as well as economic imperative to address childhood and adult obesity,” said Newsom.
During the Summit, participants heard from Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin who focused his remarks on the federal health and wellness policy agenda by discussing his ideas for the reauthorization of the child nutrition act. Additionally, LHC released a detailed policy brief on how to utilize American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding to create healthy communities and an Action Strategies Document were released. The Leadership for Healthy Communities ARRA brief suggests several policy recommendations including:
Use funds designated for transportation infrastructure and public transportation investments to create and maintain safe, complete streets that serve the needs of pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and public transportation users.
Use education funds for school construction, renovation and repair to ensure that students and other members of the community have adequate, safe spaces for regular physical education and physical activity on school grounds. This includes building and maintaining fields, playgrounds and gymnasiums, improving bicycle and pedestrian access to schools and ensuring that outdoor recreational facilities are accessible outside of school hours.
Ensure government-funded housing and other developments are safely walkable to residential areas, schools, supermarkets and other shops and are accessible by public transportation.
Encourage active modes of transportation (walking, bicycling and public transportation use) by adopting community design strategies that deter crime and increase police presence on roads, pedestrian and bicycle paths, trains, buses and mass transit stop locations, as well as near schools, supermarkets and other dense commercial and residential areas especially in lower-income and high-crime neighborhoods.
Increase access to fruits and vegetables for food stamp recipients by using food stamp program administrative funds to encourage farmers’ markets and other healthy food sources to accept food stamp EBT cards.
Use funds from the school nutrition assistance program to purchase equipment that will allow schools to prepare healthy foods economically;
Use funds for community-based chronic disease prevention for programs that rely on strategies research has shown to be effective in increasing physical activity levels and healthy eating practices among children and adolescents.
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