By Patricia Carter
September 14, 2009

A new report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and National Research Council that highlights strategies local government officials can use to tackle the childhood obesity epidemic in their communities was released on September 1.

The staggering increase in childhood obesity and the costs associated with obesity underscore the urgency for prevention efforts at the community level. Over the past 35 years — less than half a lifetime — the percentage of American adolescents who are obese has tripled, rising from five percent to almost 18 percent. A report published in Health Affairs in July estimated that obesity tallied $147 billion in medical costs in 2008.

Speaking at the press event, Somerville (MA) Mayor Joseph Curtatone noted that the new IOM report was in part a “testimony to the efforts of The U.S. Conference of Mayors who have kept the issue of childhood obesity in the forefront for mayors.” In 2008 USCM released The Mayors Guide to Fighting Childhood Obesity, a resource document that was referenced in the development of the new IOM report.

The report highlights several examples of ways that officials have promoted healthier lifestyles in communities ranging from big cities to small towns. It also recommends starting points that could help officials initiate childhood obesity prevention plans tailored to their jurisdictions’ resources and needs. With the report ten examples of local efforts to promote healthy eating and physical activity are cited. They range from a comprehensive obesity prevention initiative — involving walking trails, a new fitness center, and breastfeeding promotion — to a city law requiring calorie information on restaurant menus, to a fitness index – developed with Austin Mayor Will Wynn’s leadership – that helps organizations monitor their progress in meeting dietary and fitness goals. The report highlighted efforts in Austin (TX); Baltimore; New Orleans; New York City; Henderson (TX); Shelby (MT); Somerville (MA); San Diego County; King County (WA); and Michigan.

The report offers a list of actions that hold the greatest potential to curb obesity rates among children. Many of these steps focus on increasing access to healthy foods and opportunities for active play and exercise. They include providing incentives to lure grocery stores to underserved neighborhoods; eliminating outdoor ads for high-calorie, low-nutrient foods and drinks near schools; requiring calorie and other nutritional information on restaurant menus; implementing local “Safe Routes to School” programs; regulating minimum play space and time in child care programs; rerouting buses or developing other transportation strategies that ensure people can get to grocery stores; and using building codes to ensure facilities have working water fountains.

The study was sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Copies of Local Government Actions to Prevent Childhood Obesity are available from the National Academies Press; tel. 202-334-3313 or 1-800-624-6242 or on the Internet at http://www.nap.edu. Additional information about the study can be found at http://www.iom.edu/obesitylocalgov.

For additional information USCM’s The Mayors Guide to Fighting Childhood Obesity has been updated for 2009 and is available for download at: http://www.usmayors.org/chhs/healthycities.asp