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Introduction

Welcome to Creating Healthy Environments, the Sacramento County Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition’s resource website for our community! Our mission is to support and engage the Sacramento community in the development of physically active and healthy children. We hope the resources provided at this site will be valuable sources for our community to support healthy eating habits, promote physical activity, and prevent obesity.

Background on the issue

Childhood obesity is a critical public health issue in the United States. Over the past thirty years, obesity rates have soared, with the highest rates among children ages 6 to 11. Today, nearly one in three young people are overweight or obese. Among children ages 2 to 5, a quarter are now overweight or obese. Among certain racial and ethnic groups, the rates are higher.

Preventing obesity during childhood is critical because habits formed during youth frequently continue into adulthood. Obesity also places children at risk for health problems such as heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol. Concern continues to grow as children develop obesity related health problems that have typically been characterized as “adult” conditions.

The consequences of childhood obesity are alarming: If we do not reverse the current epidemic, we will raise a generation of American children who will live sicker and die younger than their parents’ generation.

To reverse the childhood obesity epidemic, we must remove barriers and create environments and policies that provide families with greater access to healthy foods and opportunities for physical activity.

download PDF: http://www.publichealthadvocacy.org/printable/CCPHA_RObesity.pdf
Source: California Center for Public Health Advocacy

What can we do here in Sacramento County? We offer this website as a tool for the community to learn about and tap into existing resources, help generate needed resources, and get involved. Go to the, About Us page, to read the Coalition’s recommendations for Sacramento County and more about how you can join us in our efforts to create healthier environments for Sacramento’s children and families.

Featured Resource

Children's Power Play! Campaign is a public health initiative led by the California Department of Public Health and administered by the Public Health Institute. Its purpose is to motivate and empower California’s 9- to 11-year-old children to eat 3 to 5 cups of fruits and vegetables and get at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day. These objectives are designed to improve children’s short-term health and reduce their long-term risk of chronic diseases, especially cancer, heart disease, and obesity. The toolkits are for 4th and 5th grade teachers and after school site leaders.

Three toolkits are available:

School Idea and Resource Kit: Conduct activities from the fourth- or fifth-grade version of the School Idea & Resource Kit; promote fruits and vegetables in the cafeteria; disperse information to parents; and organize taste testings, guest speakers, field trips, and other interactive school-centered events. Schools also may wish to use the Harvest of the Month tool kit.

Community Youth Organization(CYO) Idea and Resource Kit: Use the Community Youth Organization Idea & Resource Kit with after-school, weekend and summer programs; organize fruit & vegetable oriented field trips and taste testings; disperse information to parents; and serve healthy fruits and vegetables with meals and snacks.

For more information on how to participate and receive free or low cost materials and training, please contact:
Health Education Council
Sita Kuteria / Children’s Power Play! Campaign Coordinator
(916) 556-3344
skuteira@healthedcouncil.org
www.healthedcouncil.org