Something unprecedented happened earlier this week. Food and beverage manufacturers, retailers and non-governmental groups joined together in the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation - a coordinated effort to fight obesity in the marketplace, the workplace, and primary and middle schools. A public education campaign launching this winter will focus on energy balance - balancing calories consumed as part of a healthy diet with calories expended by physical activity. Retailers and manufacturers will be reinforcing this message.
As president and CEO of the American Council for Fitness and Nutrition (ACFN) and the council's foundation, I am particularly proud that HWC will use the Healthy Schools Partnership - an ACFN Foundation, American Dietetic Association Foundation and PE4Life initiative -as a model for the school-based arm of its strategy. The Healthy Schools Partnership, currently operating in three Kansas City, Mo., school districts, will expand into more communities. External evaluators will measure the program, thus ensuring it has its intended effect.
By addressing key sectors where Americans spend much of their time - school, work and in the marketplace - HWC is creating a "surround-sound" environment where people are empowered to build healthier lifestyles. Members of the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation have already committed $20 million in seed money to this joint initiative to raise awareness about the importance of balancing a healthy diet with physical activity, particularly among children ages six to 11 years old and their parents and caregivers. HWC members will continue to raise funds to support the initative.
I think the HWC effort could be a game changer. I say this because we have not seen this level of cooperation among sectors in the past. Changing the environment - the stage on which we act out our 21st century lives - is the first step toward making the cultural and societal changes we need to reverse runaway obesity.
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