Agenda - 01-21-2010 - Information Item

Browse Search

Health Promotion In Orange County, 29% of children aged 2-18 years are overweight or obese. Among the 2-4 year olds, 15.8% are overweight's; among the 5-11 year olds, 35.7% are overweight or obese." ;and among the youth (aged 12-18 years), 31 % are obese.18 Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools {CHCCS) conducts student fitness assessment of students in grades K- 10 at the beginning and end of each school year, including Body Mass Index (BMI). Approximately 10.1 % of students enrolled in Physical Education are identified as having a BMI > 25. More significantly, only 24.7% of students are able to achieve the 50`h percentile on fitness assessment skills. While CHCCS BMI data suggests fewer overweight students, it does connote that students are not physically fit. Increased BMI and decreased fitness becomes more evident as students age. Health Promotion Committee Given these alarming statistics, reducing childhood obesity has become the primary focus for the Health Promotion Committee of Healthy Carolinians of Orange County. The committee has adopted a comprehensive approach to addressing the obesity problem, and is coordinating its activities with a number of sectors and agencies. This year, the Health Promotion (HP) Committee created a Physical Activity and Nutrition Resource Guide. This is a compilation of information from all the organizations within Orange County, public and private, that offer services addressing physical activity and nutrition of children of all ages. This Resource Guide was distributed to Healthy Carolinians partners, health provider offices, and to the public. After completing the Guide, the HP Committee partnered with twelve Orange County organizations (e.g. local government, businesses, churches, both school districts, and the UNC Health Care System) to launch the "Eat Smart Move More" Consistent Messaging Campaign. The campaign ran during the summer months (May-August) and consisted of four key messages around physical activity and healthy eating. Partners were trained and encouraged to adopt or integrate the messages into their existing programs and communication channels. 1 ~ ^~ ~~ x Move More Orange County Besides promotional efforts by each community organization, ten advertisements and articles written by members of the HP Committee were published in four local newspapers. The estimated number of people reached through partners alone (i.e. not including newspaper readership) was about 19,500 people. The Committee plans to conduct a smaller Phase II campaign in 2010 to promote two additional Eat Smart Move More messages. In November 2009, Candice Watkins-Robinson, Health Communication Specialist for the Orange County Health Department, received afirst-place Excellence in Communications Award for the ESMM Campaign Tool kit from the NC Association of Government Information Officers. The HP Committee also started a Pediatric Obesity Initiative (POI) in July 2009. In collaboration with the UNC School of Nursing students, Pediatric Obesity Toolkits were created for four Orange County clinics. Also, physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants, clinical staff, and office manager/front desk staff attended training on Universal Assessment guidelines, Staged Treatment strategies, and the development of Motivational Interviewing skills for reinforcing positive behaviors and counseling against ~`~ - negative behaviors or risk i~ ~ l °`` factors. The Health `, ..~ Promotion group will now '°R ~'""" expand the POI by partnering with school nurses from both districts. Many local agencies also continued to offer services to improve health promotion among young children and their families. These agencies include the Chapel Hill-Carrboro YMCA, the Health Department, Cooperative Extension, Orange Partnership for Young Children, Triangle SportsPlex, the three Parks and Recreation Departments in the County, and many more. 8