New toolkit helps school and community policymakers create healthier schools and communities

June 11, 2009 - Leadership for Healthy Communities recently launched the new Action Strategies Toolkit: A Guide for Local and State Leaders Working to Create Healthy Communities and Prevent Childhood Obesity.

The Toolkit, which was developed with the input of eleven of the nation’s most prominent policymaker organizations, including NSBA and other education associations, outlines numerous policy strategies designed to reduce childhood obesity and create healthier communities.  Examples include: implementing Safe Routes to School programs, addressing the food and physical activity environments in schools and communities, examining food and beverage marketing policies and practices, and others.  The Toolkit also contains lists of key stakeholders, tips on how to start programs, and examples of policies that other states and communities have implemented successfully.

With more than 23 million children and adolescents nationwide overweight or obese, education and community policymakers at the local, state, and national level can play an important role in developing policies to promote healthy eating and active living.  The environments in which students live, learn and play can have a profound effect on their ability to eat well and stay active.  Improper nutrition, inadequate physical activity and an unhealthy weight have been linked to decreased academic performance.  Conversely, students who eat healthfully and are active have been shown to demonstrate improved classroom behavior and experience a host of other emotional and social benefits. 

Leadership for Healthy Communities, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, was created to support local and state leaders nationwide in their efforts to promote healthy, active communities and access to affordable healthy foods. The Action Strategies Toolkit is available here.

Source: Leadership for Healthy Communities website