Vital Signs

What Can Be Done?

Adult Obesity

The U.S. Government can:

• Promote change
  • First Lady Michelle Obama recently launched the Let's Move! program which seeks to eliminate childhood obesity within a generation.
    The campaign's main points of action are:
    • Empowering parents and caregivers.
    • Providing healthy food in schools.
    • Improving access to healthy, affordable foods.
    • Increasing physical activity.
      See http://www.letsmove.gov
• Recommend actions
  • In May 2010, The Childhood Obesity Task Force, appointed by President Obama, released 70 recommended actions to prevent and control childhood obesity.
    See http://www.letsmove.gov/obesitytaskforce.php
  • A new CDC program, Communities Putting Prevention to Work,* is designed to improve nutrition and physical activity and prevent and control obesity by changing policies and environments. CDC recently provided $139 million to 50 states and $373 million to 30 communities and tribes to fund programs to reverse the obesity epidemic.
    *Communities Putting Prevention to Work is a new program included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. It also addresses decreasing tobacco use. See http://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/recovery/community.htm

States can

• Provide supermarkets and farmers' markets with incentives to establish their businesses in low-income areas and to offer healthy foods.
• Expand programs that bring local fruits and vegetables to schools, businesses, and communities.
• Support hospital programs that encourage breastfeeding.
• Adopt policies that promote bicycling and public transportation.

Communities can

• Create and maintain safe neighborhoods for physical activity and improve access to parks and playgrounds.
• Advocate for quality physical education in schools and childcare facilities.
• Encourage breastfeeding through peer-to- peer support programs.
• Support programs that bring local fruits and vegetables to schools, businesses, and communities.

All people can

• Eat more fruits and vegetables and fewer foods high in fat and sugar.
  See http://www.mypyramid.gov/
• Drink more water instead of sugary drinks.
• Limit TV watching in kids to less than 2 hours a day and don't put one in their room at all.
• Support breastfeeding.
• Promote policies and programs at school, at work, and in the community that make the healthy choice the easy choice.
• Try going for a 10-minute brisk walk, 3 times a day, 5 days a week.
  See http://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/everyone/guidelines/adults.html.

For more information, please contact
Telephone: 1-800-CDC-INFO (232-4636)
TTY: 1-888-232-6348
E-mail: cdcinfo@cdc.gov
Web: www.cdc.gov
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30333
Publication date: 08/03/2010