Overview
Take Action
Recent Reports
Resources
Key Partner Organizations
National Organizations

Overview

Good nutrition and physical activity are critical to children's physical, mental and emotional health. Unfortunately, children are growing up in an environment that encourages and promotes the over consumption of foods and beverages that are high in fat, calories, and sugar, and discourages physical activity. As a result childhood obesity has become an epidemic.

Individual approaches to improving nutrition and activity are important but we cannot curb the tide of obesity without addressing environmental and policy solutions that make the healthier choice the easier choice. Improving nutrition and physical activity in schools, eliminating marketing and advertising of unhealthful foods and beverages, designing communities to increase physical activity opportunities, and increasing access to nutritious food are just some of the promising policy approaches that could make a significant difference in the long-term health of our children.

In 2004, the Washington State Legislature passed a law (SB 5436) that required every school district in the state to adopt a nutrition and physical activity policy. Washington's new 2007 Cover All Kids law (SB 5093) includes nutrition and physical activity goals to be met by all schools by 2010. It also directed the establishment of a legislative task force on comprehensive school health reform. While the passage of such legislation is significant, much more remains to be done to improve the nutrition and physical activity environment for all children across the state.

The Children'ss Alliance, in partnership with the Comprehensive Health Education Foundation, Public Health in Seattle and King County, Seattle Foundation, Washington Dental Service Foundation, Washington Health Foundation and Washington State Department of Health, is coordinating a strategic planning process to identify the vision, core principles, participants, and resources for a multi-year, statewide policy advocacy campaign to prevent childhood obesity. For more information, contact Jon Gould or Victor Colman

Take Action

Find out how you can act to improve the lives of children, and join our Children's Action Network.

Recent Reports

• Overwieght? Blame Your Zip Code
  Seattle Post-Intelligencer (9/12/2007)
  
  
• F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies are Failing in America Trust for America's Health (2007)
  
  
• Patterns of Childhood Obesity Prevention Legislation in the United States Centers for Disease Control (2007)
  
  
• Nutrition Standards for Foods in School: Leading the Way to Healthier Youth (2007) Committee on Nutrition Standards for Schools
  
  
• Childhood Obesity The Future of Children, Brookings Institute, (2006)
  
  
• Progress in Preventing Childhood Obesity: How Do We Measure Up? Institute of Medicine Committee on Progress in Preventing Childhood Obesity (2006)

Resources

• Healthy Schools…Successful Students
  
  
• Strategic Alliance ENACT
  
  
• Commercial Alert
  
  
• National Conference of State Legislatures
  

Key Partner Organizations

• Be Active! Washington'ss Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity
  
  
• Comprehensive Health Education Foundation
  
  
• Public Health Seattle & King County Food and Fitness Initiative
  
  
• Seattle Foundation
  
  
• University of Washington Center for Public Health Nutrition
  
  
• Washington State Action for Healthy Kids
  
  
• Washington Dental Service Foundation
  
  
• Washington Health Foundation
  
  
• Washington State Department of Health

National Organizations

• Center for Science in the Public Interest
  
  
• National Action for Healthy Kids
  
  
• National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity