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Issues Network

Healthy Eating / Active Living

Socioeconomic and environmental factors, along with unhealthy behaviors, such as poor eating habits and lack of regular exercise, heavily influence the development of chronic diseases. In response, there is strong philanthropic interest in healthy eating/active living—especially related to the childhood obesity epidemic. GIH has been committed to this issue for over a decade, with a recent focus on policy developments and improving access to nutritious foods.

What's New
  • New Study of Playworks Program Highlights Benefits of High-Quality Recess
    May 2013
    The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) has released a program evaluation of Playworks, a nonprofit organization that delivers recess to low-income elementary schools in 22 U.S. cities. Working with Mathematica Policy Research and the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities at Stanford University, a randomized controlled trial of Playworks was conducted and data was collected from students, teachers, and school staff. Among the findings, the evaluators found that schools implementing Playworks experienced less bullying and exclusionary behavior at recess, students engaged in more vigorous physical activity, and kids returned to class ready to learn and teachers needed less time to transition to learning activities. "Playworks gets results," said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, President and CEO of RWJF. "I've seen it firsthand, and a growing body of evidence now shows that, when it comes to changing schools for the better, recess and play may be one of the most powerful and underutilized tools we have."
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  • Coca-Cola Foundation Awards $3.8 Million for HEAL Programming
    May 2013
    The Coca-Cola Foundation has awarded nearly $3.8 million in grants to increase access to community-oriented physical activity and nutrition education programs in Georgia. The grants will support statewide initiatives such as Governor Nathan Deal's Georgia SHAPE, Georgia University's Walk Georgia, and the expansion of the Atlanta's Centers of Hope project of the Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta. Other programs and organizations being funded include the PATH Foundation, the Atlanta BeltLine Partnership, the YMCA of Metropolitan Atlanta and its branches, Soccer in the Streets, Piedmont Park, and the Ryan Cameron Foundation.
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  • Kaiser Permanente Joins HBO and Other Leading Health Organizations for New Childhood Obesity Documentary
    May 2013
    Premiering this month on HBO, Kaiser Permanente is sponsoring a three-part film series, The Weight of the Nation for Kids. This film series features the efforts of America’s youth who are taking leading roles and making a difference to alter the food and physical activity environments in their communities.
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Spotlight on Healthy Eating / Active Living
  • IOM Releases New Report on Increasing Physical Activity and Education in Schools
    May 2013
    The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has released a new report, Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School. Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson, the IOM Committee examined "the status of physical activity and physical education efforts in schools, how physical activity and fitness affect health outcomes, and what can be done to help schools get students to become more active." As a result of its work, the committee adopted six recommendations for strengthening and improving programs and policies for physical activity and physical education in the school environment, including before, during, and after school. One of the major highlights of the report is a call for the U.S. Department of Education to designate physical education as a core academic subject to draw attention and attract the resources necessary to enhance content, instruction, and accountability.
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Publications of Interest
  • Start Smart: Healthy Weight in Early Childhood
    March 2013
    In October 2012 GIH convened a group of grantmakers, researchers, and practitioners for the Issue Dialogue Start Smart: Healthy Weight in Early Childhood. This Issue Brief synthesizes key points from the day’s discussion with a background paper previously prepared for Issue Dialogue participants.
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  • Partnering with the Private Sector to Achieve Total Health
    December 2012
    By Raymond J. Baxter, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Community Benefit, Research and Health Policy, Kaiser Permanente, and President, Kaiser Permanente International
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  • Using Media to Fight Obesity
    November 2012
    Efforts to market foods of minimal nutritional value are believed to have significantly exacerbated the obesity epidemic. This Issue Focus describes research regarding anti-obesity media messaging and provides examples of campaigns that are providing reliable, healthful information to counteract such marketing.
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