DEPARTMENT: Health
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Dr. Thomas Schlenker
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City Wide
SUBJECT:
Briefing on Comprehensive Obesity Education Campaign
SUMMARY:
This item provides a briefing by the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District on a comprehensive approach to obesity prevention for San Antonio. This approach is aimed at continuing the trend of reducing the prevalence of adult and adolescent obesity in the community by 1) improving access to and increasing consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables and healthy beverages, and 2) educating residents on the negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle while increasing access to physical activity resources.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), two out of three adults and one out of three children in the United States are overweight or obese. Similarly, it is estimated that the nation spends nearly $190 billion a year treating obesity-related health conditions such as type-2 diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, stroke and certain types of cancer. In San Antonio, Metro Health along with the CoSA Parks and Recreation Department, Mayor's Fitness Council (MFC) and Bexar County are taking the lead in working to reverse these trends.
In May of 2014, Metro Health provided a presentation to City Council during a B Session focused on the accomplishments of Metro Health's two year "Communities Putting Prevention to Work" effort to reduce obesity. Data showed that the prevalence of obesity among adults in Bexar County had shown a significant decline from 35% to 28.5%. This decline was closely associated with a parallel decline in daily soda consumption and an increase in individuals engaging in muscle building exercise. At that time, City Council asked Metro Health to work with community partners to develop a comprehensive obesity prevention strategy that focused on promoting the importance of a healthy diet and regular physical activity.
Metro Health identified that there were multiple initiatives being implemented related to promoting physical activity and nutrition, however there was no work being done locally on reducing the consumption of sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs). Therefore, Metro Health began by convening a workgroup of stakeholders to develop an educational campaign around this issue. The work group included representatives of the American Heart Association, Methodist Healthcare Ministries, UTHSCSA Institute for Health Promotion and Research, Interlex marketing, Metro Health and met regularly over several months. Ultimately, the workgroup faced challenges coming to an agreement on how best to address this issue and decided to table the project until March 2015. On February 17th, the Bexar County Commissioners Court passed a resolution on SSBs, and Judge Wolff formed a coalition to work on a campaign to reduce the consumption of SSBs in San Antonio. Metro Health has been invited to be a member of the coalition led by University Health System and will work in partnership with the County to develop a campaign to educate the community about the high content of sugar in SSBs and encourage water as a healthy alternative.
ISSUE:
Recognizing the negative impact of poor nutrition and sedentary lifestyles as well as the accomplishments of targeted initiatives to improve healthy behaviors in the community, Metro Health, the Parks Department, MFC, and Bexar County are each involved in strategies that work to reverse these trends by (1) improving access to and encouraging consumption of fresh fruits, vegetables and healthy beverages, and 2) increasing access to physical activity resources.
This approach is being addressed through the following initiatives which involve targeted education campaigns and messaging coupled with built environment improvements to better facilitate regular physical activity:
· Mayor's Fitness Council Veg Out SA! Campaign
· CoSA Parks and Recreation - Fitness in the Parks / Mobile Fit SA / Fit Pass / Fitness Stations
· Bexar County Sugar Sweetened Beverage (SSB) Reduction Workgroup
ALTERNATIVES:
This item is for briefing purposes only.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This item is for briefing purposes only.
RECOMMENDATION:
This item is for briefing purposes only.