Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions. It is a symptom of a cultural shift toward less healthy eating and less active lifestyles.

CCS Partnership convened a task force of municipal and education leaders to explore ways local government can promote healthy active living. The CCS Board endorsed the recommendations of the task force and is launching a statewide campaign: Healthy Children - Healthy Communities.

Learn more about:

Healthy Children - Healthy Communities Campaign and its five strategies and seven guiding principles

  View the full report (PDF file)
  Download the full report (zip file)

Sample healthy community programs and policies

• Visit the ENACT Local Policy Database, an online resource of local policies that can improve opportunities for healthy eating and physical activity.

California Center for Public Health Advocacy (CCPHA) provides policy information related to childhood obesity.

California Project Lean examines the school-based solutions to healthy food and activity choices.

California School Boards Association offers nutrition and physical activity resources, including policy briefs on the new nutrition standards and school wellness policies.

California School Nutrition Network provides resource for schools and nutrition advisory councils, including proposed nutritional standards.

Future of Children provides background on the epidemic and its consequences. Their Spring 2006 issue of Childhood Obesity provides in depth articles.

Local Government Commission (LGC) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization that provides technical assistance to local elected officials and other dedicated community leaders who are working to create healthy, walkable, and resource-efficient communities. LGC convened a group of experts in 1997 at the Ahwahnee Lodge in Yosemite to explore the elements that make communities vibrant and healthy. The discussion resulted in the Ahwahnee Principles, which have become a blueprint for compact, mixed-use, walkable, transit oriented development. More about livable communities and the Awahnee principles can be found at their website.

www.NoJunkFood.org is a website designed with and for youth interested in nutritional advocacy.

Strategic Alliance for Healthy Food and Activity Environments (Strategic Alliance) is a coalition of nutrition and physical activity advocates in California. Visit their database of local policies and practices which support healthy eating and physical activity.