Promote Healthy Living
Promote Healthy Living
Healthy Chelsea
Food for Families
Revere Food and Fitness Task Force
Obesity is a national epidemic and occurs disproportionately in low income communities and communities of color. In Revere, 29% of adults are overweight or obese, compared to a statewide average of about 22%. In Chelsea, 55% of middle school children are overweight or obese, and in Charlestown, 32.5% of adults are overweight and 19.7% obese.
CCHI is taking an environmental approach to the challenge of overweight and obesity, in which communities organize to change the conditions that lead to unhealthy behaviors. Specifically, the Revere Food and Fitness Initiative, a partnership of CCHI and the Mass General Hospital for Children, is working to increase access to healthy, affordable food (such as through farmers’ markets, community gardens, supermarket campaigns, and school food policy) and to improve opportunities for physical activity (such as walking to school, bike and walking paths, and playgrounds), while also reducing hunger.
In Chelsea, a three-year 2010 ACHIEVE grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control has helpted to catalyze the Healthy Chelsea Coalition. The Coalition, comprised of more than 50 community leaders and residents, emphasizes long-term, systemic and environmental approaches to change the underlying conditions in Chelsea so that healthy eating and active living will become community norms. Current priorities include: adding physical activity into the classroom time-on-learning at the Elementary level; increasing the volume of healthy foods that are selected and consumed by students during School Lunch; a close partnership with the City’s Planning and Development Department to support infrastructure changes such as park renovations, park installations, traffic calming measures, and road, sidewalk, and intersection redesigns; collaborating with the Board of Health on the passage and implementation of Chelsea’s trans fat-free regulation.
An environmental approach to obesity prevention includes addressing the health care system as well as the workplace. Therefore, CCHI is working to make MGH a “healthy hospital.” A senior level task force is reviewing the hospital environment, medical practice, and employee practices. By addressing clinical practice as well as the physical environment of the hospital, MGH aims to become a truly “healthy hospital.”
