This article originally appeared in the March-April 2001 issue of the Children's Advocate newsmagazine, published by Action Alliance for Children.

Statewide action on childhood obesity

By Jean Tepperman

This article is part of a special section on preventing childhood obesity. Use the links to jump to read other related articles.

| Food for thought | For a healthier community: | Resources for a healthy lifestyle | Statewide action on childhood obesity |

Growing concern over childhood obesity (see Food for thought) has sparked the formation of two new statewide coalitions and the development of new legislation in the past few months.

For better food and more exercise at school

The California Children's Coalition for Activity and Nutrition (CCCAN) has launched a statewide campaign for school policies and programs to

• Improve nutrition
• Increase activity
• Reduce obesity
• Boost academic achievement.

CCCAN grew out of a November summit hosted by the California Elected Women's Association for Education and Research (CEWAER) and the California Department of Education. The coalition participated in a legislative hearing on "Childhood Obesity and the Role of California's Schools" on Jan. 31 and is expecting to hold its first public meeting in May.

For more information on CCCAN, call Tracy Saville at CEWAER, 916-278-3877

For a community-wide health and fitness strategy

The Strategic Alliance to Prevent Childhood Obesity (SAPCO) is a group of activist organizations spearheaded by California Food Policy Advocates (CFPA). SAPCO agrees with CCCAN's efforts but goes further in several ways, says Ken Hecht, executive director of CFPA. SAPCO "concentrates on hammering sodas, vending machines, competitive [commercial] foods in schools," Hecht says. In addition, SAPCO "sees childhood obesity as a very broad societal problem" with causes ranging from too much television to unsafe streets to poverty–families filling up on high-calorie junk food when they can't afford nutritious food. SAPCO has outlined a detailed list of recommendations calling for

• Elimination of soda sales in schools, elimination of commercial food in elementary schools, and strict standards for commercial food in middle and high schools

• Elimination of advertising for unhealthful foods in schools

• Increase in state funding and nutritional standards for subsidized school meals and the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) food program

• Improvements in physical education and use of schools for after-school and weekend fitness activities

• More study of childhood obesity causes and solutions.

For more information, contact Ken Hecht, CFPA, 415-777-4422 ext. 102 or see www.cfpa.net.

Legislation for healthier school environments

Senator Martha Escutia (D, Montebello) has introduced SB 19, which would set nutritional standards for all foods sold in public schools, including food from outside vendors. It would also double the state reimbursement for free and low-cost school meals and create a grant program for school districts to create community-based advisory committees on nutrition and physical activities. For more information call Senator Martha Escutia at 916-327-8315.

USDA study–ban soda and junk food in schools

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has just issued a report calling for higher nutritional standards for all food sold in schools. The report is available at www.fns.usda.gov/tn/Healthy/calltoaction.html.