Pilot program attacks childhood obesity epidemic through local schools

March 31, 2004

CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina schools soon will have new tools for better fighting the childhood overweight epidemic, thanks to a new collaboration of N.C. Prevention Partners and GlaxoSmithKline.At Apex Elementary School this morning (March 30), representatives of GlaxoSmithKline and N.C. Prevention Partners announced their new partnership -“Healthy Schools, Healthy Weight” – aimed at addressing the obesity epidemic. N.C. Prevention Partners is an allied program of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health’s N.C. Institute for Public Health.”North Carolina is experiencing an obesity epidemic, the cost of which will outstrip medical spending more than any other condition in the 21st century,” said Dr. Meg Molloy, executive director of N.C. Prevention Partners. “There is an immediate need for our community to take action now to prevent future death and disability.”

Through the new initiative, toolkits for elementary, middle and high schools in the three pilot schools districts of Mecklenburg, Cumberland and Warren counties will be developed within the coming year. Following the three-year pilot, the plan is to make the toolkits available to all N.C. counties.

Each toolkit will provide practical information about preventing and addressing overweight issues, through assessment tools, model policies and tested educational materials for education leaders, teachers, staff, parents and students.

An important part of the project, officials said, is identifying children at risk for health problems and communicating with parents in order to link families to community health-care providers for early intervention and prevention.

GlaxoSmithKline is funding the project with a three-year, $300,000 grant to N.C. Prevention Partners.

Mary Linda Andrews, GlaxoSmithKline’s director of community partnerships, said the initiative is in line with the company’s vision for healthy communities.

“We recognize that the obesity epidemic will not be solved with medical care alone,” Andrews said. “This partnership will help us understand the ways that schools can work with families and the health-care community to develop long-term healthy behaviors among children.”

Howard Lee, State Board of Education chairman, helped kick off the announcement event. “We don’t want our children to experience obesity and health problems in their early years,” said Lee, also a longtime former state legislator. “They deserve the opportunity to focus on learning and growing up without that type of stress.

“We will learn from this grant about how schools can put policies and programs in place that support healthy weight. This is about North Carolina’s future.”

Some of the state’s school districts have made progress in creating healthier school nutrition and physically active environments. For example, the public school system in Nash County-Rocky Mount has been monitoring portion sizes in snacks, offering more healthful food and beverages a la carte and in vending machines, and providing nutrition training for cafeteria managers and staff. Cumberland County recently received recognition for its “Shape Up Live Healthy” district-wide campaign promoting good nutrition and physical activity.

To learn more about this and other efforts of N.C. Prevention Partners, click on www.ncpreventionpartners.org. Information on other health prevention efforts and collaborations to combat childhood obesity is available at www.sph.unc.edu.

N.C. Prevention Partners contacts: Meg Molloy, (919) 966-8213; or Kim Shovelin, (252) 327-0236

N.C. Institute for Public Health contact: Bev Holt, (919) 966-6274 or bev_holt@unc.edu

School of Public Health contact: Lisa Katz, (919) 966-7467 or lisa_katz@unc.edu

For further information please contact Lisa Katz by email at lisa_katz@unc.edu