United Way Joins Statewide Coalition to Fight Childhood Obesity in Ohio

United Way of Central Ohio has teamed up with other state leaders to form the Healthy Choices for Healthy Children coalition, dedicated to decreasing and preventing childhood obesity.

 

The coalition is coming together to advocate for public policy in our state that supports research-based solutions to the childhood obesity epidemic in Ohio. The coalition will also work to ensure that public policy is supported with actions that provide parents, educators, institutions and organizations with opportunities to positively affect behavior in the children they influence to create life-long active and healthy Ohioans.

The Healthy Choices for Healthy Children coalition’s first priority is supporting passage of the Healthy Choices for Healthy Children legislation, Ohio Senate Bill 210 and Ohio House Bill 373. The legislation is co-sponsored by Senator Kevin Coughlin (R-Cuyahoga Falls) and Senator Eric H. Kearney (D-Cincinnati) in the Ohio Senate. Representatives John Patrick Carney (D-Columbus) and Lynn Wachtmann (R-Napoleon) are co-sponsoring the bill in the Ohio House.

The bill contains school-based initiatives that will increase physical activity, raise the bar for physical education and improve the nutritional value of foods offered during the regular and expanded school day. The bill also provides for Body Mass Index (BMI) screenings upon school entry and in 3rd, 5th and 9th grades and education for parents about their child’s BMI and the health risks associated with his or her results. Aggregated BMI results will be reported on local district and building report cards, using the Center for Disease Control’s standards of underweight, healthy weight, overweight and obese.

For a fact sheet detailing specific bill provisions, a document outlining the research supporting the legislation and a complete list of coalition members, please visit www.healthychoiceshealthychildren.org.