Tips for Communities

The following are tips for communities to become healthier as a whole by helping their children become healthier and more active.

1. Partner with fitness facilities.
   • Ask about being open to the public once a month, offering discounted memberships (especially in lower income areas), and offering sports programs to nonmembers.
2. Become involved in programming at local parks and recreation departments.
   • Determine if they are offering active programs at affordable prices to everyone in the community.
   • Ask them to offer healthy snacks at the programs and facilities.
3. Work with restaurants in the area.
   • Encourage them to offer reasonable portion sizes (i.e. offer half-size portions at a lower price).
   • Encourage them to have multiple low calorie and low fat menu options.
   • Ask them to list trans-fat content on menus.
4. Work to establish full-service grocery stores in low-income areas.
   • This can include partnering with existing markets to help increase available healthy options.
   • Work with local government to entice major chains to these areas.
5. Encourage farmers markets.
   • If they already exist, examine hours and offerings.
   • Work to establish markets if none exist.
6. Develop a community garden.
   • This is a place where everyone in the area can plant fresh foods in an assigned plot and reduce costs for their family.
7. Promote safe neighborhoods.
   • This includes neighborhood watches, cleaning up common areas, and finding ways for children to play outside without fear.
8. Offer community forums to address childhood obesity.
   • This will help inform everyone of the problem and offer suggestions on ways the community can work together to fight it.
9. Develop joint-use policies with schools, fitness facilities, and parks and recreation.
   • These policies allow the community to use fitness facilities and playgrounds after hours without charge.
10. Work with the local government to:
    • Encourage taxing foods with minimal nutritional value
    • Restrict the proximity of fast food restaurants to schools and youth centers.
    • Develop guidelines for the marketing of food, beverage, and entertainment to children and teens.
11. Encourage local businesses to provide lactation rooms at worksites to promote breastfeeding.
12. Partner with healthcare facilities and providers to increase awareness of the problem.
13. Increase awareness of bike paths, sidewalks, parks, recreation centers, playgrounds, campgrounds, and nature centers to encourage outside activities in the community.
14. Provide classes on purchasing nutritious foods when grocery shopping.

For more ideas visit: www.americaonthemove.org and www.pe4life.com