In the Community

February 10, 2011

Kaiser Permanente Joins in Celebrating the One-Year Anniversary of the First Lady’s ‘Let’s Move!’ Initiative

Kaiser Permanente’s Partnership with First Lady’s Initiative Points the Way Forward in Childhood Obesity Prevention Work

This week marks the one-year anniversary of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative to combat childhood obesity. It also marks another remarkable year of obesity prevention work being undertaken by Kaiser Permanente and our community partners, work that highlights the significance of collaborative and multidimensional approaches to solving this epidemic.

“Kaiser Permanente is proud to partner with the First Lady and with our colleagues in health care and government to work collaboratively in the fight against childhood obesity,” said Ray Baxter, senior vice president, Community Benefit, Research and Health Policy at Kaiser Permanente. “We believe that by working together to eliminate health disparities and by creating healthy communities for the children of today, we can offer them a better chance to lead healthy, happy lives.”

Launched by the First Lady on Feb. 9, 2010, Let’s Move! is dedicated to solving the problem of obesity within a generation. At the time the campaign was launched, Kaiser Permanente co-founded an independent and nonpartisan foundation, the Partnership for a Healthier America, to support and sustain the effort. Other co-founders include the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the WK Kellogg Foundation, The California Endowment, Nemours, the Alliance for a Healthier Generation and the Brookings Institution.

The one-year anniversary of Let’s Move! and the Partnership for a Healthier America highlight Kaiser Permanente’s longstanding work with our communities, policymakers, public health departments and the philanthropic community to promote healthy eating and active living. These partnerships are driving innovative efforts to increase access to healthy, affordable food and safe physical environments. The success of such efforts has galvanized national support for a more comprehensive approach to obesity prevention involving a network of partners and advocates for health.

“The scale and scope of change needed to turn the tide of the obesity epidemic requires deep and meaningful partnerships,” said Loel Solomon, vice president, Community Health for Community Benefit at Kaiser Permanente. “We are honored to support Let’s Move! and the Partnership for a Healthier America. These efforts are an important part of the solution, and the nation is already benefiting from the focus and attention they have brought to the problem of childhood obesity.”

Community-Based Interventions for Healthy Eating, Active Living
Kaiser Permanente supports a wide range of community-based obesity prevention efforts through our Healthy Eating, Active Living program and other initiatives. The organization has invested more than $50 million in 39 multi-sector, place-based obesity prevention collaboratives now being implemented throughout our regions. These collaboratives work with community residents, non-profits and government agencies to increase access to healthy food in schools and neighborhoods and to provide safe, activity-promoting areas for recreation. Successful programs include the creation of community gardens that supply local food pantries with fresh fruit and vegetables, the addition of bike paths and walking trails in urban planning initiatives, and fostering a greater presence of grocery stores offering fresh produce in low-income neighborhoods.

A Multi-Faceted Approach to Obesity Prevention
Recognizing that obesity prevention requires a multi-faceted approach, Kaiser Permanente has developed some innovative and nationally recognized models to address the epidemic. Kaiser Permanente’s Weight Management Initiative features a wide array of programs made available to Kaiser Permanente members at medical centers, in community settings and online. Our Kaiser Permanente pediatricians have trained more than 5,000 community-based physicians and other providers on patient communications strategies, BMI as a vital sign and other clinical prevention strategies to catch early signs of obesity, which reduce the incidence of diabetes and heart disease later. Kaiser Permanente’s Educational Theatre Program performances continue to reach more than 13 million children in thousands of schools nationwide to encourage healthy eating and active living.

In January of this year, Kaiser Permanente augmented its obesity prevention work by launching the Every Body Walk! campaign, a public awareness project aimed at starting a national conversation about the health benefits of walking. Echoing many of the same priorities as the Let’s Move initiative, Every Body Walk! is designed to help Americans integrate walking into their daily routine by walking 30 minutes a day, five days a week. A walking hub, www.everybodywalk.org, contains news and resources on walking as well as stories and video vignettes that motivate Americans to get up and get moving to improve their health.

Strategic Organizational Partnerships
Kaiser Permanente also supports a wide range of organizational partnerships aligned with the five pillars of the Let’s Move! initiative. In addition to being a co-founder for the Partnership for a Healthier America, Kaiser Permanente co-founded the Convergence Partnership, a grant-making collaborative of major national funders and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to advance the movement for policy and environmental approaches to obesity prevention. The Convergence Partnership was recently highlighted in a CDC report, which recognized the Convergence Partnership for its support of the Healthy Food Financing Initiative and other policies that increase access to healthy foods, create sustainable changes in the built environment, and reduce health disparities in communities.

Regional Let’s Move! Anniversary Celebrations
Kaiser Permanente leaders participated in several regional events nationwide in celebration of the one-year anniversary of Let’s Move! In Colorado, two celebrations (one in Commerce City and one in Stapleton) took place on Feb. 5, with the Surgeon General and representatives from the Department of Health and Human Services in attendance. Kaiser Permanente’s Educational Theatre Program and Teens Take It On initiative were among the programs being recognized at the celebrations. Kaiser Permanente also participated in a Let's Move! anniversary event in Sacramento, Calif. with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

Such events re-affirm Kaiser Permanente’s commitment to fighting the obesity epidemic and to leveraging partnerships with communities and public leaders that bring new solutions to the table.

To learn more about the work of obesity prevention mentioned here, visit the following websites:

• Let’s Move!
• Partnership for a Healthier America
• Convergence Partnership
• LiveWell Colorado
• Kaiser Permanente Community Benefit