DrG's Medisense Feature Article
121242-Healthy_California-Children,_Streets_&_Laws
Healthy California May Start With Children, Streets and Laws
by Ann Gerhardt
December 2012
Print Version
Bottom
Line at the Top: Obesity prevalence in other states
increased, while in California it remained stable. Tough
school lunch laws, encouraging non-motorized transportation and
improving access to healthy food might actually be working.
CA went from being the 25th most obese state to 39th (the 12th LEAST
obese state) between 2007 and 2011. Does this translate into
a leaner California? Not really, though the statistics give
that appearance. In spite of the better ranking, we really
didn’t reduce obesity rates.
Approximately 25% of CA residents are still obese. Other
states’ residents just increased their girth more than we
did. But staying the same is at least better than following
the national trend of ever-increasing obesity.
While it’s hard to prove what has made a difference, a few
changes in CA’s approach, particularly with children and
transportation, might have helped.
CA
is one of 16 states with Complete Streets laws.
"Complete streets" are roads designed to allow all users –
bicyclists, pedestrians, drivers, and public transit users –
to access them safely. Signed into law by Arnold
Schwarzenegger in 2008, the Complete Streets law requires that cities
and counties ensure that the needs of all roadway users are
accommodated, when updating plans for roadways and traffic flows.
To do this, communities might include sidewalks, bike lanes (or wide,
paved shoulders), special bus lanes, comfortable and accessible transit
stops, frequent crossing opportunities, median islands, pedestrian
signals and curb extensions. A complete street in a rural area will
look quite different from a complete street in a highly urban area. But
both are designed to balance safety and convenience for everyone using
the road.
CA
is one of 20 states with school meal standards more rigorous than the
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) requirements.
By law, food portions served in California schools must abide by
maximum limits of:
• 35% of calories from fat
(excluding legumes, nuts, nut butters, seeds, eggs, non-deep fried
vegetables, and cheese in individual packets.)
• 10% of its calories from
saturated fat (excluding eggs and cheese packaged for individual sale).
• 35% sugar by weight (excluding
fruits and vegetables).
• 175 calories for items sold in
elementary schools.
• 250 calories for items sold in
middle and high schools.
Individually sold entrees may not have more than:
• 4 grams of fat per 100 calories
• 400 calories
After-school snacks and beverages sold on campus must satisfy similar
requirements. The state restricts when and where competitive
foods, outside the formal meal programs, can be sold.
According to University of Illinois study data, CA students eat 160
fewer calories per day than students in states without nutrition
standards.
CA is also one of 21 states with legislation that requires
weight-related screening assessments for children and
adolescents. It is one of 26 states with farm-to-school
programs that engage students in understanding the origin of their
food.
Cities have also gotten into the act. The California Center
for Public Health Advocacy (CCPHA) reports that over 142 California
cities have passed resolutions and policies related to healthy land
use, healthy food access and worksite wellness.
CCPHA’s Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) Cities Campaign
provides training and technical assistance to help city officials adopt
policies that improve their community’s physical activity and
retail food environments.
It will be very difficult to measure the impact of each public health
effort on such a global outcome as population obesity. Who
knows? Maybe the Five a Day program or the First
Lady’s Let’s Move initiative are working better
than Complete Streets and healthy school lunches. Programs
have proliferated since 2007, and we may never know what worked the
best. Maybe it’s the proliferation of similar
messages coming from a variety of sources that’s getting
through to at least some people.
Or it’s a statistical anomaly.
With respect to health, success is an elusive concept. The
goal and means are imperfect and implementation is often a problems,
but herding people toward a healthy destination is a process, not an
event. We might know it when we get there.