Victor Colman , JD
Senior Policy Advisor
Washington State Department of Health
Childhood Obesity: The Washington State Story
National Health Policy Conference: February 2, 2005
Childhood Obesity: The Washington State Story
Rare Opportunity Now in Place
¾ Convergence of public, media, public health
& policymaker interest
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Childhood Obesity: The Washington State Story
Plan Development
• Implementation of the Washington State
Nutrition and Physical Activity Plan, which
was developed in the spring of 2003, has been
a major springboard of DOH activities over the
last two years.
Childhood Obesity: The Washington State Story
Use of Coalitions
• Washington’s Action For Healthy Kids Team
• Access to Healthy Foods Coalition
• Washington Coalition for Promoting
Physical Activity
• Transportation Choices Coalition
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Childhood Obesity: The Washington State Story
Use of Coalitions cont.
• Bicycle Alliance of Washington
• Breastfeeding Coalition of Washington
• Anti-Hunger Nutrition Coalition
• WA Association of Local WIC Agencies
Childhood Obesity: The Washington State Story
Importance of Collective Policy Development
• Emerging Role of the Nutrition and Physical
Activity Policy Leadership Group
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Childhood Obesity: The Washington State Story
Importance of Policy Implementation
• SB 5436 (enacted 2004), regarding local
school board policy development over foods
and beverages sold at public schools
• School Board Challenge
Childhood Obesity: The Washington State Story
Key Program Efforts
• USDA's Fruit and Vegetable Program
• The Healthy Communities Pilot Projects
• STEPS: Steps to a Healthier WA
• Statewide Agency Asthma Team
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Childhood Obesity: The Washington State Story
Key Program Efforts cont.
• WIC Farmer Market Nutrition Program
• USDA’s State Nutrition Action Plan
• USDA's Fruit and Vegetable Program
• Disability Awareness Starts Here
Childhood Obesity: The Washington State Story
Key Program Efforts cont.
• First Steps Maternity Support Services / Infant
Case Management program
• CHILD Profile Immunization Registry
• Heart Disease and Stroke
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Childhood Obesity: The Washington State Story
Key Program Efforts cont.
• Healthy Aging
• Comprehensive Cancer Control Partnership
• Basic Food Nutrition Education Program
Childhood Obesity: The Washington State Story
Lessons Learned
• Scattered approaches to policy development not
most efficient
• Local (grass roots) activism needed to identify
and make changes at all levels
• Coalition-building is proven and necessary
method for moving policy agendas
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Childhood Obesity: The Washington State Story
Challenges
• Accounting for disparate health impacts
• Funding
• Best practices still emerging
• Legitimizing preventive care in the health
care world
Childhood Obesity: The Washington State Story
Challenges cont.
• Changing social environment is policy-oriented
• Policymaker focus still geared to individual and
family choices (especially kids)
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Childhood Obesity: The Washington State Story
The State Role: What’s Ahead?
• Clear commitment by the public health community
(at all levels) to work in the various policy realms
• Creation of partnerships that include sectors
generally unfamiliar to public health
(transportation, parks & recreation, planning,
agriculture, segments of the food and business
community)
Childhood Obesity: The Washington State Story
The State Role: What’s Ahead? cont.
• Greater resources provided to states and their partners in:
¾ program evaluation
¾ sustainable program funds to states and communities
¾ bridging gap between research and the prevention field
¾ available technical assistance and training
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Childhood Obesity: The Washington State Story
Victor Colman, JD
Senior Policy Advisor
Division of Community and Family Health,
Washington State Department of Health
Tel. # 360.236.3721
victor.colman@doh.wa.gov
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