~ Money will be used to develop strategies to prevent childhood obesity ~

Governor Tim Pawlenty announced that the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) today awarded Minnesota $100,000 in funding to enhance childhood obesity prevention efforts in schools and communities.

“Minnesota is the healthiest state in the nation, but the incidence of childhood obesity is rising dramatically here and across the country,” Governor Pawlenty said. “This NGA grant will help us further efforts to encourage kids to get up, get out and get fit.”

Efforts to combat childhood obesity in Minnesota include the “Governor’s Fit Schools” program, announced by Governor Pawlenty in January 2006. To date, 97 schools across the state have met the criteria for supporting and encouraging students to be more physically active and aware of their own health. More information is online at http://www.health.state.mn.us/fitschool/.

The NGA Center funding will support the development of state strategies to prevent childhood obesity by instituting social changes, leading public-sector policy initiatives, and influencing private-sector efforts. States will also be able to conduct a statewide analysis of existing efforts related to obesity prevention.

In addition to Minnesota, $100,000 grants were also awarded to Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Throughout the nation, the health of America’s children is at serious risk because of poor nutrition and lack of physical activity. During the past four decades, obesity rates have soared among all age groups, more than quadrupling among children ages 6 to 11. For children born in the United States in 2000, the risk of being diagnosed with Type II diabetes at some point in their lives is estimated to be more than 30 percent for boys and nearly 40 percent for girls. The risk is even higher among African-American and Latino populations.

“Increasing physical activity and educating our children about proper nutrition are fundamental strategies to reverse the rising obesity epidemic,” said John Thomasian, director of the NGA Center. “The challenge for states is to develop interventions that have the greatest impact, and these awards will help states in their planning efforts.”

The grants are being made as part of the NGA Center’s Healthy Kids, Healthy America program, which seeks to:

• Motivate and guide action by governors and senior state leaders to increase physical activity, improve nutrition and prevent obesity among America’s children;
• Help create a state vision or policy action plan for advancing or accelerating childhood obesity prevention initiatives in the state; and
• Encourage state leadership by engaging the private sector to promote policy and social change in schools and/or community settings, with the ultimate goal of improving children’s health.

Funding for these grants was made possible with the generous support of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

To learn more about governors’ efforts to improve the health and livelihood of America’s youth, visit www.nga.org/center/healthyamerica.