STRATEGIC ALLIANCE NEWSLETTER

February 2003

This is our second update for Strategic Alliance members and interested individuals. We'll continue to send these regularly. This update highlights key recent events, the status of Segway, legislative information, and important data. Please send us any comments or recommendations for future issues.

CALIFORNIA OBESITY CONFERENCE WRAP-UP

A sellout crowd of 1,300 attended the California Obesity Conference on January 6-8, organized by the Department of Health Services, including two special sessions sponsored by the Strategic Alliance. The Strategic Alliance-sponsored Tuesday keynote address featured a very provocative and thoughtful presentation by Andrea Margolis, Consultant to the California Legislature's Senate Health and Human Services Committee. Leslie Mikkelsen of Prevention Institute opened the plenary by summarizing the Strategic Alliance analysis of environmental influences on the obesity pandemic, and a quick overview of policies that are needed to change these toxic influences. The Tuesday plenary was in marked contrast to what seemed to be the official federal view, enunciated by both Surgeon General Richard Carmona on Monday and USDA Under Secretary Eric Bost on Wednesday, that urging individual behavior change will continue to be this Administration's kingpin strategy for combating child obesity. Hundreds of attendees found out more about community advocacy to change food and activity environments at the Strategic Alliance "mini-plenary" featuring Alliance members CANFit, the Center for Public Health Advocacy, Project LEAN, and Dr. Antronette Yancey's Center for Physical Activity Promotion and Obesity Prevention and Control at UCLA.

Conference organizers pledged to provide all speaker outlines and PowerPoint presentations via the UC Berkeley Center for Weight and Health Website, so keep checking back at: nature.berkeley.edu/cwh/resources/conferencemenu.shtml.

SCHOOL FOOD VICTORIES CONTINUE TO ROLL IN

The San Francisco School Board voted unanimously to ban the sale of sodas and "unhealthy" snacks in its 114 schools effective for the 2003-04 school year. Additionally, a committee will review healthy changes for cafeteria meals. The Board took the high road in this decision, as the district will lose approximately $500,000 a year at a time when other funding cuts are pending. Anderson School District in Redding has also followed the lead of some of the largest districts in the state by limiting access to soda and unhealthy snacks. A New York Times article on January 13th looked at barriers facing school lunch programs across the nation as administrators try to improve meal quality.

Look for "Eat Your Vegetables? Only at a Few Schools" by Marion Burros and Elizabeth Becker, published on 1/13/03 at NYtimes.com.

FAST FOOD CHAIN PROFITS DOWN!

McDonald's reported its first-ever quarterly loss in January, with declining sales and closing franchises signaling a national decline. The company fired its CEO, lost $344 million during the last three months of 2002, and saw its stock shares drop 36 cents. Other chains are also losing profits. While some may wish the fast food doldrums are due to Strategic Alliance boycotts, business analysts attribute it to demographic changes, industry-wide shifts towards more upscale stores like Starbucks, and bad decisions. The new CEO wants to literally clean house and improve food and service. "The experience we deliver has eroded," he says. "If we can just get the customers we've lost back in the stores, our financial picture would be dramatically different." Analysts agree, one saying, "The bedrock of McDonald's used to be pride, but that is broken since McDonald's stopped respecting itself."

One thing fast food companies can breathe easy about is class action lawsuits. A New York judge threw out a case filed last year, saying it didn't make sense to blame industry for individual behavior. However, Judge Sweet's ruling was unusually encouraging in its suggestions for amended complaints, including the issue of marketing to young children and dangerous additives.

Read more about industry at www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20030124/4808046s.htm.

Download the full text of Judge Sweet's ruling at www.nysd.uscourts.gov/rulings.htm.

ADA ON SODA

The American Dietetic Association (ADA) published a fact sheet about beverage choices ("Straight Facts About Beverage Choices"), which was designed to dispel concerns about soda. This fact sheet, however, was underwritten by the National Soft Drink Association. While the controversial fact sheet is no longer on ADA's website, in part due to outcries from many ADA members, it is available on the National Soft Drink Association's website: www.nsda.org/softdrinks/CSDHealth/901%20Soft%20drink%20sheet.pdf.

An article commenting on the ADA's position can be found at www.ahealthyme.com/topic/soda.

SEGWAY: FRIEND OR FOE?

The Segway is being described as one of the most significant inventions of the decade. In early January, for example, the Segway was included within a list of technological innovations that would change our way of life in 2003 (USA Weekend, Jan. 3-5, 2003). From the Strategic Alliance perspective, and for those of us concerned about physical activity and health, the question is: Will it change our way of life for the better or worse?

For those who are unfamiliar with the device, the Segway is a new type of human (and goods) transport device, designed so you can stand on it and "look, act and feel like a pedestrian," according to its inventor, Dean Kamen. Its maximum speed is 30 mph and it has remarkable stopping ability. It has been approved in many states, including California, for use on sidewalks (unless cities specifically modify that approval). In some cities, like San Francisco, where seniors' groups have organized against the Segway, it has already been banned from sidewalks. Until the answers to some important questions about safety and health are answered, we must encourage policy makers to not so quickly support changes that can perhaps be more detrimental than beneficial. What's the rush?

For more information on the Segway, please visit http://www.preventioninstitute.org/segway.html.

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATIVE HAPPENINGS

The California State legislature continues to lead the way in bills aimed at environmental change to increase access to healthy options and decrease the pervasive presence of unhealthy ones.

California Legislative Briefing on Marketing to Kids

The Senate Health Committee, chaired by Sen. Deborah Ortiz (D-06), will hold legislative hearings this year on the negative effects of advertising of junk/fast food and soda on children's health. The hearings will be held later this spring.

Vending Machine Bill

California State Senator Tom Torlakson (D-07) has introduced a bill (SB 74) requiring that healthy products make up at least half of all food and drinks sold from vending machines on state property. SB 74 was introduced on January 20th and will most likely be heard sometime in March. For more information on SB 74, please visit www.leginfo.ca.gov.

DATA AND RESOURCES

USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS) took a look at the obesity epidemic in a recent publication. The lead article takes a look at the American diet, typically too high in added sugars, refined grains, fats, and calories. Other articles examine the relationship between caloric intake and obesity, individuals' misperceptions about their weight status, the link between fruit consumption and body weight, and the cost-effectiveness issues raised by Federal interventions to reduce obesity. Another article looks at the use of emergency food pantries by U.S. households. See www.ers.usda.gov/publications/foodreview/dec2002/

In case you haven't seen it already, the Center for Public Health Advocacy has released a groundbreaking analysis of weight and fitness information among California children, arranged by California Assembly District. Check out the data and the recommendations at publichealthadvocacy.org.

Two new books worth checking out:

• Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World by Greg Critser (Houghton Mifflin). A provocative assessment of the root causes of the obesity epidemic by an outsider who is unafraid to challenge established nutrition and fitness orthodoxies.

• NO LOGO: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies by Naomi Klein. Expose of branding and the invasion of our minds and bodies by marketers who co-opt youth and hip hop culture.

UPCOMING CONFERENCES & FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

SUPERSIZE WIC! Nutrition Education in a Fast Food Nation

California WIC Association's 12th Annual Meeting. San Diego Manchester Hyatt Regency, April 14-16, 2003. Keynoters include American Diabetes Association President, Dr. Francine Kaufman, USDA Undersecretary Eric Bost and breastfeeding activist Dr. Bobbi Philipp. Brochures have been mailed! Check also at calwic.org for workshop details.

CA. Food, Fiber, and Futures Grants available. Part of national network of related projects supported by Kellogg Foundation. Looking for model projects that enhance collaborations across post secondary education in CA. Topics of interest include obesity prevention, healthy lifestyles, food security, and cultural factors. Pre-planning workshop March 3, final RFP May 27. For info: Linda Garcia at lcgarcia@ucdavis.edu.

WHAT IS THE STRATEGIC ALLIANCE?

The Strategic Alliance is reframing the debate on nutrition and physical activity, away from a focus on individual choice and lifestyle, towards one of environment and corporate and government responsibility. Current Steering Committee members are: California Adolescent Nutrition and Fitness Program (CANFit), California Center for Public Health Advocacy, California Food Policy Advocates, California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, California Project LEAN, California WIC Association, Child Care Food Program Roundtable, Latino Health Access, Prevention Institute, and Samuels & Associates.

HOW TO BECOME A MEMBER

The Strategic Alliance is currently engaged in building a broad and diverse statewide membership. To join or for more information, please visit us on the Web, or contact Michele Simon at Michele@preventioninstitute.org or call 510.444.7738.

And even if you're already a member, please forward this message on to your colleagues so we can continue to strengthen our coalition. Thank you!

The Strategic Alliance is supported by funding from The California Endowment and The California Wellness Foundation.

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