STRATEGIC ALLIANCE NEWSLETTER

August 2003

Welcome to the latest update from the Strategic Alliance. In this issue, we highlight an exciting way for members to get involved, an upcoming seminar at Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, and our latest success in media outreach. We welcome your feedback and suggestions for future issues.

JOIN THE NATIONAL SCHOOL VENDING MACHINE SURVEY!

Between September 8 and 19, the National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity (NANA) is planning to conduct a survey of the contents of school vending machines across the country. The goals of the survey are to assess the proportion of healthful vending options and encourage changes in school vending policies at the local, state, and federal levels. NANA is coordinated by the Washington, DC-based Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). The Strategic Alliance will be able to report the data highlighting California results, so this is a really great opportunity to get involved.

CSPI would like folks to survey the contents of vending machines in at least two of your local middle/junior high schools plus two high schools. However, any data you could collect would be useful, even if only at one school. If you are interested in conducting the survey, please contact Deborah Truman at 202.777.8352 or dtruman@cspinet.org. CSPI is having a conference call to review how to collect the vending information and answer questions on September 4 at noon, California time. The call-in number is 800.261.3225, and the pass code is 614977#. Please also let us know that you are participating by emailing Michele@preventioninstitute.org so we can contact you when the results are released to help get the word out to local media. Thank you!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Prevention Research and Practice:
The Link between Community Environments and Childhood Obesity

September 24, 2003, 3:00-5:15p, with reception to follow
Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute
5700 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way, Oakland

The Strategic Alliance is sponsoring a seminar highlighting the importance of prevention research and practice to understand the role that community environmental factors have in promoting healthy childhood eating and activity habits. Communities with limited economic resources will be particularly addressed. Speakers include:

Dr. Pat Crawford, University of California, Berkeley/Center for Weight and Health
Arnell Hinkle, California Adolescent Nutrition and Fitness Program (CANFit)
Dr. Anthony Iton, Alameda County Department of Health Services
Dr. Barbara Staggers, Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute
Shawn Casey, American Heart Association
Veenu Alakh, Kaiser Permanente Regional Education Center
Dr. Joel Moskowitz, UC Berkeley/Center for Family and Community Health

Co-sponsors are Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, the Center for Minority Health Disparities Community Outreach Core, and University of California, Berkeley, Center for Family and Community Health. Space is limited, so please RSVP by September 17 to prevent@preventioninstitute.org to reserve your seat.

California Adolescent Nutrition and Fitness Program (CANFit)
10th Anniversary Gala, October 9th, Oakland Museum

Martin Wyatt (ABC-7 Sports Director and News Anchor) and Keena Turner (four-time Super Bowl Champion with the San Francisco 49ers) will emcee this fun and elegant evening that will feature healthy food and wine tastings from Bay area restaurants and wineries and ethnic performances by local youth groups. Proceeds will support CANFit's Community Grants Program. RSVP before the October 1st deadline to reserve your seat! For more information, call 510-644-1533 or visit: www.canfit.org.

NEWS WE CAN USE

Low-income Areas Not Getting Healthy Foods

A groundbreaking survey of more than 400 local food markets in southern California found that low-income areas carried about half the variety of fruits and vegetables as stores in more affluent neighborhoods. Also, produce items were more likely to be damaged or dirty. South L.A., Inglewood and North Long Beach were more likely to have convenience stores or small neighborhood markets than supermarkets and chain stores more common in West L.A. They were also dirtier and about 30 percent less likely to have good service. While this may not come as news to most of us, it is important to have actual data to back up our calls for improving the nutrition environment of low-income communities.

Children's Inactivity Getting Worse

Roughly three out of five children ages nine to 13 say they do not participate in sports or other coached physical activities outside school, according to a first-of-its-kind nationwide survey of children and their parents recently released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Parents said the main obstacles to more exercise for their children were high costs, transportation problems, and lack of time. For the complete report, visit: www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5233a1.htm.

Connection Between Sprawl and Obesity

A study published in the September issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion presents results from the first rigorous nationwide investigation of the relationship between urban form, physical activity, and health. The study, Relationship of Urban Sprawl to Physical Activity, Obesity, and Morbidity, found that people living in counties marked by sprawling development walk less and weigh more than people who live in less sprawling counties. In addition, people in more sprawling counties are more likely to suffer from high blood pressure. These results hold true after controlling for factors such as age, education, gender, and race and ethnicity. For the full report, visit: smartgrowthamerica.org.

American Academy of Pediatrics Recommends Obesity Screening

Recognizing that obesity has become the most prevalent chronic health problem among children, the American Academy of Pediatrics is calling upon members to make obesity screening and counseling routine parts of children's checkups. In a policy statement entitled, "Prevention of Pediatric Overweight and Obesity," the Academy proposes strategies for: 1) early identification of excessive weight gain by using body mass index; 2) dietary and physical activity interventions during doctor visits; and 3) advocacy and research. For the full statement, visit: www.aap.org/policy/s100029.html.

Strategic Alliance Making the News!

In response to the news of two major studies showing that lifestyle factors are to blame for as much as 90 percent of heart disease, the Strategic Alliance put out a press release making the connection to environmental and policy change. As a result, two of our representatives appeared on KPFA radio in the San Francisco Bay Area on August 24 and our letter to the editor was published in the August 25 edition of USA Today. If you would like to help with ongoing media outreach efforts, please contact Michele Simon at Michele@preventioninstitute.org or 510.444.7738.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

The Good News: Amended Soda Bill Passes Full Assembly

SB 677 recently passed the full state assembly The amended version would allow only specific types of healthy beverages to be sold during the school day in elementary, middle and junior high schools starting July 1, 2004. Now the bill goes back to the senate for approval in amended form and then to the governor, who is expected to sign it. Many thanks to all of you who helped get this landmark legislation passed! To track the status of this and other nutrition-related state legislation, visit California Food Policy Advocates, at: www.cfpa.net/legislation/2003LegistiveTrackingPage.htm.

Federal Bill Would Not Allow Any Restrictions on Milk Products in Schools

S. 1367, Senator McConnell's "Child Nutrition Improvement Act of 2003," would in part prevent schools from restricting the sale or marketing of fluid milk products by the school at any time on the school premises or at any school sponsored event. As the bill does not define "fluid milk products," such a policy could apply to whole milk and the newer flavored milk drinks full of sugar and artificial coloring.

RESOURCES

Nutrition and Physical Activity Environments in Communities of Color

As a result of two convenings held in northern and southern California, the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network and the California Adolescent Nutrition and Fitness Program are releasing: Communities of Color Issue Briefing Paper: Addressing the Obesity Epidemic-Public Policies for Healthy Eating and Activity Environments. The brief contains important data and discusses the social and environmental contributors to the obesity epidemic from the perspective of communities of color. You can download the full report in PDF format at: www.canfit.org/CANFit-CPEHNbriefFINALformat.pdf.

Tools for Measuring Environmental Change

The Center for Advanced Studies in Nutrition and Social Marketing at UC Davis has pulled together an impressive array of assessment tools that can be used to evaluate environmental factors such as walkability of a community, availability of healthy food in grocery stores, or organizational characteristics of a worksite. Visit: socialmarketing-nutrition.ucdavis.edu/Tools/somarktools.php.

Why Most Children Aren't Walking or Biking Anymore

On September 10, 2003, the Surface Transportation Policy Project (STPP), the Transportation and Land Use Coalition and the Latino Issues Forum plan to release, "Can You Give Me a Ride, Mom? The Decline of Children's Independent Mobility in California." This report discusses how issues ranging from community design and land use planning to safety and air pollution have converged to result in decreased activity and walking among today's children and youth and makes the connection to public health impacts. Look for the report after September 10 at: www.transact.org/ca.

UPCOMING CONFERENCES

Walk/Bike 2003 Conference, October 15-18, Oakland Marriott City Center

The California Bicycle Coalition and the City of Oakland, in association with California Walks, are sponsoring the first ever Walk / Bike 2003 Conference. This world-class event will highlight walking and bicycling's ability to relieve congestion, stimulate economic activity, increase transit use, and create safer and healthier communities throughout California and the western United States. Featured speakers and presenters will include state legislators, government agency representatives, planners and engineers, public health promoters, and pedestrian and bicyclist advocates. For more information and to register, visit: www.walkbikecalifornia.net/conference.asp.

Save the Date!

3rd Annual New Partners for Smart Growth: Building Safe, Healthy and Livable Communities
January 22-24, 2004, Hilton Portland & Executive Tower Hotel

Strategic Alliance is proud to be a co-sponsor of this exciting and important event. The program will feature cutting-edge smart growth issues, the latest research, implementation tools and strategies, successful case studies, new partners, new projects and new policies. For updated conference and registration information, visit: www.outreach.psu.edu/C&I/SmartGrowth/.

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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