SPECIAL UPDATE ON THE GOVERNOR’S ACTION SUMMIT ON HEALTH, NUTRITION, AND OBESITY

Attendees & agenda

The Governor’s Action Summit on Health, Nutrition, and Obesity was launched on September 15th in Sacramento. During the opening session of the summit, Governor Schwarzenegger challenged “leaders in government, business, education, medicine and parenting to continue the work we have begun today to make California the nation's model for health, nutrition and fitness.” According to California Health and Human Services Secretary Kim Belshé as well as reports from attendees, the one day event successfully brought together a broad group of partners, including “some of the best minds from California business, public health, academia, community groups and government”.  Not only were advocates for nutrition and physical activity well represented at the summit, but attendees also included representatives from state government departments and agencies, including Food and Agriculture, CA State Parks, and Transportation and Housing.

Highlights from the day’s agenda included comments by Secretary Belshé and Dr. Robert Ross, president of The California Endowment, who sponsored the summit. Dr. Ross noted that the summit was “the most pivotal 6 hours in the state’s public health history in the last 20 years.” A number of celebrities spoke during the summit, including Dr. Mehmet Oz, author of YOU: The Owner's Manual, who underscored the public health crisis by bringing atherosclerotic organs, and a container full of fat. Dr. Phil McGraw served as one of the keynote speakers, noting that while it is important to receive education about nutrition and physical activity, “pamphlets at the checkout stand is not education.”

Successes: Governor’s Vision for California

Governor Schwarzenegger officially unveiled the Governor’s Vision for a Healthy California during the summit (to view the full vision, visit the Strategic Alliance website under What’s New: www.eatbettermovemore.org). In addition to calling for individual responsibility and action, the recommendations notably include only marketing healthy foods to children under age 12 as well as a call for neighborhood environments that provide easy and affordable access to healthy foods options and for recreational and physical activity. Many of the recommendations directly reflect the recommendations in Taking Action, which was shared with the governor and the planners of the summit.

Successes: Bills

One of the most significant moments during the summit occurred when the Governor officially signed 3 bills—SB12, SC965 and SB281—that will establish the strongest nutrition standards in the country for school food while also introducing more fresh fruits and vegetables in school meals.  SB 12 and SB 965, authored by Senator Martha Escutia, limit the amount of calories and sugars in school foods (SB12) and extend the ban on the sale of sodas to high school (SB965). Both of these bills were signed over the strong objection of the beverage industry, according to Senator Escutia.  SB281 by Senator Abel Maldonado will allow for $18.2 million towards fresh fruits and vegetables in school meal programs.

Successes: Commitments of Significance

A second hallmark of the day came in the form of the “commitments of significance” (to view the full list of commitments, visit the Strategic Alliance website under What’s New www.eatbettermovemore.org) made on the part of industry and non-profit organizations. Commitments include:

• California Association of Health Plans is committing $30 million over the next three years through its 35-member health plans, reaching 21 million health care consumers.  Of participating members, one of the most significant commitments is from Kaiser Permanente, who will “commit $18.5 million over the next five years to community based efforts to promote healthy eating and active living.”
• Lewis Operating Corporation is extending their “commitment to developing communities that promote healthy and active living to new communities in Riverside County”, and will “design an extremely pedestrian-oriented community plan.”
• American Academy of Pediatrics is committing to changing their organizational practices, including providing “doctors and family practitioners with tip sheets for parents and kids about obesity prevention” and information for doctors on how to talk about obesity with parents and patients.
• Safeway, which will increase access to healthy foods by expanding their ready to eat “Eating Right” product line, and “integrate natural and organic foods into every aisle, group healthy products, and make healthier option sections more readily identifiable.”
• Ruiz Foods, which will eliminate trans fats from all products and “develop a new product line that meets child nutritional guidelines set by the Food and Drug Administration.”

Not all the commitments made on the day of the summit can be called significant. McDonald’s, for example, committed to introducing tray liners promoting healthy messages in California. These liners will be available for two months only. This commitment comes at the same time as their new advertising campaign for their dollar menu. Strategic Alliance is concerned that this campaign encourages over consumption by including images such as a woman holding bags of McDonald’s proclaiming “This is my kind of shopping spree.” Interestingly, however, Vice President of McDonald’s Western Division expressed in a working group that McDonald’s recognizes that they have not done enough to improve the health of their own employees and that they will take action to improve this. 

A commitment to follow-through

The summit is clearly an important step in the ongoing commitments that are necessary to improve healthy eating and physical activity in CA. First Lady Maria Shriver, who has played a key role in the summit, explained, "As I traveled the state, I saw firsthand the remarkable efforts many Californians are making to ensure their communities are healthy environments, but I also learned that many of our neighborhoods don't have safe parks and playgrounds or available fresh produce. The steps we are taking together today will go a long way towards addressing these problems." The First Lady went on to state that she was going to ensure that there is follow-through on the commitments of significance and that there will be follow-up discussions with those businesses who have not yet made commitments to urge them to do so. A committee that is comprised of Harold Goldstein of the California Center for Public Health Advocacy and Strategic Alliance Steering Committee member, Secretary Kimberly Belshé and Safeway Executive Vice President Brian Cornell, has been established to monitor the commitments of significance.

Furthermore, California Health and Human Services is committed to changing organizational practices in relation to nutrition and physical activity, including marking walking paths for employees, opening up stairwells and reviewing the foods that are served on their sites.

Missed Opportunities

There were some clear missed opportunities during the summit. Although physical activity was highlighted along with nutrition, the predominant physical activity focus was on individual responsibility. The importance of biking, walking and mass transit was barely mentioned during the summit. There was also inadequate emphasis on the need for quality physical education programs in schools or the inequities that exist in terms of access and location of parks and open spaces. There was also insufficient focus on health disparities in general and the conditions that create these disparities. For instance, there was little mention of safety as it relates to physical activity. Neighborhood inequities, including inadequate supermarket access or the general needs of people with limited resources, were not elaborated on. The commitments of significance did not include improving access to supermarkets selling healthy and affordable foods in underserved neighborhoods. 

Next steps for Strategic Alliance

The summit has the potential to serve as a strong beginning for a broad scale collaborative effort to improve health and well being. We need to see extensive and stronger commitments of significance from businesses along with specific strategies and actions steps for each of the elements described in the Governor’s vision statement.

It is vital that Strategic Alliance members and collaborators advocate forcefully for significant environmental changes. We will be conducting further analysis over the next few weeks in regards to the summit and will share our thoughts and findings through the newsletter. (We apologize to those of you who were unable to get on the post-summit debriefing call; the demand was greater than anticipated and the phone lines filled up quickly.) Also, as the state produces follow-up information, you will be able to access relevant documents through the Strategic Alliance website, http://www.eatbettermovemore.org/

There are important steps that you and your organization or coalition can take today to make sure that momentum doesn’t end:

1. Endorse the Taking Action Recommendations! And encourage others to as well, especially your local government bodies. Click on the Taking Action link  for the Taking Action Toolkit including a presentation you can use to present Taking Action for endorsement and a model resolution for local governing bodies.
2. Prioritize one local environmental change for advocacy efforts
3. Engage local government. Urge local government to endorse the Taking Action Recommendations and to engage in organizational practice change
4. Support statewide policy efforts to improve eating and activity environments
5. Participate in Media Advocacy
1. Respond to the stories about the summit, contact sana@preventioninstitute.org for talking points
2. Join the Rapid Response Media Network (email sana@preventioninstitute.org for details and to join)
6.  Keep expanding the Network of supporters. Encourage your colleagues to join the Strategic Alliance.

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 Parks and Recreation Society, California Project LEAN, California WIC Association, Child Care Food Program Roundtable, Latino Health Access, Prevention Institute, Samuels & Associates and YMCA of the East Bay.

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, eatbettermovemore.org, or contact Sana Chehimi at 510.444.7738 or Sana@preventioninstitute.org. 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.

Return to top of page