Go for Health! Collaborative in Santa Cruz, California

Throughout the US overweight is seen in both boys and girls in all age, race and ethnic groups threatening the long-term health of children and the adults they become.  It is estimated that over 310,000 are dying each year of diseases related to unhealthy eating (including heart disease and diabetes!).  In the 1990’s, the prevalence of Type II diabetes in CA increased by 33%.

While it is projected that the total number of people with diabetes in California will double by the year 2020, until recently, Type II Diabetes was a disease diagnosed primarily in adults, not children; this trend has recently changed.  We know that 70-80% of overweight adolescents will continue to be overweight adults, and will suffer from the chronic diseases that accompany obesity.

Santa Cruz County is ranked high in the State of California for high rates of childhood overweight and obesity. The county ranked 29th (1 being the best) out of California’s 66 counties and health jurisdictions for overweight children aged less than five years. The county ranked 37th in 2003 and 19th in 2004. The 2005 Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance data showed that 24% of 5-19 year olds were overweight (with a state average of 22.7%). Although we have seen some shift in the obesity rates, the averages are still high and alarming given the long-term consequences associated to childhood overweight and obesity.

The causes of childhood obesity and overweight are complex. Research points to multiple contributors. It appears that our environment has become toxic in many ways.

For Example:

•  Unsafe neighborhoods,  or the perception of unsafe neighborhoods means less activity and more screen time, and  in 1999 JAMA reported  that  3rd and 4th grade students watch TV 22-24 hours per week – an average of over 3 hours per day
• There is intense marketing of unhealthy foods to young children:  the food and beverage industry has made children and adolescents a target of  specialized food marketing and  now spend $10 billion on advertising each year to reach them. 
• The typical child views approximately 40,000 commercials each year, including 11,000 advertisements  for food that is predominantly   high in calories, sugar  and fat, and this marketing has increased the intake of unhealthy food dramatically.
• Our environment is also full of Cheap Fast Food and low income families who experience the greatest degree of food insecurity often find that value meals are cheaper and more filling for a family, and those healthy fruits and vegetables are not available nor affordable.

Go for Health! is a broad-based collaborative in Santa Cruz County with over 150 members.  The collaborative was first convened in August 2003 by the United Way of Santa Cruz County, the Children’s Network, the Children’s Food and Fitness Coalition and the Pajaro Valley Health Trust to address the childhood obesity crisis in Santa Cruz County.  The Go For Health! Plan outlines problems, outcomes and action steps to improve children’s eating and physical activity habits and was developed with the premise that children cannot eat healthy and be physically active without the full support of their family, schools and community. Go for Health!’s goal then is to increase healthy eating and regular physical activity among children and youth in Santa Cruz County. The vision is that all children in Santa Cruz County will be physically fit and well-nourished through healthy eating and regular physical activity.

Go for Health’s large membership base has assisted in the successes that we have experienced so far. Go for Health also works with several large tri-county and county collaboratives such as the Health Improvement Partnership, Nutrition Fitness Collaborative of the Central coast out of Monterey County, and the Regional Diabetes Collaborative, to ensure adequate prevention efforts throughout the central coast region.

The Health Improvement Partnership of Santa Cruz County (HIP) is a local collaborative that has been integral in linking the health care community to the obesity prevention work of Go For Health and others.  HIP’s members represent the major health care providers in our community, including local hospitals, County health department, private providers and safety net clinics.  In 2006, HIP identified pediatric obesity as a critical health care issue threatening the health and potential of local youth.  As a result, HIP’s members set the community goal to reduce by 5% the incidence of pediatric obesity by the year 2010.  Toward that end, HIP’s own efforts currently include working with Go For Health and other local collaboratives, improving data collection and analysis, identifying current community resources as well as gaps, providing physicians with the tools to educate patients on healthy choices as well as exploring funding for more resources.  

As the causes of childhood obesity are multiple and complex, GFH’s strategic plan lays out several pathways that address the various causes. The GFH strategic plan is available online at: http://www.unitedwaysc.org/PDF%27s/goforhealthplan.pdf. Go for Health’s approach is making changes within the environment in order for community members to have the option of making healthy choices. Go for Health’s long-term strategic plan is our guiding tool in making these changes happen to reach our overall goal and objectives. We have several committees that carry out the various components of the strategic plan. These include:

Steering
Healthcare
Child & Youth Environment
Jovenes SANOS
Communications/Media
Fitness
Food Industry
Public Policy
Municipal Planning

Each sub-committee has a chair and meets regularly (often monthly) to move forward with activities identified in their work-plans. The collaborative also meets quarterly and often hosts “mini-trainings” and workshops.

To find out more and get involved, please contact Shebreh Kalantari, GFH Coordinator and Director of Community Building at United Way of Santa Cruz County: 

p: (831) 465-2207
f: (831) 479-5477
email: skalantari@unitedwaysc.org