Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, American Heart Association Join Forces to Reverse Childhood Obesity Epidemic

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Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, American Heart Association Join Forces to Reverse Childhood Obesity Epidemic
Posted on 01/03/2013
Under the new initiative, RWJF and AHA will focus on policy interventions to advance six priorities that research shows are likely to have the greatest impact on childhood obesity. AHA will develop the overarching strategy that knits together efforts across all six priorities and fund efforts for three of them:
  • improving the nutritional quality of snack foods and beverages in schools;
  • reducing consumption of sugary beverages; and
  • protecting children from unhealthy food and beverage marketing.

RWJF will fund efforts to address the following priorities in underserved communities:

  • increasing access to affordable healthy foods;
  • increasing access to parks, playgrounds, walking paths, bike lanes and other opportunities to be physically active; and
  • helping schools and youth-serving programs increase children’s physical activity levels.

Both RWJF and AHA will focus on reaching communities hardest hit by the epidemic, including communities of color and lower-income communities.

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