Obesity prevention and reduction in Alabama
ALProHealth is an obesity prevention and reduction program through Auburn University, Alabama CooperativeExtension and the CDC that focuses on increasing community health. It increases access to healthier foods and opportunities for safe and affordable physical activity by empowering people to lead in their communities.
Community coalitions catalyzed changes to their food and physical activity environments resulting in places that can better support the health of their residents. By focusing on policy, systems or environmental changes that can be made at the local level, coalitions were able to create real, tangible changes that make their communities healthier places to live.
These coalitions increased access to healthy foods, potentially reaching 20,850 people through food pantries, stores and farmers markets. Another initiative increased safety of walking and biking by helping develop 89 miles of biking and walking infrastructure. Plans and policies for activity -riendly routes impacted 89,348 residents.
Because ALProHealth is a community-wide project, the audience includes all residents within targeted communities and counties. However, the broader public outside of ALProHealth communities also realize benefits from the policy, systems and environmental changes that inevitably reach beyond a city limit or county line. Obesity is a public health crisis, and the rates of related diseases, such as Type 2 diabetes and heart disease, have followed a similar trend. By reducing community obesity rates, other related diseases will be less prevalent, reducing the financial and social impacts poor community health can cause.
Link to full statement on website: http://landgrantimpacts.tamu.edu/impacts/show/5866