Evolution in obesity and chronic disease prevention practice in California public health departments, 2010.

Introduction: Local health departments (LHDs) are dedicating resources and attention to preventing obesity and associated chronic diseases, thus expanding their work beyond traditional public health activities such as surveillance. This study investigated practices of local health departments in California to prevent obesity and chronic disease.

Methods: We conducted a web-based survey in 2010 with leaders in California's LHDs to obtain diverse perspectives on LHDs' practices to prevent obesity and chronic disease.

[Overweight and obesity among children in nurseries].

Background: Childhood obesity is a public health problem worldwide, which is associated with the diet, decreased physical activity and caloric imbalance, as well as genetic, behavioral and environmental factors.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted where the prevalence of overweight and obesity was estimated in nurseries from the Mexican Institute of Social Security in the state of Baja California Sur. Three hundred and sixty-eight children aged between two and 47 months who were being looked after in nurseries of three geographical areas from the state were analyzed.

The Central California Regional Obesity Prevention Program: changing nutrition and physical activity environments in California's heartland.

The goals of the Central California Regional Obesity Prevention Program (CCROPP) are to promote safe places for physical activity, increase access to fresh fruits and vegetables, and support community and youth engagement in local and regional efforts to change nutrition and physical activity environments for obesity prevention. CCROPP has created a community-driven policy and environmental change model for obesity prevention with local and regional elements in low-income, disadvantaged ethnic and rural communities in a climate of poor resources and inadequate infrastructure. Evaluation data collected from 2005-2009 demonstrate that CCROPP has made progress in changing nutrition and physical activity environments by mobilizing community members, engaging and influencing policymakers, and forming organizational partnerships.

The California Endowment's Healthy Eating, Active Communities program: a midpoint review.

Objectives: We conducted a midpoint review of The California Endowment's Healthy Eating, Active Communities (HEAC) program, which works in 6 low-income California communities to prevent childhood obesity by changing children's environments. The HEAC program conducts interventions in 5 key childhood environments: schools, after-school programs, neighborhoods, health care, and marketing and advertising.

Methods: We measured changes in foods and beverages sold at schools and in neighborhoods in HEAC sites; changes in school and after-school physical activity programming and equipment; individual-level changes in children's attitudes and behaviors related to food and physical activity; and HEAC-related awareness and engagement on the part of community members, stakeholders, and policymakers.

Local public health departments in California: changing nutrition and physical activity environments for obesity prevention.

The purpose of this research was to assess California public health departments capacity, practices, and resources for changing nutrition and physical activity environments for obesity prevention. The researchers surveyed key public health department personnel representing all 61 health departments in California using a Web-based survey tool. The response rate for the survey was 62 percent.

Involving local health departments in community health partnerships: evaluation results from the partnership for the public's health initiative.

Improving community health "from the ground up" entails a comprehensive ecological approach, deep involvement of community-based entities, and addressing social determinants of population health status. Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Office of the Surgeon General, and other authorities have called for public health to be an "inter-sector" enterprise, few models have surfaced that feature local health departments as a key part of the collaborative model for effecting community-level change. This paper presents evaluation findings and lessons learned from the Partnership for the Public's Health (PPH), a comprehensive community initiative that featured a central role for local health departments with their community partners.

Creating a robust public health infrastructure for physical activity promotion.

The essential role of physical activity both as an independent protective factor against numerous common chronic diseases and as a means to maintain a healthy weight is gaining increasing scientific recognition. Although the science of physical activity promotion is advancing rapidly, the practice of promoting physical activity at a population level is in its infancy. The virtual absence of a public health practice infrastructure for the promotion of physical activity at the local level presents a critical challenge to control policy for chronic disease, and particularly obesity.

Local health departments and the challenge of chronic disease: lessons from California.

The essential role local health departments have played in the control of infectious diseases has not been matched with an equivalent contribution in prevention of chronic diseases. Local health departments have attempted to define and build that capacity, but they have been confronted with budget cuts and competing public health priorities, most notably bioterrorism preparedness. This article is based on interviews with local health officials and describes some of the common ways local health departments in California have forged ahead to develop the capacity to engage in comprehensive approaches to chronic disease prevention in spite of the challenges.