California Childhood Obesity Rate Falls, but Some Counties Struggling

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A new study released today offers hope that the state may finally be getting a handle on its 30-year battle with childhood obesity, but also showcases a patchwork of progress that leaves the majority of counties in the state still registering increases in obesity rates among California’s school-age children.

According to the study, A Patchwork of Progress: Changesin Overweight and Obesity Among California 5th, 7th and 9th Graders, 2005-2010, prepared by our client, the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, and the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, the percentage of overweight and obese children in the state dropped 1.1 percent from 2005 to 2010. However, 38 percent of children are still affected – a rate nearly three times higher than it was 30 years ago when the obesity epidemic began. Improvements are not being seen statewide, with 31 of California’s 58 counties experiencing an increase in childhood overweight over the five-year period from 2005 to 2010. Want to know how your county measures up?  

The progress being made statewide is encouraging, but there is still work to be done. Implementing policy and system changes to make schools, communities and worksites healthier places for everyone is the right way to go in reversing the childhood obesity trend.

You can access information on this new at http://www.publichealthadvocacy.org/research_patchworkprogress.html.

What We Learned From Turning the Tables

Mike was in Atlanta this week presenting at the National Conference on Health Communication, Marketing, and Media on a panel about Designing Evidenced-based Communication Strategies to Affect Policy Change. Putting together the presentation about our work on menu labeling, Turning the Tables: Winning Support for the Nation's First Statewide Menu Labeling Law, gave us the opportunity to reflect on the lessons we learned from the campaign.

We’d like to share some of our top tips for communication strategies to affect policy change:

1. Research can be your story: The thrust of our campaign became a “consumer’s right to know issue” after a Field Poll commissioned by our client, the CaliforniaCenter for Public Health Advocacy, showed how little people actually knew about popular fast-food menu items. Of the 523 people surveyed, 68 percent didn’t geta single question right when asked about the calorie content of popular menu items. (Do you think you could do better?) Of those polled, 84 percent supported menu labeling. You can conduct research, and get media attention, to illustrate the need and support for a specific policy change.  

2. Simplify the message: People are going to have no interest in what you’re saying if they don’t find what you’re talking about very interesting. It’s your job to make them see why they should care about what you’re saying. Also, it’s easier for people to tune out your message if it’s too complicated for them to quickly understand. A solid message that resonates with the audience forms the backbone of all successful campaigns.

3. Entertain: In response to our bill to put calories on menu boards, the fast-food industry sponsored its own bill that would only require restaurants to hand out brochures. This purposefully ineffective bill offered timid legislators political cover and was quickly championed by the media and public alike. We used a humorous video to show how ridiculous using brochures at fast-food restaurants is in order to redirect public opinion and rally waning political support. Don’t be afraid of communicating in a fun, light-hearted and humorous way. The video was fun for people to watch and really took the wind out of the competition’s sails.

4. Start local: Setting out with a dramatic policy change in mind can seem pretty daunting to advocates working at the local level, but not doing anything in hopes that “someone else will do it” is a huge mistake. Policymakers look for examples of success at the local level before they will throw their support behind major policy change. California’s menu labeling law wouldn’t have come to fruition if advocates in San Francisco and Santa Clara hadn’t first shown that it could be done.

5. Establish a grassroots support system: This tip goes hand-in-hand with the previous tip. Embarking on a major policy change effort requires a lot of ground forces. Local advocates became part of the team, writing letters to the editor and opinion editorials, meeting with editorial boards and writing comments on their local newspaper’s website, to keep the issue in the news and in front of policymakers across the state.

 
6. Be prepared for the competition: Making major policy changes in the field of public health often means taking on huge industries, such as tobacco, restaurants and soda. No one can deny that these industries have a lot of money to support an army of lobbyists, send “experts” on media tours, and donate funds to medical associations and cash-strapped local governments. They may have more money in the coffers than you, but you have “social good” on your side. Just know that they will come at you with all guns blazing.

7. It’s about the war, not the battle: As I said above, the competition seems to have an unlimited cash flow and is determined to defeat your efforts. But just because you lose a few battles along the way doesn’t mean you will lose the war. Our menu labeling efforts became a two-year endeavor after the governor vetoed the bill the first time around. We were able to bring the governor and Legislature around the second time by creating more pressure with a strong argument (and a great YouTube video). Again, you have “social good” on your side, which ultimately will trump money in the long run. Endurance is key because the “long run” can be a really long time.

State Soda Tax Could Be Lifeboat for Fiscally Strapped Counties

For cash-strapped counties struggling to fund vital programs, the state’s proposed soda tax (AB 669-Monning) could be a lifeboat, according to a new county-by-county analysis of how that revenue would be returned to local communities. The proposed penny an ounce tax on sugary beverages would raise an estimated $1.7 billion annually in California. The bulk of those funds – 85 percent or $1.4 billion – would be returned to counties proportional to their population to pay for education and children’s health programs.

“Local communities will be the direct beneficiaries of a soda tax,” explains Dr. Harold Goldstein of the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, which conducted the study to better understand how the monies will be allocated. “A soda tax would return about $233 per student in the county to programs aimed at protecting the health and well-being of children. That’s a smart investment.”

Local schools will be the biggest winners of a soda tax, with about 60 percent of local funds going to the classroom and an additional 20 percent to help pay for improvements to physical education and provide nutritious school meals. AB 669 also carves out another 20 percent of the local funds to pay for local children’s programs like youth sports and afterschool programs.

To learn more about the study and see how much money would go to your county, visit the CCPHA website at: www.publichealthadvocacy.org/revenuestudy.html

Majority of California Voters Support Soda Tax According to Field Research Poll

Even in the midst of what may be the most hostile tax environment in a decade, a statewide poll shows a solid majority of California voters support a soda tax to fund childhood obesity prevention programs in California.

Support for a soda tax was evenly distributed throughout the state:

• Statewide: 56 percent
• San Francisco Bay Area: 60 percent
• Los Angeles County: 61 percent
• Other Southern California counties (including San Diego and Orange): 54 percent

The Central Valley was the only region in the state where less than a majority supported a soda tax (43 percent). What did the Fresno Bee have to say?

The most surprising finding? The level of support among low income voters (those making less than $40,000 per year) at 60 percent and Latinos at 66 percent. "The soda industry often pretends they want to protect the low income and minority communities from higher soda prices, but it's exactly these communities who support soda taxes," said Harold Goldstein, executive director of CCPHA.

The public opinion poll, conducted by the Field Research Corporation and commissioned by the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, surveyed 503 registered California voters by telephone. Click here for more information about the poll.

We're published - twice over!

In a recent issue of PR News, our ground-breaking media advocacy work on behalf of California's menu labeling law was featured. The four-page analysis recognized our innovative approach that helped make California the first state in the nation to require restaurants to offer up basic nutrition information -- who knew that an Awesome Blossom had 3,000 calories!

Then, in what can only be payback for years of poring through tedious college textbooks, we find that we're now being taught in school. Yep, from page 199 to 212 in the 8th edition of Public Relations Cases, college PR students are learning about our successful efforts with the California Center for Public Health Advocacy to force legislators to take a role in addressing childhood obesity.

- Mike

Florez announces penny per teaspoon soda tax

In the face of a $41 billion statewide obesity epidemic, California Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez today introduced legislation to tax sodas and other sugar-sweetened beverages to fund childhood obesity programs.

The Florez bill would levy a penny for every teaspoon of added sugar in commercial beverages sold. It's estimated the excise tax on beverage distributors would raise $1.5 billion a year for California cities and schools to pay for childhood obesity prevention programs.

A growing body of research highlighting the central role of soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages in driving the obesity epidemic prompted the senator's bill, including a study from one of our client's last year.

"When Michelle Obama introduced her children's health initiative last week she explained that our children didn't do this to themselves," said Dr. Harold Goldstein of the California Center for Public Health Advocacy. "They didn't create an environment where high sugar sodas are the cheapest, easiest drink to find. We did that to them. We have a responsibility to fix it and this bill is the right way to start."

~ Nicole

Soda/Obesity Verdict: Guilty As Charged!

California's Senate Health Committee dug deep last week to discern the role soda and other sweetened beverages play in the obesity crisis. The findings: Guilty as Charged!

Listening to six hours of testimony from the nation's leading health researchers and scientists as well as defense from soda industry reps, the irrefutable conclusion points to the significant and leading role soda plays in beefing up America.

With the depth of understanding and plethora of research presented, it's up to elected officials to take the next step and develop legislate to slow consumption of these "sugar delivery systems."

Mike

CA schools are running out of lunch money

Peaceful Playgrounds shared another sign of the dire economic times and the impact of the budget crisis. According to the blog, California schools are set to run out of funds for free and reduced lunch students by January 2009.

Jack O'Connell, California superintendent of schools, is appealing to the federal government to make up for the state's budget shortfall. Health advocates are also voicing concern that the high cost of fresh fruits and vegetables will result in serving less expensive, and less nutritious, canned fruits and vegetables.

"Without quick action by the governor and the Legislature, districts will be forced to make a series of unacceptable choices to dip further into their own bare-bones budgets, serve less nutritious foods and not comply with California's nationally renowned nutrition standards," Supt. Jack O'Connell said in a statement.

So not only are low-income, school-aged children getting less nutrititious and smaller amounts of food at home due to tough economic times, but now schools won't be of much help either. Sad times for those fighting the good fight for healthy kids.

Who wants a simple tool to help them build a healthy diet?

I just read about a recent survey of 1,019 adults in the United States that indicates public health campaigns should focus on the total nutrient value of food.

The survey (commissioned by Nutrient Rich Foods Coalition) showed that 61 percent of respondents were interested in learning about both the positive nutrients and the nutrients they should limit when they are trying to select healthy foods. And, 78 percent of survey participants said they are looking for a simple, practical tool that would help them build a healthy diet based on getting the most nutrients from their food choices.

Some interesting statistics to keep in mind, especially with Yum! Brand's announcement of putting calorie-labeled menu boards up in all their U.S. restaurants and not just California. Hooray for change not taking place at a snail's pace for once!

~ Nicole

California Leads Nation with Passage of Menu Labeling Law

California became the first state in the nation to require nutritional menu labeling, following Governor Schwarzenegger’s signature of SB 1420 (Padilla) this morning. The landmark legislation requires some 17,000 California chain and fast- food restaurants to post calorie counts on menus and menu boards, part of an effort to address the state’s growing obesity epidemic.

“This is a huge victory for Californians working to make healthier decisions when they eat out,” declared SB 1420 co-sponsor Dr. Harold Goldstein of the California Center for Public Health Advocacy. “The days of chain restaurants marketing a calorie-laden sandwich as “lite, guiltless or healthy” are over in California. When Californians walk into a chain or fast-food restaurant, the calorie information they need to make healthier decisions will be right in front of them.”

We're excited here at BMC to have led the media activities for this campaign and to have worked with CCPHA and an army of hardworking advocates to make a real impact on the health of Californians. Click here to learn more about SB 1420.

Mike