The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has launched a new effort to address childhood obesity using successful elements of both primary care and public health. Funding made available through the Affordable Care Act will support a four year Childhood Obesity Demonstration Project. Supported by $25 million in funding awards, the project will build on existing community efforts and will work to identify effective healthcare and community strategies to support children’s healthy eating and active living and help combat childhood obesity. The project will target children ages 2-12 years covered by the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which provides low cost health insurance to more than 7 million children from working families. Rates of childhood obesity are high overall, but for minority and low-income communities in particular, they are even higher. Using innovative approaches to reach low-income and minority families to tackle childhood obesity prevents the onset of many diseases associated with childhood obesity, including type 2 diabetes, asthma and heart disease. 

These innovative approaches include combining changes in preventive care at doctor visits with supportive changes in schools, child care centers and community venues such as retail food stores and parks. Community health workers will provide a bridge between families and resources in their communities in order to inform and educate hard-to-reach, limited English proficiency and minority communities about disease prevention (including obesity), health insurance enrollment opportunities and disease management. Overall, the grantees’ work will focus on strategies that improve children’s health behaviors by involving the children themselves, their parents and other family members and the communities in which they live.