NEW RESEARCH SHOWS SHAPE UP SOMERVILLE PROGRAM’S SUCCESS IN COMBATING CHILD OBESITY

Data

from the first two school years of the Shape Up Somerville: Eat Smart Play Hard

initiative showed fewer Somerville children targeted by the intervention were

obese or overweight compared to children in two similar control communities,

according to research from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy

at Tufts University and Tufts University School of

Medicine. 

Using

the Body Mass Index (BMI) z-score measure that accounts for both height and age

of the child, researchers found that BMI z-scores decreased by 0.06 in the 335

Somerville children in the intervention group of first through third graders, a

modest reduction in weight gain compared to the 693 children in the communities

that did not receive the intervention. The results have been published online and

in the print edition of the journal Preventive

Medicine.

Dr.

Christina D. Economos from the Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition,

who convened the intervention and study, said, "These results are more

meaningful than the modest reduction in weight gain suggests. The early years

of elementary school are when we expect children to gain weight as they grow.

What's driving the child obesity rate is pervasive unhealthy weight gain in

children at a young age, particularly in low-income and often culturally

diverse communities where access and availability of healthy food and physical

activity options are limited."

The

20-month intervention engaged the entire community, from parents and teachers

to school food service and City departments to local businesses and

organizations. School lunch menus were reworked to provide healthier options,

opportunities for physical activity for students during the day were increased,

and additional initiatives such as working with local restaurants to offer

healthier menu items were undertaken.

"The initial study's blueprint told us that making the

healthy choice the easy choice required a community-based effort, holistically

addressing the systems that shape our environment," Somerville Mayor Joseph A.

Curtatone said. "A top-down plan cannot address the needs of a diverse

community. It cannot sustain over the long haul, because leadership has limited

time to devote to any single program, and leadership also changes over time.

Cultivating a strong grassroots effort is the only way to see an effort like

this take root, sustain and grow."

Somerville

took the reins of the program after the first school year of the intervention and

has continued on ever since:

• Somerville Public Schools no longer have trans
  
  fats, fryolators or chocolate milk and serve lean meats and whole grains, unlimited
  
  fresh fruits and vegetables at lunch and low-fat dairy.

• Students participate in physical activity before
  
  school, during school and after school through a "walking school bus" program,
  
  in-class programs and structured recess time, and creative after-school
  
  programs.

• The City has invested in its transportation infrastructure
  
  including bike lanes and improved crosswalks and walking routes and has since earned
  
  recognition as the 10^th most walkable and 8^th most
  
  bikeable city in the nation. Renovations of existing parks and the
  
  establishment of new parks, along with the City's Open Streets Initiative,
  
  promote and support active living by inviting people out of their homes and
  
  into public spaces.

• The healthy food retailer program Shape Up
  
  Approved now has more than 50 restaurants enrolled.

• Fresh, local produce available through the
  
  Somerville Mobile Farmers' Market has increased access to affordable, healthy
  
  foods across the City. The Mobile Farmers' Market operates at the Mystic
  
  Housing Development and Clarendon Hill Housing at North Street, as well as the
  
  Council on Aging Holland Street center, accepting EBT, WIC and Farmers' Market
  
  Coupons. Residents of the housing developments and anyone receiving food
  
  assistance purchase items at half price.

• The City
  
  has a robust school garden and community garden program and launched an Urban
  
  Agriculture Initiative in 2012 as well including sponsoring the city's first
  
  urban farm with partner Groundworks Somerville, which also runs the school
  
  garden program.

"Everyone must be invested, transforming their own

spheres of influence to transform our environment," said Mayor Curtatone.

"We've now seen, time and time again, that if we can give people ubiquitous and

accessible options, they will choose to eat healthier, get active and live

better lives."