 |
 |
 |
Lifestyle and Behaviors
The Lifestyle/Health Behaviors Team is focusing on system and policy changes for nutrition, tobacco, and physical activity.
Key initiatives of this working group include:
- tobacco free schools, restaurants, and hospitals
- improved nutrition in the public schools
- encouraging more sidewalks, bike lanes, and infrastructure that allows for safe physical activity
- reducing obesity
- and public health advisory function with the City/County Planning Board
Tobacco Free Schools, Restaurants & Hospitals
Tobacco free initiatives are a partnership of the Forsyth Healthy Community Coalition, the youth tobacco prevention project at the Health Department, and the Coalition for Drug Abuse Prevention, and the Infant Mortality Reduction Coalition.
- Smoke Free Restaurants: Adult and youth volunteers have been involved in promoting smoke free policies by meeting directly with restaurant managers to share information on the benefits of going smoke free. Over 50% of restaurants in Forsyth County are now smoke-free. The smoke-free restaurant list is available on-line at www.HelpOurBabies.org
- Smoke Free Socials: Once a month, adult volunteers gather for lunch at a smoke free restaurant to network, discuss volunteer opportunities and strategies, and support a local smoke free restaurant.
- Tobacco Free Hospitals: Both Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and Novant / Forsyth Medical Center passed a campus-wide tobacco-free policy in 2006! Novant went smoke free on April 2007 and Baptists implementation date is July 1, 2007. THANK YOU to both of these medical centers for their leadership in providing smoke-free environments for customers and employees in our community.
- Tobacco Free Schools: We have worked with community leaders to assess school board readiness for passage of the 100% Tobacco Free Schools Policy. The WSFCS Superintendent and the chairman of the school board of Education have publicly stated that they will support passage of the 100% tobacco free schools policy in 2007.
Pouring Rights
The Winston-Salem Forsyth County School’s (WSFCS) contract with Pepsi runs through Dec. 31, 2010. The school system offers a
variety of Pepsi products including new healthier beverages developed by Pepsi for sale in schools and the larger community
(soft drinks are not sold in WSFC elementary schools and are only available in middle and high schools after the lunch period
has ended). Beverage products offered in our schools vary school to school based on sales data. Many WSFC elementary schools
are participating in healthy snack and beverage programs that restrict high-sugar, low nutrition beverages and snacks from
being offered to students. The good news is that even with the WSFCS exclusive contract with the Pepsi, our children will
benefit from the national trends regarding healthier beverage offerings in schools. Beverage companies are working hard to
provide healthier beverages and beverages in appropriate portion sizes. Pepsi, along with many other major beverage companies,
has adopted the school beverage guidelines that were developed by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, an initiative of
The American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation. The Healthy Community Coalition will work with the
school system to have input into the Request for Proposals for beverages for our schools system (beyond 2010) or advocate for
the elimination of exclusive beverage contracts altogether.
Child Nutrition
School Wellness Policy was passed by the Board of Education in June 2006. The Policy committee is currently working on
implementation of the wellness policy. Pilot projects in elementary schools for healthy snack programs are continuing.
Behealthy Coalition & Increasing Physical Activity
The Lifestyle & Behaviors team is joining efforts with the Behealthy Coalition to encourage physical activity. The joint group
conducting one-on-one interviews with key leaders in our community (County Commissioners, City Council, Planning Board,
Chamber of Commerce, etc.) to better understand what influences their decisions and if promoting an environment that supports
physical activity is an item they view as important. This will help us better understand the barriers among policy-makers in
supporting a more walkable and active environment and develop strategies to address these barriers.
Public Health Advisory Function
A member of the Forsyth County Board of Health has been appointed to the Legacy Oversight Committee. The Legacy Development
Guide celebrates its 5th anniversary and the Oversight Committee will publish a report on the progress our community has made
in implementing the guidelines from Legacy. The Public Health Director made a presentation to the City-County Planning Board in
September 2006 to educate the Planning Board on the impact community planning has on the public's health. This was the first
step in initiating a regular dialog with the Planning Board. The Public Health Director and representatives of the Board of
Health will meet annually with the Planning Board.
Public health also provides input in the development of area plans for the community. These area plans provide recommendations for development in a specific geographic area or community and may include beneficial community resources such as grocery stores, and banks, as well as parks, sidewalks, bike lanes, and greenways. Public Health strives to positively impact communities affected with poor health outcomes and address social equity in the planning process.
Adopting these policies will help our community prevent chronic diseases by addressing risk factors such as physical inactivity, poor nutrition, and tobacco use. Healthy public policies focusing on these areas will ultimately reduce premature deaths in our community.
The Lifestyle and Behaviors Team meets bi-monthly or quarter at lunch time. Get involved and contact us for more information about this team.