Shaping America's Health

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Our Mission:

Prevent and treat excess weight and obesity, and to facilitate a better scientific understanding of weight management.

Our Vision:

Lead in the fight against obesity by providing tools, programs, and processes that empower individuals, families, and health professionals, to build community environments that reduce overweight and obesity.

Shaping America's Health works to bring focus, clarity, and resources to the health care challenges posed by excess weight and obesity. The serious health consequences of being overweight or obese have just recently begun to receive the attention they deserve. There is growing awareness that being overweight or obese is linked to increased risks of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and many forms of cancer, among other serious diseases.

Shaping America's Health is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit founded by the American Diabetes Association to reverse the obesity trends and over weight issues facing individuals, families and communities.

Meet our Board of Directors >>

Shaping America’s Health Key Strategies and Initiatives

Building a sustainable national culture of healthy behavior must focus on the community where “life” happens. Strategies and initiatives at every level - local, state and national must be centered on children, families and communities. Policy, awareness/education, organization, training, program implementation and evaluation efforts must be directed to empowering and enabling communities to meaningfully address the overweight/obesity crisis.

1) Build community capacity to support healthy environments.

  • Shaping America’s Community Health Initiative – The goal is to empower communities across America to permanently reduce childhood and family obesity. The initiative will harness the expertise and resources of like-minded corporations, foundations and subject matter experts to bring to scale evidenced-based obesity prevention solutions and empower leadership at the community level. Shaping America’s Health has commitments for partnership on this effort from CDC, Public Health Foundation, the American Chamber of Commerce Executives, the National Center for Youth Issues and others.
  • Race Disparities Forum – The Second Annual Forum will be held in August, 2008. The 2007 Shaping America’s Health/American Diabetes Association, Race Disparities Forum with HHS and CDC gave voice to those populations at greatest risk. Working committees were formed to insure that Forum solutions and promising practices will have continuity and impact in the local community.
  • “Community Based Action Plan to Combat Childhood Obesity” – The data from the 3,000 children, parents, community leaders and political representatives who participated in our five SAY Town Meetings/Summits (Memphis, Dallas, Philadelphia, Chicago & Iowa) has been analyzed by independent researchers and the Community Based Action Plan to Combat Childhood Obesity is being drafted for presentation to the U.S. Surgeon General and Congress in early 2008.

2) Foster and translate the science of overweight and obesity.

  • Consensus Conference – “The Impact of Race, Ethnicity, Culture and Poverty on
    Prevention and Treatment of Childhood Obesity” held April 2008. The Race Disparities Forum results are serving as background for this Consensus Conference. Conferences on Community Intervention – Criteria for Success and Developing Healthy Environments are being planned.
  • National Community Resource Center for Childhood and Family Obesity – This center in partnership with J.J. Hill Library will secure then translate research and best practices in childhood and family obesity for effective application in the community.
  • Obesity Research Leaders Forum – This Forum will focus on advancing translational research in childhood obesity. Leaders from America’s childhood obesity research centers will be involved in this important meeting on translating what we know into practice.

3) Promote awareness about the benefits of maintaining a healthy weight and risk of obesity and its consequences.

  • Shaping America’s Health’s Website - The site is a primary communications platform with the latest obesity news, updates on what is happening in mobilizing community prevention efforts and providing key science based information on encouraging individuals, and families to build a healthy life through positive choices in how they move (exercise & fitness), what they eat (nutrition) and how they manage their health (health management).
  • “My Health Advisor” - This exclusive SAH innovation will be available online in Fall 2008. Individuals will be able to enter their numbers for cholesterol, glucose, BMI, etc. and in seconds they will see their risk for diabetes, cardiovascular disease including stroke over the next 30 years. They can then go back, set lifestyle goals such as losing 10 pounds and see instantly how a little change can affect their risk.
  • A National Health and Wellness Mobile Tour will visit at least 10 of “America‟s 25 Fattest Cities” (Men’s Fitness magazine). The Tour will be active for 85 event-days, and will make over 65 total stops attending large and medium sized venues including retail food/pharma locations, NBA, NASCAR, and state/county fairs. Biometric Testing and other health benefits, provided at no charge and with incentives for visiting their doctors, will provide a real call-to-action among consumers. The mobile event set will include consultation areas, indoor and outdoor testing stations, information kiosks, and bins for literature and coupons.
  • “Check Up America” Campaign - A nationwide campaign co-branded with ADA
    and a goal of reaching millions of children & families so they “know their numbers” - BMI, glucose level, cholesterol, etc. Participants, w