Obesity in Virginia:Moving Forward, Reversing the Trend

Danny Saggese, Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth

Katelyn Lacey, Y Street member

Christina Furst, Y Street member

Lewis Folli, Y Street member

About • Launched in 2004

• Almost 6,000 trained high school youth

• Two critical health issues: tobacco and obesity

• 2011 Group Youth Advocate of the Year Award from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

Awesome Activists

Y Street activists briefed Gov. McDonnoll on its tobacco control & obesity efforts!

Campaign Priorities

• Are you interested in the campaign issue?

Campaigns need to be youth-led• Are the campaign objectives realistic?

Is there momentum on the issue?

Are there partners available?• How will we measure campaign success?

What are realistic returns on investment?

Do we have the capacity to implement it?

MOP 1:PHOTO PETITION

PROJECT DAY ACTIVISM PROJECT PROJECT DAY ONLINE ACTIVISM

PROJECT

MOP 2: PUBLIC OPINION

SURVEYS

MOP 3:SURVEYS

MOP 4: MESSAGE CARDS

Campaigns

• After tobacco, obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death in our country.

• Childhood obesity has tripled in the past 30 years.

• More than 1 out of 4 Virginia youth are overweight or obese.

About the Issue

About the Issue

The CDC recommends that youth get at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day.

4 in 5 youth fail to meet this standard.

• Physical education is not a requirement in the Virginia public school system. Experts estimate that fewer than 10% of K-5 schools provide 30 minutes of PE per day.

• Youth spend half of their day in school. Shouldn’t at least half of their physical activity take place in school?

About the Issue

Objectives:1. Increase awareness of the importance of physical

education in schools.2. Increase support for physical education in

elementary and middle schools.3. Implement a minimum of 30 minutes of physical

education each day in Virginia schools.

About the Campaign

Phase 1: Public Opinion

• 15,847 surveys collected from youth and adults between October 2011 – July 2012.

Survey Report Results

• Convenience sample representing 210 communities in Virginia.

Sample Population # %

Full Sample (Youth & Adults) 15,847 100%

All Adults (18+) 7,277 46%

Parents 2,573 16%

Teachers 691 4%

Youth (Under 18) 8,570 54%

Survey Report Results

Survey Report Results

Survey Report Results

Survey Report Results

Survey Report Results

What’s Next?• Collecting evidence of Virginia’s support for daily

physical education.

/ActOutVA @ActOutVA

• Meeting with high school, middle school, and elementary school principals to ask for their support.

What’s Next?

What’s Next?

35

• Using social media to mobilize Virginians in support of daily physical education in their communities.

What’s Next?

/ActOutVA @ActOutVA

What’s Next?

Collecting stories on ActOutVA.com

Obesity isn’t just about moving more, it is also about changing what we eat and drink.

Rev Your Bev Day – May 15, 2013

Rev Your Bev Day – May 15, 2013

Your “Rev Your Bev Day in a Box” toolkit will contain:

• Guide• Surveys• Informational handouts• Posters• Wristbands & mini-buttons• Materials for a sugary drink visual display:

• 5 empty sugary drink bottles • 100 sugar cubes

• Pre-stamped return envelope

Rev Your Bev Day – May 15, 2013

Rev Your Bev Day – May 15, 2013

Rev Your Bev Day – May 15, 2013

Rev Your Bev Day – May 15, 2013

Rev Your Bev Day – May 15, 2013

Rev Your Bev Day – May 15, 2013

Rev Your Bev Day – May 15, 2013

Rev Your Bev Day – May 15, 2013

Want to host an event somewhere other than Virginia?

You can still download the Rev Your Bev Day informational handouts and posters for free on our website atRevYourBev.com/resources.

Questions?

Rev Your Bev Day – May 15, 2013