Obesity Prevention
The obesity epidemic in America is fast approaching tobacco as the #1 preventable cause of death and disability. An alarming 34% of U.S. adults are overweight and 31% more are obese.
How can we change this? We must increase physical activity and have greater access to healthy foods.
More than 2/3 of the food we eat is consumed at home. So it makes sense to change home environments to make them more supportive of healthy eating – and that’s what we do. Partnering with the Emory Prevention Research Center, the Cancer Coalition of South Georgia developed and research-tested a highly successful program called Healthy Homes/Healthy Families. The program includes:
- Professional health coaches
- A customized home environment profile
- Making small, easy-to-manage changes in the home that lead to healthier eating.
To prevent weight gain, our health coaches help families in adopting proven healthy actions. Because the changes are tailored to each family’s home environment, family members are more likely to successfully make the changes.
The program is designed to prevent weight gain. However, most obese or overweight program participants lost weight during our research trial. We also encourage increased physical activity, particularly walking, and other strategies.
How can you become involved in the Healthy Homes/Healthy Families program? The program is currently not available to individuals, but it can be adopted by businesses, churches or other organizations or groups.
For more information on our services, please call (229) 352-9100.