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Educational resources for overweight and obesity prevention and treatment?
News of programs and events in Hillsborough County, Tampa, Florida?
Seeking a connection for advocacy to fight for community resources?

You’ve come to the right site.

Overweight and obesity is not just a cosmetic issue.

Every year, it costs U.S. employers $73 billion in lost productivity.
More than $150 billion spent annually on health care is linked to obesity.
On a personal level, losing the excess weight might cut your insurance costs in half!

Obesity is also tied closely to diabetes. "Diabesity" - the combination of obesity and diabetes - is not to be taken lightly. Diabetes complications can harm every organ system in your body– thus losing weight can also save your feet from amputation and your eyesight from blindness.

Yet if losing weight was a simple as telling someone to move more and eat less, then 2/3 of Americans would not be overweight or obese. Adult obesity rates are still rising in Florida, and more than one-third of children ages 10-17 are obese or overweight. It cuts across all ethnic and socio-economic groups.

Obesity is a complex issue. Weight gain is slow, insidious. Something as simple as an extra 100 calories a day can add 10 pounds of fat in a year. Changing jobs to one more sedentary can shift the energy needs that might add even more than 10 pounds in a year. The Standard American diet fosters weight gain. Our work environments can foster weight gain. The "built environment", the physical structure of our communities, can foster weight gain. The only way to turn around the obesity epidemic is to tackle the problem from all directions, and at every level.

At the personal level - under the "Consumer Resources" tab you can find educational materials to help the indivdual.

At the community level- under the "Community Resources" tab you will find a listing of many of the programs and services in Tampa, Hillsborough County, Florida.

At the population level - under "Provider Resources" and "Partnership Meetings" you will find the tools and the opportunity for policy and systems change advocacy. It is at the population level that sustained environmental change can happen. It's a different - more powerful -way of thinking about the problem.

Obesity is a costly community issue that requires a comprehensive approach – to include policy at the community level. In the last century our biggest gains in health and longevity came from policy decisions – like requiring cars have seatbelts and then fining people when they didn’t use them... or decreasing childhood death rates due to immunization-preventable illness by requiring that children have shots before they start school. These gains happened because legislators took hard steps to put good policy in place. Those legislators responded to the voice of the people asking for change. Let us never forget that there is power in bringing our voices together to speak as one.

What can you do to make a difference?

There are policy issues that need a voice. Did you know the self-reported rate of sedentary behaviour went up 14% in the past year. Why? Might it have something to do with the fact that the Tampa Bay area is the second most dangerous metropolitan area for pedestrians? How can we expect families to be active when doing do is fraught with fear? Our communities need safe accessible places for physical activity. Some of the answers to the obesity issue might be found in promoting joint use of school facility, continued support of parks and recreation facilities, creating, maintaining, and expanding on safe bike and walk paths. When many individuals speak up, our legislators listen.

Likewise, we vote with our food dollars. When consumers demanded that hormones stop being used on milk cows, many store brands now provide bovine growth hormone-free milk. When consumers asked for purified water in BPA-free bottles, water bottlers responded. When we stop buying fried food and start asking for low cost grilled food, the fast food restaurants will respond. Do you choose the fries even when an apple is available? Remember, if something doesn't sell, they won't restock it. If enough people ask for it, the menus and prices will change. Every dollar you spend on food at a restaurant or grocery counts just like a vote.

If nothing else, start with educating yourself on your own health risks. Are you overweight? If you are not sure, check yourself with the tools below.

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