Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years. To help combat these alarming statistics, many organizations, companies, families, and individuals are sounding the alarm for healthier options and public policy changes. Jump IN for Healthy Kids, formed by a coalition of Central Indiana community and business leaders, has one ambitious goal in mind: to have a 12% reduction in childhood obesity rate by 2025.
To accomplish this goal, Jump IN has three main strategies to help empower children and their families:
- Increasing access to healthier foods, and encouraging consumption
- Increasing physical activity
- Embracing healthy habits
These three strategies are spread across eight focus areas, which work together to better a child’s health and welfare:
- Clinician Training: training physicians;
- Communication and Public Awareness: educating the community;
- Community-Based Pilots: providing health resources;
- Data and Analytics: measuring and collecting data;
- Employer Wellness: partnering with employers;
- Nutrition: increasing access to health foods;
- Physical Activity: connecting with community organizations and schools;
- Public Policy: advocating policy changes.
Jump IN wants to give families and children accessible opportunities, such as incorporating activity into the work or school day, to make healthy choices in healthy environments. Through exciting community initiatives, such as partnering with early childhood education programs to provide meaningful physical activity for preschoolers, Jump IN hopes to change the course of childhood obesity in Central Indiana.
Jump IN has looked to other community initiatives across the nation, such as the state of Mississippi, which has cut the percentage of elementary school students who were classified as overweight or obese from 43 percent to 37.7 percent in only six years. Jump IN looks to programs like this to determine successful initiatives, and advocates for them here in Indiana, such as nutrition standards and health education. Jump IN can be visited online for more information and opportunities, and can be followed on Facebook or Twitter
Transform Consulting Group applauds the leadership of JumpIN to make a positive difference for children and families in Central Indiana.
