The Children's Agenda for California

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Goal 9:
Significantly reducing obesity rates among California children by implementing a more coordinated, multivariate approach.

Specific policy components to consider:

Centralizing the creation of a comprehensive public policy agenda to address obesity.
Current policy efforts to combat childhood obesity in California are too fragmented, impeding clear prioritization of the many policy issues at play and hindering policymakers in setting a clear, comprehensive agenda. The factors contributing to childhood obesity – everything from lack of access to healthy food, to junk food advertising, to unsafe walking routes to school – are numerous and interrelated in complex ways. Informed prioritization of the broad range of variables contributing to childhood obesity is needed at the state level to determine where and how policymakers should direct their focus.

Supporting a state tax on sweetened beverages to help reduce dental decay and obesity.
The state should support soda tax proposals such as those contained in SB 1210 and AB 2100 from the 2009-10 legislative session. Due to soda’s connection to obesity and other serious health conditions, many health experts consider it to be "the next tobacco." Taxing sweetened beverages would greatly benefit the state by reducing consumption and creating a significant amount of revenue dedicated to funding prevention and treatment efforts for California’s children.

Making it easier for needy families to participate in CalFresh.
By improving participation rates in CalFresh, known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in other states, California could collect an additional $3 billion in federal funds to support the state’s neediest residents. According to the USDA, 50% of eligible households do not participate in the CalFresh program. The program’s current quarterly reporting requirements are overly burdensome on participants and prevent families from securing access to food. Adopting a semi-annual reporting schedule would both reduce the state’s administrative costs and significantly improve program participation rates.

Increasing physical activity during and after school.
California should implement policies to ensure students will spend at least 50% of physical education class time engaged in moderate to vigorous physical activity. Additionally, the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) includes funding for community-based childhood obesity demonstration projects that could be used to promote increased physical activity in these and other ways.

Resuming the adoption process for the health curriculum framework in public schools in 2012-13 and ensuring the inclusion of nutrition education.
California needs to better educate students about healthy eating as a component of its approach to fighting childhood obesity. In 2002, the Education Code was revised to require CDE to incorporate nutrition education into the next revision of the health curriculum framework. Per the Code, “the curriculum shall be research-based and focused on pupils’ eating behavior.” In 2009, the process was suspended and procedures for adopting instructional materials, including framework revisions, were postponed until the 2013-14 school year. The state should restart this process immediately so that healthy eating curriculum can make its way into schools as soon as possible.

Providing incentives for redevelopment projects to incorporate health concerns into planning by conducting health impact assessments and involving affected residents.
Only in recent years have redevelopment agencies, public health departments and health advocates started collaborating on projects. Many counties have begun to integrate health into their general plans, which will result in the creation of more walkways and bike paths, traffic calming methods, park development and other tactics to help facilitate physical activity. Despite the demonstrated success achieved by pioneering counties so far, there is no current state mandate for counties to incorporate health aspects in all redevelopment projects.