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Forum held to discuss childhood obesity in DuPage County
Thu November 18, 2010
OAK BROOK, IL - The Northern Illinois contingent of the Illinois Alliance to Prevent Obesity gathered in Oak Brook on Wednesday to review and discuss policy recommendations that could impact the State Obesity Action Roadmap. The audience was also treated to first of its kind data that provides a detailed description of the obesity problem affecting children in DuPage County. The data was collected and released by FORWARD (Fighting Obesity Reaching healthy Weight Among Residents of DuPage.) In order to develop a system to collect this vital data, FORWARD partnered with Dr. Darlene Ruscitti, Superintendent of the DuPage County Regional Office of Education.
"The data collected thus far in DuPage County will be unique and reliable since the source of the information is the Illinois School Physical Exam, taken by healthcare professionals as a requirement for students to enter kindergarten and Grades 6 and 9," said Ann Marchetti, Director of FORWARD. "We would especially like to thank the JR Albert Foundation, Dr. Darlene Ruscitti, the 42 DuPage County School Superintendents and all of the school health staffs who partnered with us on the Body Mass Index Surveillance system. Their partnership will allow us to use our existing health infrastructure to begin tackling childhood obesity."
The reliability of the data collected is vital because it allows organizations such as FORWARD, and other funding organizations, to get an accurate picture of the childhood obesity problem, as well as apply for resources to address this health problem, which in turn will help evaluate their long-term effectiveness.
"Fifty percent of the DuPage County schools with grades K, 6 and 9 were randomly selected to participate in a new BMI Surveillance system, called Fitrac. Plus, physicians, researchers and epidemiologists are overseeing the data collection project while serving with the FORWARD Data Committee," noted Dr. Ruscitti.
The DuPage County data was released during the final of 10 regional forums held throughout Illinois by the Illinois Alliance to Prevent Obesity. The regional forums allowed stakeholders in Northern Illinois the opportunity to offer their input on how the State of Illinois develops plans to tackle obesity throughout the state.
Participating in the regional forum were over 120 FORWARD coalition members and partners including: representatives of DuPage, Cook, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will County Health Departments; the Chicago Department of Public Health; the Illinois Alliance to Prevent Obesity; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; five DuPage County YMCAs (which are partnering with FORWARD); Dr. Ruscitti and several superintendents from the DuPage County ROE.
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FORWARD
Fighting Obesity Reaching healthy Weight Among Residents of DuPage, is an inclusive public and private partnership directed and primarily funded by the DuPage County Health Department. DuPage County has five FORWARD regions all coordinated by Central Programming, which includes an Advisory Board, County-wide Coalition, Leadership and Staff, Data Collection and Evaluation, and Marketing and Promotion. There are five DuPage County YMCAs leading the FORWARD regions: BR Ryall, Elmhurst, Fry Family, Indian Boundary and Tri Town YMCAs. For more information about the FORWARD Initiative, please visit: www.forwarddupage.org
Illinois Alliance to Prevent Obesity
The Illinois Alliance to Prevent Obesity (IAPO) is a statewide coalition comprised of a broad range of stakeholders working for a state-level response to the obesity epidemic. The IAPO works to shape and advance solutions to reverse dangerous obesity trends. IAPO supporters believe that Illinois must respond to the obesity epidemic by developing coordinated systems, policy improvements and investment on the scale of the problem. This initiative was launched and is coordinated by the Illinois Public Health Institute (IPHI). To learn more about the Illinois Alliance to Prevent Obesity, visit: www.preventobesityil.org