Author: Emily DeWitt
Planning Unit: Family and Consumer Sciences
Major Program: Making Healthy Lifestyle Choices (general)
Outcome: Initial Outcome
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) selected the University of Kentucky (UK) as one of 15 land grant universities funded to collaborate with the Cooperative Extension Service (CES) to increase access to healthier foods and safe and accessible places for physical activity. The funding is part of a High Obesity Program (HOP) cooperative agreement which will run through 2023.
Martin County, a rural community situated on the West Virginia border in Appalachia, was chosen for this project due to its adult obesity rate of 40.2%, well above the state adult obesity prevalence of 34.3%. The county is representative of a geographically isolated and impoverished area in Eastern Kentucky, with a median household income less than $30,000 and nearly 36% of the community living in poverty.
Over the next several years, multiple community-based interventions targeting the food environment and community connectivity will be implemented. The CES at UK is working directly with agents at the Martin County Extension Office to emphasize policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) changes to promote healthy eating and active living. A community coalition, comprised of local officials, business owners, residents, farmers, regional representatives, and other community stakeholders, will guide the project in order to make sustainable and effective changes.
For year 1, efforts have focused specifically on:
Other efforts are currently underway and include collaboration with local grocery stores and food pantries to provide increased geographic and financial access to healthier foods, and partnerships with local and regional planners to enhance community design, connecting safe and accessible places for physical activities, with an emphasis on walking. These efforts will be the focus of year two of the project.
Long-term outcomes for this work aim to reduce obesity prevalence and decrease the risk of chronic disease in this rural community.
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