Welcome! The Children and Weight Coalition of Solano County (CWCSC) is working to develop and implement effective solutions to address the growing epidemic of overweight children in Solano County. Using the talents and rerces of the county and working with its communities, we are a collaboration of health professionals, schools, community organizations, and others interested in reducing childhood overweight in Solano County.

Browse our website for more information. Resources are available for parents, teens, children, educators, health professionals and coalition members.

Preventing and treating childhood overweight is among the most important of the new health challenges that we face. We hope you will join us in helping our children and youth make healthy food choices and be more physically active.

• More about Childhood Overweight …
• Why Are Children Overweight?
• Philosophical Basis for Children and Weight Projects
• Taking Action in Solano County – A Strategic Plan
• Resources from the Children and Weight Coalition
  

More About Childhood Overweight

Childhood overweight and physical inactivity have reached epidemic levels in the nation and California, including Solano County. Significant research indicates that excess weight and physical inactivity put our children at risk for chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and some cancers. Type 2 diabetes, previously considered an adult disease, has increased dramatically in children and adolescents. Overweight and obesity are closely linked to type 2 diabetes. A child born in 2000 has a one in three chance of developing type 2 diabetes with the risk higher for Mexican American and African American children. Other serious problems associated with overweight in children are low self-esteem and poor body image.

Medical care costs associated with obesity are greater than those for both smoking and problem drinking combined. In California, the 2001 weight-related health costs for both adults and children was estimated at $14.2 billion a year.

Children today may be the first generation in America that have a shorter life span than their parents Fifty percent of overweight children/teens will remain overweight as adults and 26 to 41 percent of overweight preschool children will become overweight adults. The health consequences for these children, both now and in the future, are significant.

Solano County has a higher rate of overweight children and youth, ages 5 up to 20 years old, than the California rate. According to 2003 Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance data, 17 percent of children 2 up to 5 years old are overweight with an additional 16.9 percent of children in this age group at risk of being overweight. For children and youth, 5 up to 20 years old, 24 percent are overweight and 18.2 percent are at risk of being overweight. The 2000 Healthy Kids Survey of 7th, 9th, and 11th graders in five school districts in the county indicated that a significant number of students were not eating fruits and vegetables, drinking milk, or getting adequate exercise.

A 2002 community assessment of health needs entitled Community Perceptions of Health Care Needs in Solano County reported that, for children, obesity, poor nutrition, and lack of exercise were among the health issues and needs that were of primary concern. According to 2001 California Health Interview Survey data, 23 percent of the adult population in Solano County is obese with Solano County having the highest adult obesity rate among the nine Bay Area counties.

It is quite likely that children and adults will continue to become more overweight unless we make a concerted effort to create an environment that promotes a healthy lifestyle. Risk factors for childhood overweight that can be changed through effective community and school programs and changes in the environment include parenting styles, physical activity, television watching, and eating patterns, such as skipping meals. Families and communities lie at the foundation of influence and change.

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Why Are Children Overweight?

• Children have less daily physical activity and active play time.

• There has been a major increase in TV and computer time with young children.

• Children are skipping breakfast and snacking more on high fat and high sugar snack foods, especially while watching TV.

• Drinking sweetened beverages (sodas, juice, Tang, Sunny Delight, Capri Sun and Kool Aid) has increased, while milk intake has dropped.

• Eating outside of the home occurs more often.

• Portion sizes are getting bigger.

• Children are eating less fruits and vegetables. French fries are now the top vegetable eaten by children.

• More young children select their own food and snacks without adult guidance and role modeling.

• More teens report a fear of being fat, a fear of eating and lack of cooking skills.

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Philosophical Basis for Children and Weight Projects

• We recognize each child as a unique individual and each family as a unique group of individuals.

• We celebrate differences in body size and shape among children and adults.

• We view all bodies as good bodies. There is no such thing as a bad body.

• We respect the bodies of others even though they might be different from our own. We encourage children to demonstrate respect for the bodies of others.

• We believe that approaches to decreasing pediatric obesity must be based on sound scientific research.

• We believe that the best way to decrease obesity is to create environments that promote healthy lifestyles.

• We promote body satisfaction, high self-esteem, and a positive body image for children and adults.

• We believe that the vast majority of parents love their children and are committed to fostering their health and welfare.

• We know that our children are our future; we are strongly committed to caring for them and creating a world in which they can thrive.

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Taking Action in Solano County –
A Strategic Plan

CWCSC’s Strategic Plan, developed in 2004, identified action steps countywide and in each community – Benicia, Dixon, Fairfield-Suisun, Rio Vista, Vacaville, and Vallejo. Four strategic directions were identified as having the greatest impact on children and their environments: Home and Family Environment, School Environment, Community Environment, and Health Care Systems. The Strategic Plan provides action steps for the county and each city that can be implemented to address childhood overweight in Solano county.

• Children and Weight: Taking Action in Solano County,
A Strategic Plan to Improve Our Children’s Health – Full Report

• Executive Summary

• Taking action in Benicia

• Taking Action in Dixon

• Taking Action in Fairfield Suisun and Travis

• Taking Action in Rio Vista

• Taking Action in Vacaville

• Taking Action in Vallejo

• Taking Action in School Enviroments

• Taking Action in Medical & Health Enviroments

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Resources from the Children and Weight Coalition

Making a Difference for Families is a brochure that provides a listing of fun activities, nutrition information, and food assistance resources in Solano County.

English | Spanish

Power Up Your Child’s Life! A poster for preschool parents to encourage healthy food choices and physical activity. You can request a copy, send your name and address to our email under Contact Us.

English | Spanish

Power Up Your Life! is a poster for kids to encourage healthy food choices and physical activity. You can request a copy of sending your name and address to our email under Contact Us.

English | Spanish

Our Meeting Schedule
MSWord Doc 28k

Children and Weight Coalition Partners

We are working with many partners in Solano County in implementing efforts to improve our children’s health in the areas identified in our Strategic Plan.