Senate Select Committee

Troubled by Governor’s Inaction:

California Government Leaders  and Advocates Concerned Over Status of Implementation of Governor’s Obesity Prevention Plan

On February 20th, 2008, the California Senate Select Committee on Obesity and Diabetes concluded that the Governor and his administration have done little to uphold commitments to improve nutrition and physical activity environments throughout California. The committee met to review progress since the Governor’s Summit on Health, Nutrition and Obesity in September 2005 and the release of the Governor’s Obesity Prevention Plan in September of 2006. The hearing was attended by Committee Chair, Senator Alex Padilla, Senator Tom Torlakson, Senator Gloria Negrete McLeod (Chair of the Women’s Caucus), and Assemblymember Mark DeSaulnier.  Senator Padilla concluded that the administration has lost its initial momentum from 2005 to address the obesity epidemic in California, and has done little to actually implement the strategies proposed in their own plan.  Xin Guan, a youth advocate who testified at the hearing asked, “How can we defeat obesity when the government fails to follow through with its obesity prevention platform?” 

The Governor’s Summit in 2005 marked a significant starting point for policy change—Governor Schwarzenegger released the Governor’s Vision for a Healthy California, modeled after Strategic Alliance’s Taking Action Platform, and signed legislation to get junk food and soda out of schools.  However, “the administration’s efforts didn’t just peak too early, they peaked on day one…two and a half years ago,” according to Senator Padilla.  In September 2006, Strategic Alliance noted that momentum had already begun to wane since the Summit in The Anniversary of the Governor’s Action Summit: Recommitting to Health. Consequently, it was disappointing but not surprising that the general conclusion at the hearing was that Governor Schwarzenegger and his administration had not maintained the initial momentum and commitment to the issue, and needed to be doing more in the policy arena to ensure that the objectives of the Plan are met in a timely manner. A panel of five health advocates provided testimony at the hearing, four of whom are members of the Strategic Alliance Steering Committee:

• Harold Goldstein of the California Center for Public Health Advocacy and Strategic Alliance Steering Committee Member (read testimony).
• Ken Hecht of California Food Policy Advocates and Strategic Alliance Steering Committee Member (read testimony).
• Laurie True of the California WIC Association and Strategic Alliance Steering Committee Member (read testimony).
• Larry Cohen of the Strategic Alliance for Healthy Food and Activity Environments and Prevention Institute (read testimony).
• Xin Guan, U.C. Berkeley student and former member of the Statewide Youth Board on Obesity Prevention (read testimony). 

A number of key issues were raised by the panel of health advocates, including:

• Committees and workgroups have yet to produce concrete outcomes.

Various committees and workgroups that formed as a result of the 2005 Summit have only met a handful of times, and their recommendations have not been put into practice.  Read more

• Industry has not been held accountable for following through on commitments.

The administration has not been forceful enough in changing food and beverage industry practices, and has relied too heavily on voluntary action. "...a full third of the companies on the Governor’s Honor Roll did not fulfill their 2005 commitments [of significance].” Read more

• Statewide media advocacy campaigns are fragmented and poorly coordinated.

The Plan called for a coordinated state-wide media advocacy campaign.  Instead, there have been multiple uncoordinated and fragmented media campaigns that have not been broad-based and have not partnered with programs serving the target populations. Read more

• Combining obesity prevention strategies into one piece of legislation has hindered implementation.

Last month, the Senate Health Committee defeated Healthcare Reform Bill ABX1-1, which included many elements of the Governor’s plan for obesity prevention as part of the broader legislation. Read more

• The Governor has contradicted his own recommendations by vetoing and denying funding to bills that would put elements of the Plan into action.

Though menu labeling was one of the 51 strategies put forth in the Governor’s Plan, he vetoed SB 120, the menu labeling bill. Read more

The panel of health advocates proposed a variety of recommendations to get California’s Obesity Prevention agenda back on track, many of which reiterated Strategic Alliance’s 2006 Taking Action for a Healthy California checklist.

In essence, there needs to be greater accountability, coordination, and commitment to implementing the Plan. State government has made significant first step to correcting and improving nutrition and physical activity environments by putting forth a plan that strives to create healthy communities throughout the state. The 2006 Obesity Plan clearly delineates strategies that have the greatest potential to influence health outcomes; two and a half years after Governor Schwarzenegger and his administration first demonstrated support for improving nutrition and physical activity, it is time to take aggressive steps to put the Plan into action. As Goldstein told the administration in his testimony, advocates are “ready to work with [the Legislature], the Governor and the Administration, to establish policy reforms that are needed to turn this epidemic around.” Larry Cohen perhaps summarized the sentiment best: “There are already many starting points for action. We already have a strong strategy. It is now a question of attention and commitment.”

Learn More

Read testimony from the hearing:

• Opening Statement from Senator Alex Padilla, Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Obesity and Diabetes
• Harold Goldstein, California Center for Public Health Advocacy and Strategic Alliance Steering Committee Member
• Ken Hecht, California Food Policy Advocates and Strategic Alliance Steering Committee Member
• Laurie True, California WIC Association and Strategic Alliance Steering Committee Member
• Larry Cohen, Strategic Alliance for Healthy Food and Activity Environments and Prevention Institute
• Xin Guan, U.C. Berkeley student and former member of the Statewide Youth Board on Obesity Prevention

Read Taking Action and The Anniversary of the Governor’s Action Summit: Recommitting to Health.

Read the Governor’s Summit and Obesity Plan

*We would like to acknowledge Sarah Clark of Samuels and Associates for providing her notes from the hearing.  

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Robert Gottlieb Book Signing at Prevention Institute Offices

March 12, 2008; Oakland, CA

Join Prevention Institute for a special Bay Area event featuring author, Robert Gottlieb, Director of the Urban and Environmental Policy Institute, discussing his newest book, Reinventing Los Angeles: Nature and Community in the Global City, and the powerful influences of immigration and economic globalization as they intersect with changes in the politics of water, transportation, and land use (Download an event flyer). Please help spread the word!

... ... ...

Other Upcoming Events

The Ethics of Food and the Environment

Events March 4 -April 23, Palo Alto, CA

Screening of King Corn and Panel Discussion

March 4th, Oakland, CA

Sustainable Food in Health Care Roundtable
March 5th, Oakland, CA; 2-5pm

Celebration of Nutrition and Fitness Advocacy in California

March 6, Los Angeles, CA

CA Center for Public Health Advocacy 2008 Awards Luncheon and Fundraiser

March 6th, Los Angeles, CA; 12-1:30pm

Climate Change, Land Use, Sustainability, and Public Health

March 13-14, Davis, CA

Making Change Matter: Maximizing Impact of New WIC Foods

New date! April 7, Los Angeles, CA

More Events

~        Spring       ~       Summer       ~       Fall       ~

Thanks for reading!  The Strategic Alliance is currently engaged in building a broad and diverse statewide membership.  If you were forwarded this e-mail and want to receive your own copy in the future, please click here or e-mail carol@preventioninstitute.org.  And if you’re already a member, please forward this message to your colleagues so we can continue to strengthen our coalition.  Thank you!

WHAT IS THE STRATEGIC ALLIANCE?

The Strategic Alliance is reframing the debate on nutrition and physical activity away from a focus solely on individual choice and lifestyle towards one of environmental influences and corporate and government responsibility. Current Steering Committee members are: California Adolescent Nutrition and Fitness Program (CANFit), California Center for Public Health Advocacy (CCPHA), California Food Policy Advocates (CFPA), California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, California Park and Recreation Society (CPRS), California Project LEAN, California WIC Association (CWA), Child Care Food Program Roundtable, Latino Health Access, Partnership for the Public’s Health, Prevention Institute, Samuels & Associates, and YMCA of the East Bay.

The Strategic Alliance is supported by funding from The California Endowment.

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