Ohio Awarded Grant to Address Childhood Obesity

Childhood obesity is a major problem impacting the United States. And, it’s a problem that impacts the health of our nation’s children. And, it is only growing worse. In fact, according to a 2019 Pediatric Health article, childhood and adolescent obesity has reached epidemic levels.

And, while researchers and scientists have sounded the alarm for years, a Duke Clinical Research Institute study shows that public efforts on helping childhood obesity have fallen flat. But still, it’s important that work on this issue continues with a new methodology. It’s so vital that we help children in all areas. So I’m happy that the Dayton City Commission has received a $50,000 grant aimed to tackle childhood obesity.

Dayton City Commission Receives Grant to Tackle Childhood Obesity

The city of Dayton actually applied for this grant through the Dayton Sprout Program. This program aims to educate parents and their children about healthy, sustainable lifestyles.

Dayton Mayor Nan Welly spoke on the grant award: “This program will compliment similar initiatives happening within the City but works to address the educational component we have been lacking in our pursuit to create a more healthy and viable community.”

So, why is this important? Well, childhood obesity is at an all-time high, and the state of Ohio is ranked 10th in the country for this issue. According to The Robert Wood Foundation, 15.7% of Ohio children between the ages of 10 and 17 are obese. This is pretty much right on par with the national average of 15.5%. That means that one in seven children living in the United States is obese.

Since obesity can cause so many chronic health issues this is especially troubling. Especially as these issues include things like type-two diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol and many others serious health issues.

After the publication of this report by the John Wood Johnson Foundation, senior program officer, Jamie Bussel said this: “The COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing economic recession have worsened many of the broader factors we know contribute to obesity, including poverty and health disparities. We must confront these current crises in ways that also support long-term health and equity for all children and families in the United State.”

Hopefully this grant awarded to Dayton will help families to be able to overcome this issue. Specifically, environmental changes including changes to diet and exercise routines can have a major impact on childhood obesity. So, providing the relevant health information to these families is critical.

GrantWatch Knows Health and Sustainability Is Important

GrantWatch understands how important proper nutrition and health care for children and families. So, tackling the obesity epidemic, especially among children, is incredibly important. Providing appropriate nutrition information to parents, and also children in schools, can help a lot. That’s why funding initiatives aimed at improving lives and health outcomes of children is crucial. Therefore, we have an entire grant category on our website focused on initiatives & programming for children.

If you have any questions about this grant category or any of the others on our site, feel free to reach out to our customer support team! You can reach our amazing team members by calling 561-249-4129.