HANCOCK - The problem of childhood obesity has been increasing for many years, but now a national philanthropic organization and the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department are getting together to do something about the problem in the Copper Country.
Ray Sharp, project coordinator for the health department, said it is one of only 50 community organizations in the country to receive a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Health Kids, Healthy Communities program. The local grant is $360,000 over four years.
Sharp said the foundation requested communities around the country send proposals for the grant money, and they received 540 applications, which were then trimmed down to 110 semi-finalists, including the WUPHD.
"We submitted a very thorough proposal in May," he said. "It was quite a competitive process."
Sharp said the 110 applications were narrowed to 60 in August, and in September foundation representatives contacted certain applicants for a long conference telephone call.
Last year, nine community organizations were chosen for the project, and this year 41 more, including the WUPHD, were chosen in December, Sharp said. The only other Michigan community organization chosen was the Crim Fitness Foundation in Flint.
The reason the WUPHD was chosen for the grant wasn't so much for its rate of childhood obesity, Sharp said, but rather for its plan of action and the level of involvement of its community partners, called the Healthy Families Consortium, which includes local schools, BHK Child Development Board, Michigan Technological University, local hospitals and others.
Sharp said the RWJF has been involved in the effort to reduce childhood obesity since 2000, and with the Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities program they're continuing that effort this time with local involvement. The organization is committing $500 million to reverse the trend of increasing childhood obesity by 2015.
"It's a national movement," Sharp said.
Sharp said the health department over the years has done studies with its various community partners, such as local schools and the BHK Child Development Board, to determine the rate of childhood obesity locally.
"We're seeing as young as the 3- to 5-year olds, 22 percent are overweight," he said.
That rate is probably about the same as the national rate, Sharp said, but locally, the rate of obesity among high school students is even higher.
Sharp said although genetics may play a part in some cases of obesity, most of it is due to eating and lifestyle habits.
"We see children who are heavier than their parents were at their ages," he said. "We eat differently, and we work and play differently than we did several generations ago."
Although the health department is responsible for providing information about healthy lifestyles, Sharp said officials there want to be more actively involved.
"We want to make our community a healthier place to live," he said.
Sharp said Michigan is in the top 10 in the country for adult obesity, also, and although the RWJF newest effort is aimed specifically at children, adults will be benefit from some of the efforts under consideration.
For instance, Sharp said with funding from a Michigan Department of Community Health grant, the health department is working with the city of Houghton to develop a system for bicycle use in the city, including placing signs for routes, placing bicycle racks around the city and striping streets to indicate routes.
Sharp said the Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities grant will also allow the health department to increase its efforts at promoting healthy eating. The grant will allow the health department to work with the Pewabic Street Community Garden in Houghton to increase its usage by community members. There will also be an effort to work with the Michigan State University Extension to increase marketing of community garden and small farm produce.
Kurt Hauglie can be reached at khauglie@mininggazette.com.