1.6 Million San Diegans are Overweight or Obese

Fifty percent of San Diego County children and adults are overweight or obese; that’s a whopping 1.6 million people.

Radio and television commercials will begin airing February 28 across San Diego County, promoting easier access to locally- grown fresh food, nutritious meals in schools and safe bike paths and walkways.

Poor diet, lack of physical activity, and smoking are three behaviors that contribute to the four chronic diseases—heart disease, type 2 diabetes, lung disease and cancer—that are responsible 57 percent of deaths in San Diego County.

The media campaign is a component of Healthy Works, a County health initiative—in collaboration with numerous community, governmental, and educational organizations—focused on environmental and systems changes designed to prevent obesity and promote healthier living.

Healthy Works is the local Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) program, a $16 million grant funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to address the obesity epidemic, viewed as a nationwide public health emergency.

This two-year grant, the largest of its kind in the nation, is a unique opportunity for partnerships that lay the groundwork for the County’s “Live Well, San Diego! Building Better Health” Initiative, a 10-year vision for healthy communities.

By focusing on the environment where children, families, individuals, and seniors live, work, play, and learn, Healthy Works can make an impact on the toll of chronic diseases that threaten San Diego County residents’ health and well being.