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1-Year Policy Agenda
(Policy Agenda 2011-12)
Illinois Alliance to Prevent Obesity stakeholders prioritized three policy goals to move Illinois closer to the following Roadmap objectives:
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Increase access to retailers who serve and/or sell healthy and affordable food options.
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Develop state-level obesity prevention resources and infrastructure.
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Increase consumption of healthy food and beverages in relation to consumption of unhealthy food and beverages that have minimal nutritional value, such as sugar-sweetened beverages and calorie-dense, low nutrition fast foods.
1. Advocate for the allocation of $10 million in capital funding to the Illinois Fresh Foods Fund.
Background and current status: Established in the 2009 Illinois Jobs Now! capital bill to help eliminate "food deserts." Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) will administer $10 million designed to draw more grocery stores to the neediest areas of the state. The delay in issuing bonds to fund the program, and the recent appellate court decision calling into question the constitutionality of the capital budget raises concerns among advocates that the program may be in jeopardy. Advocates are continuing to work with the administration and develop alternative strategies to implement the Fresh Foods Fund if necessary.
2. Implement a "gold standard" statewide child obesity data collection system.
Background and current status: In 2004, the Illinois General Assembly amended the School Code by passing Public Act 093-0966. The Act requires that the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) promulgate rules on collecting existing data from the certificate of child health examination required by schools, including data related to obesity, such as BMI. Rules have not yet been issued nor are systems in place to collect, aggregate and de-identify the data. Advocates and national experts agree that a statewide children's health monitoring system could examine priority issues, like BMI, at the local level in order to efficiently allocate resources where they are needed the most. Recently, IDPH and key state agencies have expressed a renewed interest in moving this effort forward, and advocates are working to facilitate this process.
3. Conduct community mobilization, engagement and education about the relationship between sugar-sweetened beverages and obesity and how revenue generated from a tax on sugary beverages can benefit community and state-level obesity prevention efforts.
Background and current status: Obesity is epidemic in Illinois, and costs the Illinois health care system and taxpayers nearly $4 billion per year. Prevention strategies promoting healthy eating, access to healthier foods, physical activity in schools and communities, and more walkable/bikable neighborhoods and towns can help reduce obesity. Sugary beverages are one of the major contributors to obesity and its costs to our society. On average, Americans consume 175 extra calories per day in soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages. A one-cent per ounce excise tax on these drinks would raise more than $600 million for obesity prevention in Illinois and would reduce adult and child obesity.
Please check the box for each policy goal that your organization endorses.
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