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Targeting Childhood Obesity with CLOCC
Chicago obesity rates among nation’s worst

“Chicago children appear to be at an epicenter of the childhood obesity epidemic,” states a recent report by the Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children.

Beset with obesity rates well above the national averages for children 2 to 12, Chicago nevertheless benefits from excellent infrastructure for active transportation and a core of institutions that are dedicated to developing opportunities for more exercise and activity.

Obesity rates in five Chicago communities demonstrate the severity of the problem.

The region is home to a cluster of public initiatives that Chicagoland Bicycle Federation is helping to guide from infancy toward a level at which they redefine the paradigm for childhood activity. Mayor Daley’s Safe Routes Ambassadors, the Northeast Illinois Safe Routes to School Task Force, and the upcoming pilot, GoHealthy!, which will market active transportation in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood, are all pieces of CBF’s partnership with CLOCC.

“The Chicagoland Bicycle Federation has been partnering with the Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children since its inception,” said Rob Sadowsky, CBF executive director. “It started with finding opportunities to move our Safe Routes to School program forward with a broader base of support but has expanded for both since then.”

A smattering of CBF’s work in this area includes:

Go Healthy! a pilot project in Logan Square seeking to convert families' car trips to more active forms of transportation through individualized marketing;
Sunday Parkways: what better way to bring physical activity to people's lives than to convert streets to park space every Sunday; Active Living in Logan Square: a partnership with the Logan Square Neighborhood Association that works with the two programs above plus Walking School Buses, Bike Clubs and after school programs, and access to food; Statewide legislative efforts on physical fitness/activity

Sadowsky said that working as part of a team toward a "cure" for the obesity epidemic has taught the organization ma;;;;ny lessons: do your research, tie outcomes to measurable activities; get others to help you do the work through formal and informal partnerships; a holistic approach toward physical activity is important; community support is vital; and public health resources are available for real world solutions.