A $1.3 million federal grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will help West Virginia University target and reduce childhood obesity and associated health concerns in three West Virginia counties.

The grant was awarded to the WVU Extension Service and the West Virginia Prevention Research Center housed within WVU School of Public Health.

Funding for the grant was part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services initiative to support public health efforts to reduce chronic diseases, promote healthier lifestyles and control healthcare spending. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention administers the grant, which will continue for approximately three years.

Six universities – including WVU – received this grant funding that works through existing Extension Service organizations.

“WVU Extension agents have played an integral role in bringing health lifestyle education and support to communities to address the critical needs of West Virginians as part of WVU and its land-grant mission,” explained WVU Extension Service Families and Health Program Director Cindy Fitch.

The project focuses on improving access to healthy foods and opportunities for physical activity for children and families in rural West Virginia through a partnership among families, schools, communities and the University. The goals and objectives will vary based on the community’s needs.

Through a 2012 statewide survey called the Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System, the CDC identified Barbour, Gilmer and Pleasants counties as having an adult obesity rate above 40 percent.

“Habits and behaviors that are developed early in life tend to persist throughout childhood and into adulthood,” remarked Fitch. “Children who develop healthy habits at a young age are more likely to maintain those habits when they get older.”

The joint project between the WVU Extension Service and the West Virginia Prevention Research Center will use existing networks, such as WVU Extension county offices, to improve awareness and help combat obesity and related health problems.

“We expect to see changes that will make the healthy choice, the easy choice in the early child care and education setting,” said Fitch.

Fitch will oversee the implementation of the grant funding through the network of Extension county offices, while Dr. Nancy O’Hara Tompkins, co-project director for the WVPRC and research assistant professor in the WVU School of Public Health, will manage the evaluation and measurement of impacts from the grant.

“The WVPRC and WVU Extension Service make great partners and stewards for health promotion,” O’Hara Tompkins said. “The University community is committed to taking our research and methods and delivering them to the people who need them most in our state. This grant and partnership allow us to do this in a way that is far more powerful and has a far greater reach, which ultimately means a greater value to the children and families we serve.”

With a presence in all 55 counties of West Virginia, WVU Extension – as part of WVU and its land-grant mission – helps improve the wellbeing of West Virginians by providing knowledge and resources from trusted University research that empowers them to live healthier lives.

-WVU-

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CONTACT: Cassie Thomas, WVU Extension Service
304.293.8735, Cassie.Thomas@mail.wvu.edu

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