Fighting Obesity

The Virginia Department of Health has unveiled a new program that seeks to lower the state’s adult obesity rate.
   
The health department said Monday the obesity rate in Virginia has increased 67 percent among adults over the past decade.
   
The plan, called CHAMPION, follows a series of regional meetings that included input from health professionals, residents and
educators.
   
It focuses on four areas: nutrition education and physical activity; community involvement that includes increased public
awareness; organizational policies, and media education initiatives.
   
Community groups are being encouraged through a series of meetings with the health department to implement obesity-fighting
programs and compete for grants that will be awarded by late summer.