Michael and Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living

TOAW Toolkit

*The following links are presented only as sources of information. The organizations that created this toolkit in partnership with the Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living in no way endorse any persons or organization on this list.

Learn more about the obesity epidemic before Texas Obesity Awareness Week with these resources from our partner organizations and trusted sources.

1. Start out by reading the State of Obesity Report (2018).
2. Learn more about the fight against obesity specifically in Texas. Click to read about Texas' Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity Profile, published by the National Center for Chronic Disease prevention and Health Promotion.
3. Take a short nutrition lesson. Use MyPlate to learn about recommended nutrition guidelines and to get new healthy recipes. Check out the CATCH – GO, SLOW, WHOA Foods List, a nutrition guide that is especially great for kids (but us adults love it too!).
4. Obesity prevention is more than good nutrition; it also involves physical activity.Here’s a tip sheet on how to get 60 minutes of exercise each day.
5. Sign up for Walk Across Texas. It’s a free 8-week program to help increase your regular physical activity, initiated by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Program. Make it a challenge and get some friends to join!
6. Attend the next Texas Health Champion Award Ceremony  to be inspired by those who have made important strides in Texas’s fight against obesity.
7. Like the Center for Healthy Living on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more great resources on obesity prevention
   
   
   

Learn more about physical activity with these resources from our partner organizations and trusted sources.

• CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health – Addressing Physical Activity
• Information about Physical Activity and the CDC’s efforts to address youth fitness.
• Nature Rocks and Nature Rocks Austin 
• Resource for planning outdoor family activities.  Information about parks, hiking, outdoor activities, etc.
• The President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports
• Serves as a catalyst to promote healthy lifestyles through fitness, sports and nutrition programs and initiatives that engage Americans across the lifespan.
• Walk Across Texas
• Information on the 8 week walking program in Texas communities.
• We Can!
• We Can! (Ways to Enhance Children's Activity & Nutrition) is a national movement, from the National Institutes of Health's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, designed to give parents, caregivers, and entire communities a way to help children ages 8 to 13 maintain a healthy weight.
• Youth Compendium of Physical Activities
• Resource that provides a list of 196 common activities in which youth participate and the estimated energy cost associated with each activity

 

Learn more about nutrition with these resources from our partner organizations and trusted sources.

• CATCH - Coordinated Approach to Child Health
• CATCH curriculum information and tips.
• Center for Science in the Public Interest
• CSPI has long sought to educate the public, advocate government policies that are consistent with scientific evidence on health and environmental issues, and counter industry’s powerful influence on public opinion and public policies.
• Food and Nutrition
• Texas Department of Agriculture Program; explanation of all nutrition assistance programs offered by the state.
• IOM Report – Strategies to Reduce Sodium Intake in the United States
• Research, findings, and action steps from the Committee on Strategies to Reduce Sodium Intake in the US.
• Junior Master Gardener 4-H Youth Gardening Program
• Information on becoming a gardener for kids and creating local groups.
• MyPlate
• Information on dietary guidelines as recommended by the USDA.
• Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity 
• Non-profit research and public policy organization devoted to improving the world’s diet, preventing obesity, and reducing weight stigma.
• School Gardening Project
• Their vision is to make available free educational plant-based materials, grants, and resources that speak to young minds, educators, youth and community organizations, and the general gardening public in five core areas; education, health and wellness, environmental stewardship, community development, and home gardening.
• Sustainable Food Center
• From seed to table, SFC creates opportunities for individuals to make healthy food choices and to participate in a vibrant local food system.
• USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans
• Workshops on following and implementing the guidelines for a variety of audiences.

 

Learn more about the built environment with these resources from our partner organizations and trusted sources.

• Healthy Living by Design
• Grant program that creates community-led change by working with local and national partners to build a culture of active living and healthy eating based on the built environment.
• Safe Routes to School Improves the Built Environment (PDF file)
• CDC report on encouraging biking and walking to school and improving the built environment to foster safe routes.
• Prevention Institute – The Built Environment and Health
• Highlights neighborhood-level changes to the built environment that can have a positive influence on the health of community residents, especially in low-income communities.  Eleven profiles of neighborhood transformation.
• Center for the Built Environment
• Seek to improve the environmental quality and energy efficiency of buildings by providing timely, unbiased information on building technologies and design and operation techniques.  Resources on green buildings and construction.
• Solar Decathlon
• Yearly competition of college students around the country to design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive. Sponsored by the Department of Energy
• The Built Environment and Health
• BEH uses spatial data to examine the impact of the built environment, including land use, public transit, and housing on physical activity, diet, obesity, and other aspects of health. The group has investigators from public health, social science, and urban planning.
• CDC Designing and Building Healthy Places
• CDC initiative that links public health with public spaces.
• Healthy Food Access Portal
• Healthy Food Access supports bringing healthy foods to corner stores where fresh produce is uncommon and options are limited.

 

Learn more about walking and biking with these resources from our partner organizations and trusted sources.

• Accommodating Bicycle and Pedestrian Travel: A Recommended Approach
• Policy statement adopted by the United States Department of Transportation for integrating bicycling and walking into the transportation mainstream.
• CDC Kids Walk-to-School
• CDC resources for fostering walking to school.
• National Center for Safe Routes to School
• Programs are sustained efforts by parents, schools, community leaders and local, state, and federal governments to improve the health and well-being of children by enabling and encouraging them to walk and bicycle to school.
• National Complete Streets Coalition
• Seeks to fundamentally transform the look, feel, and function of the roads and streets in our community, by changing the way most roads are planned, designed, and constructed.
• Safe Route to School
• Program creates practical projects to make school routes safer for children to walk and bicycle, such as sidewalks, crosswalks and bicycle facilities. Community leaders, parents and schools also use education programs to help children travel.  Information on the program and how to apply.
• Texas Bicycle Coalition – Bike Texas
• Bike maps and other resources for many Texas areas

 

Make some healthy life changes with these resources from our partner organizations and trusted sources.

• HEB-Eat Better?
• Healthy meal ideas, snacks, and products, and exercise tips.
• Reading Nutrition Facts Labels
• Easy to understand explanation of nutrition labels.
• Sample Walking Program (PDF file)
• Tips for creating your own personal walking regimen.
• Still Tasty
• Food safety information.  Tips on how to pick fruits and vegetables and food preparation/storage.
• Texas Farmers Markets Association
• Provides list of Texas Farmers Markets by area, their hours and payment options.
• HHS Healthy Eating for an Active Lifestyle (PDF File)
• Tips on how to combine good nutrition and physical activity