Campaign to Make Delaware’s Children the Healthiest in the Nation

Since 2006, Nemours, an integrated pediatric health system, has worked to address childhood (ages 2–17) overweight and obesity in Delaware with multisector partners including: the Governor’s Office; Cabinet secretaries and other government officials; pediatric providers; child care centers; schools; principals and superintendents; and other community-based organizations. Activities include systems-level and practice interventions, such as working with state-level partners to promote healthy eating and physical activity through child care licensing, as well as creating a learning collaborative to facilitate policy and practice change. Preliminary results show a flattening of the overweight and obesity curve for Delaware children between 2006 and 2008. This successful initiative is funded by a number of sources including: Nemours Health and Preventive Services; the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; U.S. Department of Education; U.S. Department of Agriculture; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; General Mills Foundation; and American Heart Association. To read more about this innovative program, see this brief summary [link].