School of Public Health launches "Lighten Up Philly" campaign
Sumeet Patel
Issue date: 4/8/05 Section: News
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The campaign is the SPH's response to Men's Health magazine's ranking of Philadelphia as the second-fattest city in the country following Houston, Texas. Interestingly enough, Mayor John Street, in the eyes of SPH Dean Marla Gold, is "one of the most public-health-minded mayors the city has ever had."
"Lighten Up Philly" is the School's interpretation of the American Public Health Association's national campaign "Empowering Americans to Live Stronger, Longer," which emphasizes prevention, protection and planning.
The highlight of the week was the City Steps Initiative, an obesity prevention effort which invited faculty, students and staff of the SPH as well as a number of notable honorees to climb the steps of City Hall. In attendance were Philadelphia Health Commissioner John Domzalski and Health and Fitness Czar Gwen Foster, who was appointed during Street's first term to lead health promotion initiatives. The goal of the event was to illustrate that if all 1.2 million Philadelphians simply climbed three flights of stairs, the city would lose a total of 9,000 pounds.
Philadelphia's high school students have some of the highest obesity rates in the country, surpassing even larger cities like Chicago and New York.
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"Obesity is strongly linked with cardiovascular disease and stroke," Associate Dean of Students Nathalie Bartle said.
"Unfortunately, obesity in the United States has reached epidemic proportions and it's hitting age groups younger and younger. In fact, dealing with obesity is overwhelming."
The week-long activities were a collaborative effort on the part of the SPH student body. Student government officers planned the activities in their entirety, while public health students volunteered to coordinate the events. Activities included "Meatless Mondays" where Philadelphians were encouraged to avoid red meat and eat foods low in saturated fats every Monday. Students included information sessions, on topics ranging from measurement of body mass index to lifestyle changes, at both the Center City Hahnemann campus and University City's main campus.
"Televisions, computers and unsafe neighborhoods all contribute to creating an obesity prone environment," Bartle said. "Put that into the context of a fast-food culture and lack of exercise and you have an even more [dangerous] situation."
The highlight of the City Steps Initiative included a pledge signing on the part of both politicians and SPH students, faculty and staff to commit to physical activity. A proclamation was also awarded by the city to the SPH for its efforts in obesity awareness and prevention.
"With the discussion of obesity comes a discussion of health disparity," Gold said in reference to last year's National Public Health Week theme of bridging ethnic and racial disparities. "Obesity is more prevalent among African Americans in the city than Caucasians and [public health researchers] have to ask if this is because of cultural eating, poverty, availability of fresh foods in the neighborhood and so on."
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The SPH, which is one of two nationally accredited schools in the state, is intensely involved in obesity research and prevention initiatives including Steps for a Healthier Philadelphia, which Gold herself co-chairs. The School has working relationships with both Philadelphia and Montgomery counties allowing joint applications to be filed for grant funding.
"Unfortunately, the design of grants themselves often pits one school against another even though we may be competing for the same scientific goal," Gold said. "We often are our own greatest challenge, but we form our own greatest opportunity."
"I was really alarmed by the obesity and the factors influencing it that I saw around me," said Jessica Jones, a Student Government Organization officer. "I suppose in the future we will need to make public health issues more accessible to people and expand our base so we can become more involved."
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