$20G grant to help Lynn fight obesity

LYNN – A study released last September ranked Lynn 12th worst among Massachusetts communities in percentage of overweight students.It proved a wake-up call, prompting Health Division Director Maryann O’Connor and Lynn Community Health Center Executive Director Lori Berry to find a way to examine the overall health of the entire city. The pair jointly applied for and received a $20,000 grant from the Boston Public Health Commission.Members of the commission met for the first time Tuesday with O’Connor, Berry and others concerned about pervasive obesity among Lynn’s residents, aiming to map out a strategy for improvement.”We will do a needs assessment and take a look at the community’s strengths and weaknesses,” O’Connor said. “This isn’t just about the kids. It’s the adults, too. Lynn is home to lots of different cultures with different diets and habits.”The state Department of Public Health study indicated 40 percent of all Lynn schoolchildren are either overweight or obese.Boston was seven spots below Lynn, at number 5 in the same report, which measured the body mass index of every student. By comparison, only 10 percent of students in affluent Arlington were deemed overweight, suggesting economics may play a key role.”Are people less healthy because they’re poor? We want to find out,” O’Connor said. “We are going to introduce change tools from the CDC (federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). We want to set the stage for healthy lifestyles.”The walking bus is among the program’s more offbeat strategies for improving student health.”They call it a walking bus because the kids are picked up at their homes and they all stay together, but instead of getting on a bus they walk to school,” O’Connor said.School officials are also being brought into the mix to discuss the necessity of physical education, gym class, longer recess periods and cafeteria food choices.”In some schools, the kids stand up every hour to stretch and are encouraged to eat a nutritious lunch,” the health director said.O’Connor said creating a steering committee and a Lynn Food and Fitness Policy Council for the entire city are among the immediate goals.”This is all prevention work,” said O’Connor. She recalled that the city undertook a similar strategy to eliminate drug paraphernalia from mom-and-pop stores and raise awareness about the danger of smoking.”Ask any 4-year-old what happens when you smoke tobacco and they will tell you that you will die. We want to give the people of Lynn better options.”O’Connor said the committee will also examine whether Lynn has adequate “environmental features” that foster better health, such as walking and bicycling paths, jogging trails and green space. They will also study existing public health policies and draft new ones if needed.A World Health Organization (WHO) report titled “Reducing Risks, Promoting Healthy Life,” emphasized the importance of environmental factors in lung disease and stated that controlling air pollution and tobacco consumption would be among the most important interventions to promote good health.Diet has also figured prominently in the struggle to achieve good health, albeit the offer of beneficial foods in the school cafeteria or a restaurant menu void of high-calorie, low-nutrition fast-food items.”We are taking into consideration all of these things as we move forward to make Lynn a healthier place,” O’Connor said.Berry, who spearheaded the ongoing expansion of the community health center on Union Street, was equally optimistic.”Lynn is not unlike many other cities in America, with large numbers of people who are overweight. This is a national problem, but there may be some local solutions,” she said.Berry cited as examples the community gardens at the Ingalls and Ford elementary schools, and on Munroe Street in the downtown business district. “These are all great efforts to make fresh fruits and vegetables more available and affordable,” she said. “The idea is to make it easier for