Statewide Youth Board on Obesity Prevention

School Based Health Care | Healthy Eating, Active Living Initiative

In April of 2004, a diverse group of teens nominated by schools, public health and community organizations from throughout California established a youth board to help promote healthy eating and physical activity to address the childhood obesity epidemic. Thirty high school students from ten communities statewide participate. This first-ever of its kind Statewide Youth Board on Obesity Prevention (SYBOP) was formed to offer a "youth voice" in statewide programs and policies while simultaneously training and supporting youth teams to take action on the issues in their home communities. The Youth Board has an established track record of partnering closely with California's Department of Health Services, the California state legislature, and the Task Force on Youth and Workplace Wellness. Year-round support for current members of the Board is provided by the non-partisan California Center for Civic Participation with funds from the California Endowment, Kaiser Permanente, Sutter Health Corporation and Sempra Energy.

Youth Board Update - California Endowment Grant Solidifies Support and Expands Youth Board Number and Activities in 2005-2006 in Support of Healthy Eating, Active Communities (HEAC) Initiative:
The original SYBOP included an ethnically and geographically diverse group of youth aged 14-18 who are nominated by schools, youth organizations, or other Board members. Thanks to a two-year grant from The California Endowment (TCE) in support of their Healthy Eating, Active Communities Initiative received in the spring of 2005, Youth Board numbers expanded from twelve to thirty youth, and Program, Policy and Media Subcommittees were formed. New members of the Board include youth representatives from each of the six communities participating in the multi-faceted, 29 million dollar Healthy Eating Active Communities (HEAC) initiative to reduce health disparities, which is funded by TCE. Expanded activities and support include:
Youth Surveys -were conducted in the summer of 2005 to help youth connect with their peers about issues related to obesity before coming to the Fall conference and learning from the "experts".
Local Youth-Led Project - Each community with a core SYBOP group has received a $500 budget to use in either support of an existing program in their area, or to create a new program/project that works towards combating childhood obesity. Adult mentors also receive a stipend to support youth on the local level, and to seek local opportunities for youth to participate in decision-making processes.
State and Local Policy Advocacy - Linking local lessons learned by youth Board members to an expanded and more sophisticated role as members of the Statewide Youth Board.
Fall Conference - All SYBOP members attended a three-day Youth-Full Government training conference in October 2005 to learn the policy landscape surrounding the field of childhood obesity prevention and set the stage for researching and selecting their local, youth-led action projects to promote healthy eating and physical activity.
Community Immersion - After the Fall Training, youth returned to their home communities and began conducting interviews with local experts, youth forums, and adult roundtables to gather information and support to make their local projects responsive to the needs of the community.

Winter Regional Trainings - Regional Trainings were conducted in late January and early February in Southern and Northern CA, respectively, to support the youth in selecting and implementing their local projects and introduce them to the statewide level work of the SYBOP Program, Policy and Media Committees.
Local Project Implementation - Youth are currently in the process of planning for and implementing their local projects. These projects include establishing school gardens, developing an educational DVD for in school use in the Sweetwater Unified and Chula Vista Elementary school districts, conducting neighborhood walkability assessments, serving on school wellness committees, conducting health fairs and nutrition Olympics and much more.
Statewide Youth Board on Obesity Prevention Committees - SYBOP Committees met via conference call and in person to begin establishing the Policy Platform, the Program Activities and a Media Policy Briefing Event culminating at the SYBOP Spring Conference April 9-11th, 2006.
Annual Legislative Conference, April 9-11, 2006 - Youth Board members reconvened in Sacramento to finalize their legislative agenda and meet with their own state legislators, Department of Health Services and Department of Education representatives and the Governor's office to urge support for their recommended policy solutions.

Youth Board Achievements in 2006 - Policy And Planning Events
Youth Board members became regular, and visible participants in a variety of planning and policymaking events in 2005-2006:

Fit Business Award, Los Angeles, July 21, 2005
Governor's Summit on September 15th, 2005
Youth-Full Government training, October 2005
Bi-annual Wellness Task Force meetings
Regional Trainings in January and February, 2006
Superintendent's Challenge, April, 2006 - Youth Board members served as reviewers
Statewide Youth Board Annual Policy Conference, Sacramento, April 9-11, 2006
Capitol Fitness Faire, Sacramento, May 17, 2006

Youth Board Achievements in 2005 - Legislative Advocacy
Throughout February and March, the Youth Board's Policy Committee studied twenty-five nutrition and physical activity related bills and narrowed down ten for their preliminary policy platform. At the Statewide Youth Board Annual Policy Conference in Sacramento in April, the Policy Committee members presented the ten bills to the full Youth Board and jointly selected three to focus on this year. Below is a summary of their efforts.

LEGISLATIVE PLATFORM DEVELOPED: Upon critical reflection and studying both sides of each bill, the SYBOP voted on the following pieces of legislation (some bills may have been amended since this time):

AB 1845 - Chavez - Physical Education - Oppose. Statewide Youth Board members opposed this bill, which would have removed all exemptions from physical education, effectively reinstating four years of mandatory physical education at the high school level. Many have asked why Youth Board members would oppose this piece of legislation if they are sincere in their efforts to address the childhood obesity epidemic. This underscores the importance of involving youth in the development of policies that affect them. Youth Board members were unanimous in their opposition to this bill because, without any additional changes to educational code or the structure of the school day, it would have cut into valuable elective time that they use to take languages and other courses that make them competitive college applicants. Additionally, Youth Board members felt strongly that the next step in improving physical education in the state is to focus on quality over quantity. Many of them have experienced physical education classes that they describe as "a joke" -- they felt that adding more of these classes would not meet the goal of making students more physically active. This bill was withdrawn from committee by the author as a response to the Youth Board's concerns.

SB 362 - Torlakson - Physical Education - Strongly Support. Statewide Youth Board members felt that before increasing the quantity of physical education, the quality must be improved, and they felt that SB 362 was a bill that would accomplish this goal. This bill would provide funds to hire physical education specialists at the elementary level, it would define a physical education class as one in which the pupils are required to actively participate, and it would remove the exemptions from physical education for driver's training. It would also make it easier to track whether school districts are meeting the existing state law requirements for minimum numbers of minutes of physical education per given time period, and it would require a teaching credential for physical education instructors. The members of the Statewide Youth Board on Obesity Prevention felt that these and the other components of the bill were a great first step in improving the quality of physical education in the state, so they took a position of strong support and have made legislative visits, written letters of support, and testified at a hearing on behalf of the bill.

AB 2384 - Leno - Healthy Food Purchase Pilot Program. This bill establishes a Healthy Food Purchase Pilot Program as a way to make fresh fruits and vegetables more available in low- income communities. This bill addresses both supply and demand for fresh produce in targeted low-income communities. It addresses supply of produce in these communities by offering technical and financial assistance to small grocers in obtaining refrigerated produce display cases, and demand is addressed by offering an added benefit to Food Stamp recipients when they purchase fresh produce. The Youth Board members also made legislative visits and wrote letters of support on behalf of this bill.

STATEWIDE ADVOCACY ACTIVITIES: Statewide Youth Board members participated in a variety of advocacy activities in support of their 2006 legislative platform.

April 11, 2006 - Policy Committee members met with Paul Navarro, Education Policy Advisory for the Office of Governor Schwarzenneger, to discuss the Youth Board's legislative agenda.
April 11, 2006 - Youth Board members conducted legislative visits to their elected representatives.
May 2, 2006 - ENACT Advocacy Day. Youth Board members were represented by proxy at this nutrition and physical activity advocacy day sponsored by California Food Policy Advocates.
May 19, 2006 --Task Force Legislative Luncheon - Every Californian Deserves Access to Healthy Food! Youth Board member Sonia Huerta of Baldwin Park, CA was represented by proxy.
SB 362 Hearing, June 14, 2006 in Sacramento - Xin Guan of Santa Barbara, CA testified in support of SB 362 at the Assembly Committee on Education hearing. The bill passed the committee and at the time of this writing is in Appropriations.
Task Force Legislative Luncheon on Physical Education, June 16, 2006 - Patrick McGowan of Stockton, CA spoke to a group of legislative staff and advocates on his experiences with physical education and the importance of bills such as SB 362 in improving physical education in California.
Letters of Support - In May and June, Youth Board members drafted letters of support for SB 362 and AB 2384 with copies sent to their elected representatives and the bills' authors.

Youth Board Achievements in 2006 - Mini-Grant Program to Support Youth-Led Obesity Prevention Action
This was a record year for participation in the SYBOP Mini Grant program as SYBOP members received four times as many applicants as the previous year. In the spring of 2006, Youth Board members distributed a Request for Application (RFA) and refined their process for reviewing and awarding grants to support youth-led or youth targeted obesity prevention efforts. The Board received and scored the completed applications in May and June of 2006. Grant recipients are as follows:

In Northern California:
Alternative Education in Anderson, CA - Funds will go to the pregnant and parenting program to teach expectant parents to provide healthy meals for their infants and toddlers. Grant award: $500.00.
Jack London Aquatic Center Junior Women's Crew program in Oakland, CA- Funds will sponsor an after school physical activity program for 40 low income teenage young women. Grant award: $500.00.

In Central California:
Natividad Medical Center in Salinas, CA - Funds will support the Diabetes Support Group for local teenagers to establish healthy habits of nutrition and exercise control of their diabetes. Grant award: $600.00.
Healthy Communities of Southern Inyo County in Lone Pine, CA - Grant award will help fund the Summer Fun in the Park youth summer program. Grant award: $400.00.

In Southern California:
Dolores Mission School in Los Angeles, CA- Funds are in support of the school's Health and Wellness after school program. Grant award: $600.00.
Project Lift in Quail Valley, CA - Funds will support the Cesar Chavez community garden. Grant award: $400.00.

Youth Engagement Background: Engaging youth in policymaking processes, especially in education and health care, is now considered a solid youth development strategy. Many adults now recognize that engaging youth is also good for those processes. Youth provide ideas and insights that otherwise would not be considered, and their visible presence "at-the table" can help motivate adults to cooperate and take action. In January of 2004, the California Center received forty applications for just ten available slots in an obesity prevention youth engagement training conference. To help decide how best to respond to this demand, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundationnfunded a planning process that will result in a MASTER PLAN to guide Youth Engagement in Obesity Prevention which was presented in March of 2005. Several major statewide and national organizations, school districts, government agencies and regional coalitions participated in related surveys, interviews and focus groups.