Blog post, 1,2,3,4

Obesity, Nutrition and Physical Activity In Philadelphia

Put simply, a lack of money prevents residents from purchasing food for a healthy diet resulting in a third of the city’s adult population to be overweight and 57-percent of Philly’s kids, reports the Daily News.

The Lobbying Project

I am lobbying against obesity caused by misinformed and uneducated citizens in the Pennsylvania area. My motivation for investing and influencing the public policy comes from the reported obesity weight in the United States which stands at 147 million people on average. It is a problem that has been viewed at over the  course of  50 years and continues to expand rather than ceased. My plan is to  begin small ( in Philadelphia) and  after improvement   has been made, I am going to broaden my lobbying project to the state of Pennsylvania for better accomplishment.

Goal:

1. To help create  sustained media campaigns to promote healthy food choices and increased physical activity in the Philadelphia area.
2. Change the affordability of fresh, healthy foods in communities
3. Host interventions to inform the public about some healthy choices that they could make to improve themselves

The Main Supporters

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

OAC ( Obesity Action Coalitio)

The Main Opponents

The Philadelphia media and supermarkets, stocks, and salesmen.

Pending Legislation Dealing With American Obesity?

Pending legislation's includes states receiving federal grants provided for in the bill would be required to annually track the Body Mass Index of all children ages 2 through 18 , then report the information to the state government. After, the state government would report the information to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for analysis.

Background Information

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, sixty percent of Pennsylvania adults are overweight.

Representatives

1. Giridhar Mallya, Director of Policy and Planning, Giridhar.Mallya@phila.gov, 215-686-5230
2. Nan Feyler, Chief of Staff, nan.feyler@phila.gov, 215-686-5206

Know their districts: Philadelphia

How has my legislator voted on my issue in the past?

They have created  Communities Putting Prevention to Work and Centers for Disease Control. A grant of 20 million has been in affect for Philadelphia  since February 26th 2010  for funding opportunity for health departments to implement sustainable

What do you and your representative have in common?

1. We both suggest that the persuasive media is implemented for positive correlation in the citizens health.
2. We are working on educating  the public about nutritional content and food choices
3. Eliminate some of the violence and  grant  the opportunity of of walking and biking in the city with safety, to create a easy exercise mechanism

Sources :

 http://www.phila.gov/recovery/HSS_PrevtoWork.html http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/blogs/stimulus_tracker/2010/03/philadelphia_gets_healthy_slice_of_anti-obesity_funds.html

http://kdka.com/aom/Pennsylvania.Obesity.Rates.2.378994.html

http://www.votesmart.org/search.php?search=pennsylvania&x=0&y=0

Election day questions:

1. What motivated you to come out and vote?

My mother because she told me to come out and vote since I wasn’t doing anything with my sorry life .

2. What would you like to see changed in our political system?

Less charter schools .

3. Do you vote in every election? (How regularly do you vote?)

I just started voting November 2nd 2009.

4. Do you know why we vote on Tuesday?

Because people have to work on Monday.

5. Where have you encountered the highest amount of ad campaigning?

Print

6. What was the most memorable campaign ad that you have

encountered?

None

7. Are you always sure of who you are going to vote for when you walk

into the booth or are you still deliberating?

Im always sure.

8. What changes do you hope to see in Philadelphia as a result of this

election?

I don’t know

9. What impact do you feel that your vote will have on the election?

A small impact , Im pretty sure if I would have passed on  voting it wouldn’t have mattered.

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10. Did you learn about voting in school? If yes, did that impact your

willingness to vote today?

No.

Direct action strategies

Letters to the editor, editorials and commentary.

To demonstrate high grass root powers , I believe that the most effective thing to do would be have each district of Pennsylvania paint murals of what they see everyday as a example of what could be improved.  To be even more effective each block can prepare a paper of reasons why there should be new motivation and education programs for healthier living.  Doing this will allow multiple people to not only learn the problem personally but to inspire them to help. The legislators will be able to target the obesity issue with a better well thought  out plan.

1 . Murals - The murals will represent the people, the  unhealthy environment, and the consumer price index that the people wish to change.  This creative piece will cover domination and make the strategy personal .

2. The letters-  The letters will explain the murals literally and include personal opinions and experiences from the people of Pennsylvania. This literal piece will help recruit the legislators and force multiplication.

3. Fund Public Classes - Specifically  classes for children . These classes will address the current generation because  it has been estimated the health care costs attributable to obesity are greater than any other health condition.