Activate America

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About YMCA Activate America

Download the PALS brochure. Overview Sheet

YMCA Activate America™ is a national initiative that is rallying YMCAs across the country to further enhance their service and support to kids, adults and families who want to live a healthy lifestyle, but struggle to do so. As a part of YMCA Activate America, YMCAs are also deepening their commitment to community wide efforts to promote healthy living and intensifying their collaboration with other community partners to magnify community benefits.

As a valuable community resource, the YMCA of Central Ohio is proud to join in this national effort to help those in our community live healthier lives. YMCAs are for people of all faiths, races, ages, incomes and abilities.

YMCA Activate America was created because—as the nation's oldest and largest community based organization with over 2,600 YMCAs, 20.2 million members and a mission dedicated to health and wellness for more than 150 years—the YMCA is uniquely qualified and positioned to impact our country's growing obesity, chronic disease, and health care crisis.

To maximize its impact, the YMCA of the USA has enlisted national partners to provide expert advice on the development of YMCA Activate America. These partners include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Steps to a HealthierUS initiative, Harvard School of Public Health and Stanford University School of Medicine. In addition, organizations such as Disney Channel, Kellogg Company, JCPenney Afterschool Fund, Kimberly-Clark Corporation and PepsiCo have been instrumental in supporting this initiative.

Central Ohio Statistics:

Source: 2002 Franklin County Health Survey, Professional Research Consultants

  • 24.8% of Franklin County children are overweight, compared to the national average of 16%.
  • 30% of Franklin County children are considered overweight.
  • 18% of Franklin County boys, ages 4-16 are overweight (above 95th percentile of US growth charts)
  • 31.4% of Franklin County girls, ages 4-16 are overweight (above 95th percentile of US growth charts)
  • 26% of Franklin County residents are classified as obese, based on reported heights and weights
  • 61.7% of Franklin County residents are overweight (25.8% are obese and 35.9% are overweight) In 2000, 56.4% of Franklin County adults were overweight, versus 56.9% nationwide in 2000.
  • Among those who are overweight, approximately 1 in 3 (34.3%) are trying to lose weight by both: (1) altering their eating habits, and (2) increasing their physical activity.
  • Overweight adolescents have a 70% chance of becoming overweight or obese adults. This increases to 80% if one or more parent is overweight or obese.

A Growing Obesity & Healthcare Crisis:

  • As more and more Americans face chronic diseases and obesity, our country is challenged with a public health crisis. The prevalence of overweight/obesity has increased dramatically across the nation and is now an epidemic. The effects on our children, families, and communities are far reaching—but they can be prevented and they are reversible.
  • Over the past 20 years, unhealthy behaviors, including physical inactivity and unhealthy eating, have led to an epidemic of obesity and related chronic disease in the United States.
  • With 60 million adults-or 30 percent of the U.S. adult population-and 9 million children obese or overweight, increased physical activity for our children and families is of critical importance to our community.
  • Today, obesity is associated with a series of chronic health conditions—including Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, stroke, breast cancer, colon cancer, gallbladder disease, arthritis, sleep disturbances and breathing problems1-putting the United States in the middle of a serious health crisis and reducing the quality of life of millions of Americans.
  • In addition to the chronic diseases and health conditions associated with obesity, being obese is also associated with a lower health-related quality of life. If we fail to curb this obesity epidemic, the youth today will likely have a lower life expectancy than their parents, reversing a trend that has been increasing for nearly two centuries2.
  • Research has shown that small, consistent changes to daily physical activity and eating patterns can add up over time to big rewards. Small activities such as adding 2,000 extra steps and eating 100 fewer calories each day are enough to help most Americans prevent the current average annual weight gain of 1-2 pounds3.

National Statistics:

  • For children born in the U.S. in 2000, one in three will develop diabetes, and Latino females are impacted even more – 1 in 2 will develop diabetes4.
  • 65 percent of all people age 20 and older are overweight or obese.5 Since 1991, the prevalence of obesity among adults has increased by more than 75 percent.
  • More than 50% of U.S. adults do not get enough physical activity to make a difference in their health.6
  • During 2005, a total of only 36% of high school students met currently recommended levels of physical activity on = 5 days a week.7
  • During 2005, 80% of high school students had not eaten 5 or more fruits and vegetables daily and 67% did not attend physical education classes daily.8
  • Based on figures from 2000, health problems related to obesity cost our country an estimated $117 billion a year due to direct health care costs, as well as the indirect economic costs of lost productivity.9
  • Hospital costs related to childhood obesity alone have tripled in the last 20 years.10
1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, available at: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/index.htm (last visited March 3, 2006)
2 Olshansky SJ, Passaro DP, Hershow RC, Layden J, Carnes BA, Brody J, Hayflick L, Butler RN, Allison DB, and Ludwig DS. A Potential Decline in Life Expectancy in the United States in the 21st Century. NEJM 2005; March 17, 2005; 352 (1138-1145).
3 Hill JO, Wyatt H, et al. "Obesity and the Environment: Where do We Go From Here?" Science, vol 299: February 7, 2003
4 Narayan KMV, Boyle JP, Thompson TJ, Sorensen SW, Williamson DF. Lifetime risk for diabetes mellitus in the United States. JAMA 2003 October 8;290(14):1884-1890.
5 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among Adults: United States, 1999–2002, available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hestats/obese/obse99.htm (last visited March 3, 2006).
6 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Surveillance Summaries, December 2, 2005. MMWR 2005:54(47);1208-1212.
7 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Surveillance Summaries, June 9, 2006 MMWR 2006: 55 (No. SS-5)
8 Ibid.
9 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Surgeon General's call to action to prevent and decrease overweight and obesity. [Rockville, MD]: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Office of the Surgeon General; [2001]. Available from: US GPO, Washington.
10 Wang G, Dietz WH 2002 Economic burden of obesity in youths aged 6 to 17 years: 1979–1999. Pediatrics 109:E81-1

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