A sampling of recently released obesity news and resources

Wisconsin
Joint Finance Committee Testimony from Winnebago County’s re:TH!NK Project
Matt Madsen's testimony at the Joint Finance Committee Hearing in Neenah was so powerful, it made the Wheeler Report this week!

National
An Open Letter to President Obama About the Importance of the Prevention and Public Health Fund
Robert Ross for The Huffington Post, April 14, 2011
Health care is a national priority; therefore it requires a national approach. For decades, our health care system has been designed to treat patients once they are sick; now, thanks to the Prevention and Public Health Fund, we are finally beginning to shift to a health care system that will simultaneously prevent and treat sickness. Not only is this approach more affordable, it's more effective. But it will take everyone working together to make it successful.

Where Do Americans Get Their Calories: Infographic
Civil Eats

Getting Physical With Phys Ed
Berkshire Eagle, Amanda Korman, April 14, 2011 Along with [a]new physical education curriculum – which comes from a California-based health program called SPARK (Sports, Play & Active Recreation for Kids) – the [U.S. Department of Education Carol M. White Physical Education Program] grant is going toward changes in school nutrition, exercise equipment and tracking students' progress. The district has dubbed the entire effort "Balancing the Equation," or "physical activity plus proper nutrition equals total health," according to Linda Avalle, the manager of the grant and curriculum coordinator for health and physical education.

Happiness is a Warm Neighborhood: Designing our communities on ‘common ground’ Jay Walljasper for New.Clear.Vision The way we design our communities plays a huge role in how we experience our lives. Neighborhoods built without sidewalks, for instance, mean that people walk less and therefore experience fewer spontaneous encounters, which is what instills a spirit of community to a place.