By Cassandra Harris

With the launch of South Carolina’s Obesity Action Plan in the fall of last year, a new phase of obesity prevention work began in our state.  Supporting this effort, which is being conducted through the SCale Down Initiative, partners from across the state have been working diligently on projects and programs to help move the needle on obesity in SC. Here are some early successes:

Creating Healthier Worksites      

Impacting nearly 35,000 state employees, the new A Healthier State initiative is promoting improved health by providing comprehensive baseline worksite assessments, model policies, and wellness consultation services to the S.C. Governor’s Office, all 16 cabinet agencies, DMH, and DHEC.

Engaging the Health Care Community

The South Carolina Academy of Physician Assistants (SCAPA) recently hosted a video-conference entitled: “A How-To for South Carolina Physician Assistants: Communities & Practices Join the Obesity Fight.”  The event highlighted the 2015 County Health Rankings and the SCale Down Initiative and provide training on the Let’s Go! 5-2-1-0 Childhood Obesity Toolkit.

Assessing Student Fitness

With the help of a $2.5 million grant from the BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation, DHEC is coordinating the statewide implementation of FitnessGram.  Potentially reaching over 740,000 SC public school students, this project will allow students to set their own health goals, help school administrators to make policy choices for physical fitness and offer a place to track student-specific data.

SCale Down is a collaborative initiative that connects and engages partners to achieve the objectives outlined in the state’s Obesity Action Plan and helps eliminate duplication of efforts. If you are interested in learning more about SCale Down or in getting involved in the initiative, please visit www.scaledown.org.

Partners from across the State gathered at the SC Medical Association on March 25, 2015 for a SCale Down Initiative Stakeholder Briefing.