200-2007-22643-0003). Through this contract, the contracted firm supported staff training and review by scientific writers for the development of the paper. Staff at the CDC has reviewed the article for design and data collection methodology, and for scientific accuracy. All authors have read and approved the final selleck chemicals version. “
“The strain that overweight and obesity place on the nation’s health and economy is well documented (Ogden et al., 2012 and Wang and Beydoun, 2007). In response to the growing obesity epidemic, recent public health efforts in the U.S. have sought to reduce the obesity burden across various at-risk populations

by addressing the physical and social determinants of health (Sallis et al., 2011 and Story et al., 2008). The national Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) 1 program recently invested

more than $300 million in 50 communities to establish a myriad of system and environmental changes designed to reduce the prevalence of chronic diseases, including those caused by overweight and obesity ( Bunnell et al., 2012). Nutrition interventions topped the list of practice-based strategies implemented by this program, including: institutional nutrition standards and sustainability guidelines for food procurement; retail food establishment practices that encouraged healthy eating; health marketing campaigns that educated the public about the harmful effects of excess calorie intake; and venue-specific health education aimed at empowering individuals to make better food choices ( Table 1). In a number of

CPPW communities, these interventions targeted low-income learn more women and their families (e.g., spouses, children). Tailoring interventions for women and recruiting them as champions of change in their households are two public health approaches that are informed by prior research. Literature suggests that women frequently play the role of nutrition ‘gatekeepers’ for their households, influencing family eating behaviors (Charles and Kerr, second 1988 and Wild et al., 1994). Women also represent an important priority population, given that prior research has also shown that children from single-parent households are at increased risk of developing obesity and cardiovascular disease later in life (Huffman et al., 2010 and Population Reference Bureau (PRB), 2011). Women themselves are a prime target group for intervention. Across age groups and by health status, they are at increased risk for overweight and obesity. Women of childbearing age, for example, are disproportionately affected by overweight and obesity, especially postpartum (Gore et al., 2003). In pregnancy, obese women are more likely than their non-obese counterparts to develop gestational diabetes, experience medical complications from pre-eclampsia, require induced early labor, and undergo a cesarean section (Sebire et al., 2001).