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General Information
Chronic diseases are among the most common and costly of all
health problems in the United States, but they also are among the most
preventable. Lack of physical activity and poor nutrition - the two modifiable
risk factors for obesity - and tobacco use are responsible for much of the
illness, suffering, and death related to chronic diseases. To help address
these health issues, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USHHS)
created the Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW)
initiative, led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
CPPW is a locally driven initiative supporting 50 communities, over a
two-year period, to tackle obesity and tobacco use. Communities are being
supported across the nation, and include urban areas, small and rural
communities, and tribal communities. Individual communities are closely attuned
to the health-related needs and challenges of their residents, and CDC provides
them with technical assistance on the best practice- and science-based
interventions available.
These local investments empower communities by providing them
with the flexibility and control to develop unique solutions and adapt to
changing needs. This support allows communities to implement environmental
changes to make healthy living easier, such as improving means for safe active
transportation, ensuring provision of healthy food and beverage options in
schools, limiting exposure to secondhand smoke, and increasing available tobacco
cessation resources. These efforts will produce broad, high-impact, sustainable
health outcomes for the communities.
Florida houses three CPPW communities: Miami-Dade County, Orange
County, and Pinellas County. Both Miami-Dade County and Pinellas County chose
to focus on obesity prevention while Orange County chose to focus on tobacco use
prevention. Florida's CPPW communities were awarded a total of $26.15 million
in federal grant money to aid their initiatives.
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