§ 2599-B — Program development

§ 2599-b. Program development. 1. The program shall be designed to\nprevent and reduce the incidence and prevalence of obesity in children\nand adolescents, especially among populations with high rates of obesity\nand obesity-related health complications including, but not limited to,\ndiabetes, heart disease, cancer, osteoarthritis, asthma, emphysema,\nchronic bronchitis, other chronic respiratory diseases and other\nconditions. The program shall use recommendations and goals of the\nUnited States departments of agriculture and health and human services,\nthe surgeon general and centers for disease control and prevention in\ndeveloping and implementing guidelines for nutrition education and\nphysical activity projects as part of obesity prevention efforts. The\ncontent and implementation of the program shall stress the benefits of\nchoosing a balanced, healthful diet from the many options available to\nconsumers, without specifically targeting the elimination of any\nparticular food group, food product or food-related industry.\n 2. The childhood obesity prevention program shall include, but not be\nlimited to:\n (a) developing media health promotion campaigns targeted to children\nand adolescents and their parents and caregivers that emphasize\nincreasing consumption of low-calorie, high-nutrient foods, decreasing\nconsumption of high-calorie, low-nutrient foods and increasing physical\nactivity designed to prevent or reduce obesity;\n (b) establishing school-based childhood obesity prevention nutrition\neducation and physical activity programs including programs described in\nsection twenty-five hundred ninety-nine-c of this article, as well as\nother programs with linkages to physical and health education courses,\nand which utilize the school health index of the National Center for\nChronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion or other recognized\nschool health assessments pursuant, but not limited, to article nineteen\nof the education law;\n (c) establishing community-based childhood obesity prevention\nnutrition education and physical activity programs including programs\nwhich involve parents and caregivers, and which encourage communities,\nfamilies, child care and other settings to provide safe and adequate\nspace and time for physical activity and encourage a healthy diet, and\ncan be in coordination with county cooperative extension programs\nestablished pursuant to section two hundred twenty-four-b of the county\nlaw;\n (d) coordinating with the state education department, department of\nagriculture and markets, office of parks, recreation and historic\npreservation, office of temporary and disability assistance, office of\nchildren and family services and other federal, state and local agencies\nto incorporate strategies to prevent and reduce childhood obesity into\ngovernment food assistance, health, education and recreation programs;\n (e) sponsoring periodic conferences or meetings to bring together\nexperts in nutrition, exercise, public health, mental health, education,\nparenting, media, food marketing, food security, agriculture, community\nplanning and other disciplines to examine societal-based solutions to\nthe problem of childhood obesity and issue guidelines and\nrecommendations for New York state policy and programs;\n (f) developing training programs for medical and other health\nprofessionals to teach practical skills in nutrition and exercise\neducation to children and their parents and caregivers;\n (g) developing screening programs in coordination with health care\nproviders and institutions including but not limited to day care centers\nand schools for overweight and obesity for children aged two through\neighteen years, using body mass index (BMI) appropriate for age and\ngender, and notification, in a manner protecting the confidentiality of\nsuch children and their families, of parents of BMI status, and\nexplanation of the consequences of such status, including recommended\nactions parents may need to take and information about resources and\nreferrals available to families to enhance nutrition and physical\nactivity to reduce and prevent obesity; and\n (h) coordinating with the education department, office of temporary\nand disability assistance, office of children and family services and\nother federal, state and local agencies to incorporate strategies to\ncurtail the incidence of asthma, chronic bronchitis and other chronic\nrespiratory diseases to enable adults and children to safely increase\nphysical activity.\n 3. The department, in cooperation with the education department, shall\nperiodically collect and analyze information from schools, health and\nnutrition programs and other sources to determine the prevalence of\nchildhood obesity in New York state, and to evaluate, to the extent\npossible, the effectiveness of the childhood obesity prevention program.\n