April 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 46

S E T T I N G T H E S TA N D A R D

Commit to Health represents a rare
intersection of national-level momentum and maturing grassroots efforts.
Good standards matter, and park
and recreation agencies are poised to
play a critical role in bringing healthier standards to millions of American
children. The grassroots efforts of
two Tennessee communities illustrate
well the impact that informed, standard-bearing leadership can make.

to standardize the program. Not long
after, NEAT expanded to serve all 12
of Knoxville's community centers,
and a grant through the Tennessee
Department of Health helped to sustain the healthy snack efforts.
In 2009, the East Tennessee Children's Hospital funded the Knox
Area Coalition on Childhood
Obesity, appointing Walsh to the
steering committee. The coalition
provided a platform for Knoxville's
park and recreation professionals
to tackle higher inner-city obesity
rates by introducing those youth to
alternative sports.
The election of a new mayor, Madeline Rogero, in 2011, added to the agency's momentum. She created a new
position in the park and recreation department to step up outreach to youth
in underserved neighborhoods. In

2012, local efforts got national recognition when Knoxville and Knox County achieved a first-place ranking in the
National League of Cities Let's Move!
Cities, Towns and Counties initiative.
In 2013, seven years after Walsh and
other community leaders began their
campaign to improve children's health
in the city, a Knox County Health Department study found that the percentage of overweight or obese school-aged
children in the county had dropped
from 39 percent to 33.2 percent.
Knox County had begun to turn
back the tide of childhood obesity.

Knoxville's Call to Action
For Joe Walsh, director of Knoxville
Parks and Recreation in Tennessee,
the 2005 warnings of shortened life
Nashville's Collaborative Mission
expectancies for the younger generaJust as Tennessee's climbing childhood
tion represented a distressing call to
obesity moved Joe Walsh to action,
action. Tennessee's staggering (40.9
so did it motivate Dr. Shari Barkin, a
percent) incidence of overweight or
Vanderbilt University pediatric profesobese youth placed it fourth in the nasor, to mobilize a partnership between
tional pediatric obesity epidemic, and
Nashville's park leaders and
the prevalence in Knoxville (39
Vanderbilt.
percent) was not far behind.
" In 2008, " Barkin relates,
In 2006, when the Knox
" we launched the Nashville
County Health Department
Collaborative, a unique partapproached Knoxville Parks
nership between the Children's
and Recreation about improvHospital at Vanderbilt and
ing health standards for its afMetro Parks and Recreation. It
terschool program snacks, the
was clear that advancing health
two local agencies came up
was an aligned mission for both
with a partnership program
partners and that together we
they named NEAT (Nutrition
could develop and test innovaEducation Activity Training).
tive programs to do just this. "
As Kathleen Gibi, public affairs
Paul Widman, then Nashspecialist for Knoxville Parks
ville Metro Parks assistant
and Recreation, relates, the prodirector, says mutual trust
gram began with the modest
developed during " listening
goal of providing one healthy
tours " between Dr. Barkin
snack per week and using that
and her team and the Metsnack as an educational springro Parks and Recreation
board, with integrated lessons
staff. " She went into our
in nutrition and exercise in six
community centers to find
Knoxville community centers.
out what was working well
Building upon that pilot efand what kind of support
fort, a University of Tennesour program leaders needed
see department, the Tennessee
to have greater positive imNutrition Consumer Educa- NRPA President and CEO Barbara Tulipane praised the health
pacts on the health of chiltion Program, formulated a and wellness successes of park and recreation professionals at
dren in Nashville. "
set of healthy snack criteria the Commit to Health launch event.
44

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April 2014 - Parks & Recreation

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