Healthy Nashville :: Initiative Centers :: Healthy Eating, Active Living

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Healthy Eating, Active Living

The Healthy Eating, Active Living (HEAL) initiative recognizes that the places where we live, work, learn, play and pray have a huge impact on our health - and that it's not always easy to make the healthy choice. HEAL calls on individuals and organizations to strive to create changes in policies, systems and environments, with the goal of making the healthy, active choice, the easy one for everyone.

Obesity and physical inactivity are epidemic, leading to higher risk of hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, stroke and associated complications and costs. Obesity causes almost as many premature, preventable deaths as tobacco. The amount of people becoming overweight and obese has continued to increase rapidly. Obesity related health care costs are now estimated at $147 billion annually, representing nearly 10 percent of all U.S. medical expenses. In Nashville approximately six out of ten adults are overweight or obese.

What are HEAL initiatives?

HEAL initiatives can address the prevention of overweight and obesity, and the corresponding negative health outcomes, in a myriad of ways in equally diverse settings. The target population could be anyone and everyone, as we are all as a nation at risk of becoming overweight or obese. There are several populations that are at greater risk of becoming overweight or obese, as some communities and individuals have far greater access to resources than others, such as grocery stores, sidewalks, parks, gyms, etc. There are also less apparent factors that can affect a person's access to nutrtion and physical activity; for example, one's perception of safety in their neighborhood can greatly impact their physical activity levels.

Some examples of HEAL initiatives include:

Policies that promote physical activity in the workplace
Ensuring culturally appropriate access to fresh fruits, vegetables and other healthy items in all geographies
Policies to ensure healthy items are sold and available in schools, hospitals, parks and other public areas
Planning and city design that incorporates sidewalks and bike lanes