ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- The Missouri Foundation for Health and the Center for Obesity Prevention and Policy Research at Washington University (COPPR) unveiled Policy Lift, a free online policy resource to help anyone create or update obesity-related policy for schools, after-school and childcare facilities, staff wellness, local governments and communities. It is the only resource of its kind that helps Missourians assess obesity-related wellness policy specific to their environment. The site can be found online at http://policylift.wustl.edu.
Policy Lift provides a central resource for policy makers and leaders to evaluate existing obesity-related and community wellness policy, make new policy and drive change where policies are limited or are in need of stronger language. The policy assessment portion of the site works by leading users through a questionnaire that assesses their organization’s or community’s existing policy, and then offers policy language suggestions and resources.
“Environment plays a critical role in obesity,” said Deborah Haire-Joshu, professor at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in Saint Louis. “Our homes, our schools, our neighborhoods, our routines, what kind of food we have access to. We can’t make healthy decisions if we don’t have healthy choices. Policy Lift is about helping any kind of organization implement real-world policies that will benefit children and families across the state. It puts years of policy research and best practices into the hands of leaders at the state and local level.”
