title: Achieving health for a lifetime: a community engagement assessment focusing on school-age children to decrease obesity in Durham, North Carolina.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Obesity is a prominent problem in the United States and in North Carolina. One way of combating it is with community-engaged interventions that foster collaboration between health-oriented organizations and community residents.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Our purpose was to assemble a multifaceted group in Durham, North Carolina, to identify factors affecting obesity-related lifestyle behaviors; assess policies, resources, and the population's perception of the problem of obesity; and develop plans to improve health outcomes related to obesity.
  
  
  METHODS
  A team consisting of more than 2 dozen partners was assembled to form Achieving Health for a Lifetime (AHL) in order to study and address obesity in the community, initially focusing on elementary school-age children. The team developed a resource guide by collecting information by telephone interviews of provider organizations; geospatial resource maps were created using high-resolution geographic information systems, Duke's Data Support Repository, and county and city records; and focus groups were conducted using the nominal group technique.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The AHL team, in collaboration with 2 other teams focused on diabetes and cardiovascular disease, identified 32 resources for diabetes, 20 for obesity, and 13 for cardiovascular disease. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), the team identified an area of Durham that had only 1 supermarket, but 34 fast-food restaurants and 84 convenience stores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The focus on particular neighborhoods means that the information obtained might not pertain to all neighborhoods.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The AHL team was able to assemble a large community partnership in Durham that will allow the members of the community to continue to work toward making residents healthier. Communities facing similar challenges can learn from this experience.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Duke University Medical Center, Box 3451, Durham, NC 27710, USA. corsi002@mc.duke.edu
authors.forename: Leonor
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Corsino
authors.forename: Jennifer R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: McDuffie
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kotch
authors.forename: Remy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Coeytaux
authors.forename: Bernard F
authors.initials: BF
authors.lastname: Fuemmeler
authors.forename: Gwen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.forename: Marie Lynn
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Miranda
authors.forename: Brenda
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Poirier
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Morton
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Reese
authors.forename: Sharon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.forename: Heidi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Carter
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Freeman
authors.forename: Colleen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Blue
authors.forename: William S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Yancy
mesh_terms: D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D002648:Child; D003256:Community Participation / Q000379:methods*; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000517:prevention & control; D015438:Health Behavior; D006291:Health Policy; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D009657:North Carolina; D009765:Obesity / Q000517:prevention & control*