Wednesday - Mar 29, 2006
(Springfield, IL) - As part of a weeklong observance of National Public Health Week, April 3-9, local officials and public health experts in Illinois will sponsor activities in honor of Public Health Week's theme: "Designing Healthy Communities: Raising Healthy Kids".
Communities across Illinois and the country will consider how buildings, roads, sidewalks and neighborhood design are affecting the health of children. For example, children who live close enough to school to walk often do not because they have no sidewalks to walk on. Air pollution has contributed to higher rates of childhood asthma, and the lack of access to fresh foods and avenues for activity in some neighborhoods has contributed to rising rates of childhood obesity. Coordinated by the American Public Health Association, each day will focus on the relationship between the built environment and a core children's health issue, with additional focus on effective solutions based on case studies from model communities.
Read the full press relase. (PDF)