Obesity and Diabetes Prevention

Initiatives

Foundation Diabetes Prevention Work Group

The Foundation launched a Diabetes Prevention Work Group after having united with the Friedell Committee for Health System Transformation in 2018. At the direction of the Foundation’s Council, the Work Group aims to expand primary and secondary diabetes prevention efforts statewide. Participants include Council members and diabetes experts from across the state.

The Work Group developed a 2021 – 2022 work plan, compiled data, and designed a demonstration project for West Louisville and the Big Sandy area, which have some of the highest diabetes rates in the Commonwealth. The group also produced “COVID-19 and Diabetes: The Role Physicians and Health Care Professionals Play in Prevention.” It was disseminated to physicians through partners including the Kentucky Medical Association and the Kentucky Nurses Association.

These new efforts also led our Foundation to expand our obesity prevention focus area to include diabetes prevention.

KET Diabetes Program, “Undiagnosed: The Diabetes Epidemic”

Our Foundation substantially underwrote the production of a Kentucky Educational Television (KET) documentary examining the alarming number of people with undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes or prediabetes. "Undiagnosed: The Diabetes Epidemic,” highlighted champions throughout Kentucky working to increase screening rates and connect people with proven lifestyle interventions. The documentary was awarded a Regional Emmy in 2021.

Sharing Previous Obesity Prevention Initiative Successes

The Foundation produced a comprehensive report and highlight video regarding the 2012 – 2019 “Investing in Kentucky’s Future” (IKF) initiative. The report, "Investing in Kentucky's Future: Community-Driven Strategies for Obesity Prevention and Building Resilience in Children," detailed the success of six health coalitions in Kentucky funded through the initiative. The video described cross-sector approaches to childhood obesity prevention and used one of the IKF grantees, Fitness for Life Around Grant County, as the case study. We distributed both the video and the report to local coalitions as well as state and national organizations.

We also developed a Health for a Change educational training webinar, "Collaboration as a Key to Success for Coalitions," which was attended by more than 400 participants. (see slide deck).

Wrapping Up Legacy Grant Work in Perry County

The IKF initiative in Perry County concluded in 2019. The Perry County Wellness Coalition successfully advocated for multiple policy changes to improve children’s health. These included:

In schools: a prohibition on using food as a reward or punishment, denying physical education or recess as punishment, and share use agreements; and,
In the community: coordination with other community organization such as farmers markets, extension, and health care organizations. The Coalition also facilitated built-environment changes.

Coordinating Obesity and Diabetes-Prevention Work in Kentucky

During 2019 and 2020, our Foundation worked with multiple Kentucky organizations and agencies to coordinate and share the work of obesity and diabetes-prevention programs. For example, we:

Co-chaired the Appalachian Funders Network work groups on food and agriculture systems and on health.
Coordinated with the Kentucky Department of Education and Kentucky Department for Public Health on their obesity and diabetes grants and efforts.
Collaborated with the Partnership for a Fit Kentucky, of which we are a founding partner, to provide information and technical assistance to local coalitions and organizations on obesity prevention best practices.

For additional information about these initiatives, please email our Senior Policy and Advocacy Officer Amalia Mendoza.