The former are commissioned to improve the balance and affordability of healthy food options and the latter are considered valuable policy advocates, with prominent entertainers and athletes serving to the proliferate an important message. With respect to the distribution of this method, though certain demographics are targeted for their heightened vulnerability, the state of California is the population served on the whole here. The implications of this service direction are crucial to such large-population contexts as the Los Angeles County and metropolitan area.
The program is generally facilitated by public funding such as the taxpayer's allotment which is given to the California Department of Public Health.
Services Provided:
The primacy of prevention is crucial to what the COPP does. Therefore, one its core services is the provision of outreach to those demographics which are recognized as being high risk. In our research, populations of particular note are those living in impoverished contexts, especially younger individuals who are not always in a position to make their own nutritional decisions. This is underscored in the research by Brownell (2007) which indicates that "the likelihood of being overweight in the poorest 25% of the population is twice that of people in the highest quarter of economic class. With obesity comes a wide array of serious diseases, including some, such as hypertension, that strike particularly hard at some ethnic groups. Children born into poverty will have illnesses far in excess of what confronts others, both in their childhood and later in life." (p. 1)
This helps to direct the focus of the COPP, which recognizes the need for nutritional education in the poorest families, schools and communities.
Another major service would be the creation of financial incentives in order to encourage private organizations and food producers to improve the nutritional balance of their output. By acting as a force to encourage...
Therefore, it may be said that all individuals are eligible for participation. Its emphasis on prevention denotes that eligibility is not limited to those suffering from obesity or in high risk groups where obesity is concerned. The nutrition and lifestyle imperatives around which the plan is based are intended for all Californians.
The affordability of the plan is dictated by public budget availability. Beyond this, the intention is to reduce the cost and improve the availability of healthy eating options. Accessibility is dictated by the proliferation of pertinent information, which is perhaps best demonstrated by the use of celebrity cause endorsement and the penetration of California's public schools.
Works Cited:
Brownell, KD. (2007). Culture Matters in the Obesity Debate. Los Angeles Times.
California Department of Public Health (CDPH). (2010). California Obesity Prevention Plan (COPP). State of California.
Los Angeles County Public Health. (2006). The Obesity Epidemic in Los Angeles County Adults. Retrieved July 10, 2010, from http://lapublichealth.org/wwwfiles/ph/hae/ha/obesity05.pdf
Schwarzenegger, A.; Belshe, K. & Shewry, S. (2006). California Obesity Prevention
Plan Summary. California Department of Public Health.
