Part four of a community discussion on a healthy eating, physical activity and healthy body weight.

To begin at part one – click here.

How does our environment support healthy weight?

How can we influence how our environment looks?

What in our environment supports us in achieving and maintaining healthy body weight, and what creates barriers?

You can contact your county Parks and Recreation Departments to find out where the public parks are located in your county and post this information where it is easy to use.

Look for local farmers’ markets to purchase fresh locally grown fruits and vegetables.

Many restaurants, especially fast food restaurants, get blamed for the people being overweight. But, not all restaurants are equal.  Some restaurants offer healthier options within their menus or choices that can become healthier with “special requests” made when ordering.  One tool to consider is the Healthy Dining Finder. Note: For more information on how restaurants were selected for inclusion and how menus were evaluated, please read the Disclaimer section of the Healthy Dining Finder website.

Identify the restaurants where you can purchase healthy choices and consider these restaurants when eating outside the home.

Look at what exists in your current home and work environments. You can control what foods are in your home. You might consider talking with co-workers, if you want to set policies/rules for what foods are in the worksite.  Has your worksite considered a “no dumping” policy? This means that leftovers from home or things like Halloween candy cannot be brought into work and “dumped” in break rooms to tempt other workers to either eat in an unhealthy manner or in excess.

What steps have you taken, or do you plan to take, to create an environment or environments that support you in achieving and maintaining a healthy weight?

Share any of your thoughts with others by:

• Adding a Comment
• Posting on Facebook
• Tweeting about it @weightforus