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Funding Priorities |
FIT TOGETHER NC (Obesity Initiative)
Fit Together NC Grants Fit Communities Fit Kids Workplace Wellness Fit Families NC - Study Committee
Background
Alarmingly high rates of obesity in North Carolina and beyond are resulting in increasing prevalence of chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and several types of cancer. The CDC estimates that obesity-related expenses in North Carolina add up to more than $2.1 billion, with just over half of that coming at the expense of taxpayers via Medicare and Medicaid. National expenditures on obesity-related illnesses are now measured in the tens of billions of dollars annually, and rising fast. Killing nearly 400,000 people per year, unhealthy weight is positioned to overtake tobacco as the leading preventable cause of death in the United States.
Objective
Health and Wellness Trust Fund (HWTF) Commissioners sought to address this growing epidemic with a comprehensive program that would promote and help implement proven and innovative interventions to increase people’s physical activity and improve nutrition choices. In 2004 HWTF partnered with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC to launch Fit Together, a statewide campaign designed to raise awareness around the dangers of unhealthy weight and to equip individuals, families, communities and businesses with the tools they need to address this serious health concern.
