Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) National Media Initiative -- Message Testing

Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW)

National Media Initiative — Message Testing

Attachment 4 to the HMTS Expedited Review Form

Contents

Attachment 4: Messages for Testing 1

Attachment 4: Messages for Testing

Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW)

National Media Initiative — Message Testing

July 31, 2013

A number of community organizations and programs across the United States are working to reduce obesity. There are different ways to look at the challenges of obesity and how this issue can be addressed. I’d like to get your reaction to a few messages about this topic. After each message, I’ll ask you a few questions.

1. Communities across America are looking for new ways to solve the problem of obesity.  Our community surroundings, such as the types of foods that are available, can either hurt or help our personal efforts to be healthy.  New community approaches that make more healthy foods available and create more places to be physically active can help us all live healthier lives. [New Ways]

[Ask questions about this message.]

2. Obesity continues to be a problem in the United States. It needs to be addressed where we live, work, learn, and play. We can do this by creating more places for people to be physically active, such as parks, playgrounds, and biking and walking paths, and by making healthy food options, such as fruits and vegetables more available and affordable at stores and markets across our community. [Specific examples]

[Ask questions about this message.]

3. Overweight children often become overweight or obese adults. We can start to reduce obesity in America by keeping our children healthy.  By encouraging parents to feed healthy foods to their children and by working together to get healthier foods and physical activity into our schools, we can give all children a better chance to grow into healthy adults. [Focus on children]

[Ask questions about this message.]

4. By tackling the problem of obesity, we are preventing chronic diseases that not only threaten Americans’ health, but also hit all of us in the wallet by driving up medical spending each year. For example, 75 cents of every dollar spent on healthcare goes toward treating chronic diseases. Obesity prevention efforts are the best way to cut these costs. [Cost of obesity]

[Ask questions about this message.]

5. High obesity and chronic disease rates place a huge economic burden on American businesses. A healthier workforce brings with it higher productivity, fewer work days missed, and lower health insurance costs. Investing in health – in the workplace and in the community – reduces health care costs, improves productivity, and makes America’s economy stronger. [Economy and workforce]

[Ask questions about this message.]

Now, I’d like to get your reactions to a message about childhood obesity.

6. Childhood obesity rates are starting to level off or drop in states and communities that have made broad, sweeping changes to make healthy foods and physical activity available in schools and communities. But the work is far from over. We can continue this progress by supporting community efforts to make healthy living easier throughout the United States. [Continued funding]

[Ask questions about this message.]