Strategies

What Works for Health includes evidence-informed strategies to create communities where everyone can thrive.

13 Strategies
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Community weight loss challenges

Support temporary programs that work to energize participants to lose weight via prizes, often combined with education, weight status and food intake tracking, regular check-ins, and group support

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Diet and Exercise

Community-wide physical activity campaigns

Engage a variety of partners in a highly visible, multi-component effort to increase physical activity, often with efforts to address cardiovascular disease risk factors

Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
  • Diet and Exercise

Cross-age youth peer mentoring

Establish an ongoing relationship between an older youth or young adult and a younger child or adolescent, usually an elementary or middle school student

Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
  • Family and Social Support

Extracurricular activities for physical activity

Provide chances for kids and adolescents to be active and play sports at various skill levels via structured or unstructured after and before school athletic activities

Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
  • Diet and Exercise

Family-based physical activity interventions

Increase family members’ support for physical activity, often via educational sessions on health, goal-setting, problem-solving, or family behavioral management

Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
  • Diet and Exercise

Green space & parks

Increase green space through new parks or open spaces, renovation or enhancement of under-used recreation areas, rehabilitation of vacant lots, brownfields, etc.

Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
  • Diet and Exercise

Intergenerational communities

Establish policies, plans, and programs that meet the needs of all residents of a community, especially children and older adults, and promote interaction and cooperation between individuals of different generations

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Family and Social Support

Intergenerational mentoring and activities

Establish a relationship between an older adult and a child, adolescent, or college student through social interactions or a variety of educational and art activities

Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
  • Family and Social Support

Open Streets

Allow community members to gather, socialize, walk, run, bike, skate, etc. on streets temporarily to closed to motorized traffic; also called Ciclovía programs

Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
  • Diet and Exercise
  • Family and Social Support

Outdoor experiential education

Support outdoor pursuits and adventure-based activities that emphasize inter- and intra-personal growth through overcoming obstacles (e.g., challenge courses, wilderness excursions, etc.)

Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
  • Family and Social Support