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
What Works for Health
Policies and programs that can improve health
Community weight loss challenges
Evidence Rating:
Expert Opinion
Health Factor(s):
Diet and Exercise
Community-based social support for physical activity
Build, strengthen, and maintain social networks that provide supportive relationships for behavior change through walking groups or other community-based interventions
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
Health Factor(s):
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
Health Factor(s):
Diet and Exercise
Competitive pricing for healthy foods
Assign higher costs to non-nutritious foods than nutritious foods via incentives, subsidies, or price discounts for healthy foods and beverages or disincentives or price increases for unhealthy choices
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
Health Factor(s):
Diet and Exercise
Complete Streets & streetscape design initiatives
Enhance streetscapes with greater sidewalk coverage and walkway connectivity, street crossing safety features, traffic calming measures, and other design elements
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
Health Factor(s):
Housing and Transit, Diet and Exercise
Comprehensive clinic-based programs for pregnant & parenting teens
Address the needs of teenage mothers via clinic-based programs that provide health care and family planning services as well as case management, counseling, and other supports
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
Health Factor(s):
Sexual Activity
Comprehensive firearm background checks
Require checks of a broad set of disqualifying criteria (e.g., misdemeanor convictions, domestic violence restraining orders, and juvenile convictions) prior to handgun purchase
Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
Health Factor(s):
Community Safety
Comprehensive risk reduction sexual education
Provide information about contraception and protection against sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in classroom or community settings
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
Health Factor(s):
Sexual Activity
Comprehensive school reform
Implement a coordinated effort to overhaul school operation, integrating curriculum, instruction, professional development, parent involvement, classroom and school management; also called school-wide or whole school reform
Evidence Rating:
Some Evidence
Health Factor(s):
Education
Computer-based interventions to prevent HIV and other STIs
Provide tailored health information and computer-mediated decision making, behavior change, and emotional support via interactive programs
Evidence Rating:
Scientifically Supported
Health Factor(s):
Sexual Activity