NY Pub Health L § 2599-B (2021)
2021 New York Laws PBH - Public Health Article 25 - Maternal and Child Health Title 8 - Childhood Obesity Prevention Program 2599-B - Program Development.

§  2599-b.  Program  development.  1. The program shall be designed to prevent and reduce the incidence and prevalence of obesity  in  children and adolescents, especially among populations with high rates of obesity and  obesity-related health complications including, but not limited to, diabetes, heart  disease,  cancer,  osteoarthritis,  asthma,  emphysema, chronic   bronchitis,  other  chronic  respiratory  diseases  and  other conditions. The program shall  use  recommendations  and  goals  of  the United  States departments of agriculture and health and human services, the surgeon general and centers for disease control  and  prevention  in developing  and  implementing  guidelines  for  nutrition  education and physical activity projects as part of obesity  prevention  efforts.  The content  and  implementation of the program shall stress the benefits of choosing a balanced, healthful diet from the many options  available  to consumers,   without  specifically  targeting  the  elimination  of  any particular food group, food product or food-related industry.   2. The childhood obesity prevention program shall include, but not  be limited to:  (a)  developing  media health promotion campaigns targeted to children and  adolescents  and  their  parents  and  caregivers  that   emphasize increasing  consumption  of low-calorie, high-nutrient foods, decreasing consumption of high-calorie, low-nutrient foods and increasing  physical activity designed to prevent or reduce obesity;  (b)  establishing  school-based childhood obesity prevention nutrition education and physical activity programs including programs described in section twenty-five hundred ninety-nine-c of this article,  as  well  as other  programs  with linkages to physical and health education courses, and which utilize the school health index of  the  National  Center  for Chronic  Disease  Prevention  and  Health  Promotion or other recognized school health assessments pursuant, but not limited, to article nineteen of the education law;  (c)  establishing   community-based   childhood   obesity   prevention nutrition  education  and  physical activity programs including programs which involve parents and caregivers, and which  encourage  communities, families,  child  care  and  other settings to provide safe and adequate space and time for physical activity and encourage a healthy  diet,  and can  be  in  coordination  with  county  cooperative  extension programs established pursuant to section two hundred twenty-four-b of the  county law;  (d)  coordinating  with  the state education department, department of agriculture and  markets,  office  of  parks,  recreation  and  historic preservation,  office  of temporary and disability assistance, office of children and family services and other federal, state and local agencies to incorporate strategies to prevent and reduce childhood  obesity  into government food assistance, health, education and recreation programs;  (e)  sponsoring  periodic  conferences  or  meetings to bring together experts in nutrition, exercise, public health, mental health, education, parenting, media, food marketing, food security, agriculture,  community planning  and  other  disciplines to examine societal-based solutions to the  problem   of   childhood   obesity   and   issue   guidelines   and recommendations for New York state policy and programs;  (f)   developing  training  programs  for  medical  and  other  health professionals to  teach  practical  skills  in  nutrition  and  exercise education to children and their parents and caregivers;  (g)  developing  screening  programs  in coordination with health care providers and institutions including but not limited to day care centers and schools for overweight and obesity for  children  aged  two  through eighteen  years,  using  body  mass  index (BMI) appropriate for age and gender, and notification, in a manner protecting the confidentiality  of  such  children  and  their  families,  of  parents  of  BMI  status, and explanation of the consequences of such  status,  including  recommended actions  parents  may  need  to take and information about resources and referrals  available  to  families  to  enhance  nutrition  and physical activity to reduce and prevent obesity; and  (h) coordinating with the education department,  office  of  temporary and  disability  assistance,  office of children and family services and other federal, state and local agencies  to  incorporate  strategies  to curtail  the  incidence  of asthma, chronic bronchitis and other chronic respiratory diseases to enable adults and children  to  safely  increase physical activity.   3. The department, in cooperation with the education department, shall periodically  collect  and  analyze information from schools, health and nutrition programs and other sources  to  determine  the  prevalence  of childhood  obesity  in  New  York  state, and to evaluate, to the extent possible, the effectiveness of the childhood obesity prevention program.