Diabetes Prevention Toolkit

Type 2 diabetes is largely preventable by taking several simple steps: keeping weight under control, exercising more, eating a healthy diet, and not smoking. Yet it is clear that the burden of behavior change cannot fall entirely on individuals. Families, schools, worksites, healthcare providers, communities, media, the food industry, and government must work together to make healthy choices easy choices.

This toolkit offers links to dozens of resources to do just that. Among them are evidence-based guidelines and action plans; research reports and surveillance data; tools for families, schools, healthcare providers, employers, and public health policymakers; case studies that showcase local and state efforts to promote healthy eating and active living; and more. Many of these resources focus on food- and physical activity-related policy changes that can promote healthy environments, encourage healthy behaviors, and ultimately, help turn around the diabetes epidemic.

We will add to this list over time and welcome suggestions for additional resources. For more information on diabetes prevention, read The Nutrition Source article Simple Steps to Preventing Diabetes.

1. Healthy Eating & Drinking

• Dept. of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health. The Healthy Eating Pyramid. (PDF)
• Dept. of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health. How Sweet Is It? (PDF)
• Dept. of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health. The Nutrition Source.
• Dept. of Nutrition, Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Delicious and Nutritious Food Choices: Healthy Options for Conferences. (PDF)

2. Physical Activity & Inactivity

• Center for Screen-Time Awareness. Screentime.org.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Physical Activity Resources for Health Professionals.
• U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans.

3. Smoking Cessation and Prevention

• National Cancer Institute, Tobacco Control Research Branch. Smokefree.gov.
• The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Tobaccofreekids.org.
• World Health Organization. WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

4. Families & Homes

• American Academy of Pediatrics. Prevention and Treatment of Childhood Overweight and Obesity: Families Portal.
• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. Jump Up & Go!
• Harvard Prevention Research Center on Nutrition and Physical Activity. Food and Fun After School.
• National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health. We Can!
• New York City Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene. Helping Children Reach a Healthy Weight: Proven Tips for Families. (PDF)
• The White House. Let’s Move.

5. Schools & Childcare

• Action for Healthy Kids. School Programs.
• Alliance for a Healthier Generation. Healthy Schools Program.
• Carter J, Wiecha J, Peterson K, Nobrega S, and Gortmaker SL. Planet Health: An Interdisciplinary Curriculum for Teaching Middle School Nutrition and Physical Activity, Second Edition. Champaign: Human Kinetics. 2007.
• Cheung LW, Dart H, Kalin S, and Gortmaker SL. Eat Well & Keep Moving: An Interdisciplinary Curriculum for Teaching Upper Elementary School Nutrition and Physical Activity, Second Edition. Champaign: Human Kinetics. 2007.
• Duke University School of Medicine. Preventing Obesity in the Child Care Setting: Evaluating State Regulations.
• Harvard Prevention Research Center on Nutrition and Physical Activity. Food and Fun After School.
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center to Prevent Childhood Obesity. Childcare Settings and Childhood Obesity Prevention Toolkit.

6. Healthcare

• American Academy of Pediatrics. Prevention and Treatment of Childhood Overweight and Obesity.
• American Heart Association. Policy and Position Statements – Obesity and Nutrition.
• American Medical Association. Healthier Life Steps.
• Hassink SG (ed.). Pediatric Obesity Clinical Decision Support Chart: 5210.
• California Medical Association Foundation. Obesity Prevention Project.
• The New England Coalition for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. Strategic Plan for the Prevention and Control of Overweight and Obesity in New England.(PDF) Chapter 1 – Health Care Providers. October 2005.

7. Worksites

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC’s LEAN Works! Leading Employees to Activity and Nutrition.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Guide to Community Preventive Services – Worksite Programs to Prevent and Control Obesity.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Healthier Worksite Initiative.
• National Diabetes Education Program. DiabetesatWork.org.
• Virgin HealthMiles, Inc. Home Page.

8. Food Environment

• Center for Science in the Public Interest. Report Card on Food-Marketing Policies. March 2010.
• Keener D, Goodman K, Lowr A, et al. Recommended Community Strategies and Measurements to Prevent Obesity in the United States: Implementation and Measurement Guide. 2009. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Leadership for Healthy Communities, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Action Strategies Toolkit: A Guide for Local and State Leaders Working to Create Healthy Communities and Prevent Childhood Obesity. February 2010.
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Healthy Eating Research: Building Evidence to Prevent Childhood Obesity.
• U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Economic Research Service. Your Food Environment Atlas.
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Press release (April 28, 2010): FDA Seeks Comment, Information, Data on Front-of-Package Labeling and Shelf-Tag Symbols.
  To comment by July 28, 2010: visit http://www.regulations.gov, Docket No. FDA-2010-N-0210

9. Built Environment

• Active Living Resource Center. ActiveLivingResources.org.
• Bike sharing system in Metro Boston. http://www.thehubway.com/.
• Keener D, Goodman K, Lowr A, et al. Recommended Community Strategies and Measurements to Prevent Obesity in the United States: Implementation and Measurement Guide. 2009. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Leadership for Healthy Communities, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Action Strategies Toolkit: A Guide for Local and State Leaders Working to Create Healthy Communities and Prevent Childhood Obesity. February 2010.
• North Carolina Institute for Public Health, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. Active Living By Design.

10. Media & Marketing

• Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. Reclaiming Childhood from Corporate Marketers.
• Center for Science in the Public Interest. Report Card on Food-Marketing Policies. March 2010.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Social Marketing for Nutrition and Physical Activity Web Course.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Social Marketing Resources.
• Kaiser Family Foundation. Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds. January 2010.
• International Association for the Study of Obesity, International Obesity Task Force. Recommendations for an International Code on Marketing of Foods and Non-Alcoholic Beverages to Children. (PDF)
• Magnus A, Haby MM, Carter R, Swinburn B. The cost-effectiveness of removing television advertising of high-fat and/or high-sugar food and beverages to Australian children. Int J Obes (Lond). 2009; 33:1094-102.
• National Cancer Institute. The Role of the Media in Promoting and Reducing Tobacco Use. Tobacco Control Monograph No. 19. Bethesda, MD: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute. NIH Pub. No. 07-6242. June 2008.
• New York City Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene. Don’t Drink Yourself Fat. (PDF)
• The Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale University. Cereal F.A.C.T.S. – Food Advertising to Children and Teens Score.
• Veerman JL, Van Beeck EF, Barendregt JJ, Mackenbach JP. By how much would limiting TV food advertising reduce childhood obesity? Eur J Public Health. 2009;19:365-9.

11. Government

      Local

• Keener D, Goodman K, Lowr A, et al. Recommended Community Strategies and Measurements to Prevent Obesity in the United States: Implementation and Measurement Guide. 2009. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Leadership for Healthy Communities, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Action Strategies Toolkit: A Guide for Local and State Leaders Working to Create Healthy Communities and Prevent Childhood Obesity. February 2010.
• New York City Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene. New York City Vending and Nutrition Standards.

      State

• California Dept. of Public Health and the Public Health Institute. California Project LEAN (Leaders Encouraging Activity and Nutrition).
• Leadership for Healthy Communities, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Action Strategies Toolkit: A Guide for Local and State Leaders Working to Create Healthy Communities and Prevent Childhood Obesity. February 2010.
• Massachusetts Dept. of Health and Human Services. Nutrition Standards for State Agencies. (PDF)
• Massachusetts Dept. of Health and Human Services. Mass in Motion.
• Mulheron J, Vonasek K. Shaping a Healthier Generation: Successful State Strategies to Prevent Childhood Obesity. National Governor’s Association Center for Best Practices, Health Division. (PDF) September 2009.
• The New England Coalition for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. Strategic Plan for the Prevention and Control of Overweight and Obesity in New England. (PDF) October 2005.
• The Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale University. Soda Tax Calculator.

      National

• Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress. New Horizons for a Healthy America: Recommendations to the New Administration. April 2009.
• Trust for America’s Health. F as in Fat 2009: How Obesity Policies are Failing in America.
• The White House. White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity: Report to the President – Solving the Problem of Childhood Obesity Within a Generation.

       Global

• EPODE European Network.  Preventing Childhood Obesity.
• Executive Agency for Health and Consumers, European Union. EU Project DE-PLAN: Diabetes in Europe – Prevention Using Lifestyle, Physical Activity and Nutritional Intervention.
• Finnish Diabetes Association. Development Programme for the Prevention and Care of Diabetes in Finland – DEHKO 2000–2010.
• HOPE Project. Health Promotion Through Obesity Prevention Across Europe.
• Ministry of Health, Mexico. Bases Técnicas del Acuerdo Nacional Para la Salud Alimentaria Estrategia Contra el Sobrepeso y la Obesidad. (PDF)
• Institute of Medicine. Promoting Cardiovascular Health in the Developing World: A Critical Challenge to Achieve Global Health. March 2010.
• World Health Organization. 2008-2013 Action Plan for the Global Strategy for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases.

12. Data for Action

• Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Chronic Disease Indicators Database.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Chronic Disease Indicators.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Diabetes Data and Trends.
• U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Economic Research Service. Your Food Environment Atlas.
• World Health Organization. Global Database on Body Mass Index: An Interactive Surveillance Tool for Monitoring Nutrition Transition.

Terms of Use

The aim of the Harvard School of Public Health Nutrition Source is to provide timely information on diet and nutrition for clinicians, allied health professionals, and the public. The contents of this Web site are not intended to offer personal medical advice. You should seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this Web site. The information does not mention brand names, nor does it endorse any particular products.