The Associated Press
CHARLESTON, W.Va.
West Virginia's 10 YMCAs are teaming up to fight obesity though a national pilot project called "Activate America: Pioneering Healthier Communities."
Delaware and a dozen cities across the nation also are participating, said Greg Cottrell, executive director of the Charleston Family YMCA.
The project kicks off Sept. 8 in Washington, D.C., during a national conference.
The decade-long effort will be based on three core principals: a more holistic approach to health, a change in public policy and collaboration.
Cottrell said the effort will include pushing for more physical education in public schools.
In West Virginia, only about a third of high school students are enrolled in physical education classes.
"It's so needed," Cottrell said.
West Virginia has the nation's highest rate of obesity prevalence at 27.6 percent, according to the West Virginia Behavioral Risk Factor Survey Report released earlier this year. About 28.4 percent of those who responded to the survey reported no leisure-time physical activity during the past month, the 10th highest ranking. The survey was based on more than 3,000 random telephone surveys in 2002.