Mass in Motion

Launched in January 2009 by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Mass in Motion aims to reduce obesity by promoting healthy eating and physical activity. The program's approach is multi-faceted, supporting policy changes to promote healthy diet and exercise in the workplace and in schools, providing grants to cities and communities to build wellness initiatives, and launching its website as an accessible resource for improving eating and exercise routines. The wellness initiatives in communities target the entire population.

The Mass in Motion program is funded and supported by Massachusetts's major health-funding foundations. Additional federal grants from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) fund Mass in Motion: Community-Clinical Partnerships to Reduce Childhood Obesity, an evidence-based pilot programs combating childhood obesity, in some communities. This project targets children from low-income families, educating parents and working with childcare programs, schools, and after-school programs to prevent obesity. In addition, the pilot project includes an evaluation component and the results will be used to shape the statewide efforts against childhood obesity.

Mass in Motion aims to reduce obesity and promote healthy eating and physical activity through school and workplace policy changes, grants for communities, and an educational website.

Mass in Motion has launched its website, a personal resource for improving healthy habits. The program has received additional grants from the CDC to begin evidence-based pilot programs against childhood obesity in two communities, New Bedford and Fitchburg.