Creating Healthy Communities through Program Delivery, Partnerships and Public Policy Medhat Mahdy President, YMCA Ontario President & CEO, YMCA of Greater Toronto Presentation to the Association of Local Public Health Agencies (alPHa) November 14, 2013

YMCAs IN ONTARIO • Federation of 21 YMCA and YMCA-YWCA in Ontario with a vision to strengthen the foundation of communities. • Serves more than 1.3 million people, including 863,668 children, teens and young adults in 125 communities across Ontario. • The reach of the YMCA includes:

48,000 children in YMCA Child

Care

200,000 People served

in YMCA Employment and Training

529,912

Participants in

YMCA Health & Fitness

15,506 Volunteers contributed

787,778 volunteer

hours

451,517 People

served in YMCA

Community Initiatives

9,552

Employees

Leading employer of

youth

80,144

Children and Youth in

YMCA Camps

58,481

Participants in YMCA Global

Initiatives

YMCA OF GREATER TORONTO

• Building Healthy Communities for 160 years. • As the 5th largest charity in Canada, our Strategic Plan Strong Start Great Future lays out our vision that our communities will be home to the healthiest children, teens and young adults. • Our vision rests on the three pillars of Program Delivery, Partnerships and Public Policy.

January 2012: Ontario’s Action Plan for Health Care released with commitment to aggressively take on the challenge to reduce childhood obesity by 20 per cent over five years. May 2012: Healthy Kids Panel announced • Panel was a diverse group, comprised of 18 content area and strategy experts, health care leaders, not-for-profit and business leaders. May-December 2012: Panel carried out its work. March 2013: Panel’s report, No Time To Wait: The Healthy Kids Strategy, was released.

HEALTHY KIDS PANEL FORMATION

4

We identified that engagement, input and diverse perspectives would help to inform our report and discussions Submissions from the Public: • 93 submissions from members of the public and organizations Thought Leader Presentations: • 19 thought leaders invited to make presentations and engage in a discussion with the Panel Associations/Organizations Meetings: • The co-chairs and members met individually with various associations and organizations representing the

food and hospitality industries and the medical and public health sectors to name a few Parent Survey: • 2000 responses received to a survey of Ontario parents and caregivers Parent and Youth Focus Groups: • Held focus groups in the Greater Toronto Area and Sudbury to provide insights into the lived experience

of parents • 10 focus groups were conducted by the Students Commission of Canada on behalf of the Panel to gather

input from children and youth about their health Supporting Research: • Research primers by Public Health Ontario underpinned the work of the Panel

WE SOUGHT A DIVERSITY OF VIEWS

5

WE ENGAGED WITH PURPOSE

6

Paternal/maternal overweight/obesity

Parental diet and physical activity

Built environment Genetic

factors

Short sleep duration

Maternal diabetes

Large birth weight

Maternal nutrition

In utero growth restriction

Maternal smoking

Rapid growth catch up

Breastfeeding/ infant feeding

Unhealthy food and beverages

Marketing/ advertising

Neglect/ abuse

Food insecurity

Food prices

Physical Inactivity / Sedentary

TV viewing

Low SES/ education

Overweight and obesity in

children

Source: Public Health Ontario, “Evidence Primer for Childhood Obesity”, 2012

WE HEARD THAT WE MUST ACT COLLECTIVELY

7

Parents • Told us they see themselves as role models for their children Youth • Said they want to be part of shaping their own health and helping their peers Community • Parents and youth recognized we need action at the community/organizational and societal level as they all have an influence on child health:

• Child care providers • Schools • Health care providers • Food Industry • Media • Non-government organizations • All levels of government

WE MADE BOLD RECOMMENDATIONS: FOCUS: CREATE HEALTHY COMMUNITIES

Source: Borys, J.M et al, EPODE approach for childhood obesity prevention: methods, progress and international development, Obesity Reviews, 2011

MY LESSONS LEARNED

Critical Importance of: • Maternal Health • Breastfeeding • Breakfast and Sleep • Food Environment • Physical Activity • Genetics as a Factor • Not Shaming People and • Understanding Healthy Weights as a complex issue

9

FROM STRATEGY TO ACTION: PUBLIC HEALTH AND THE HEALTHY KIDS PANEL’S REPORT

10

• YMCA’s Response to the Healthy Kids Panel Report, based on YMCA’s three pillars:

Program Delivery

Public Policy

Partnerships

Questions and Comments?

Thank you

11

Medhat Mahdy President, YMCA Ontario President and CEO, YMCA of Greater Toronto www.ymcagta.org http://annualreport.ymcagta.org