Join NIH's We Can!®: 5 Years of Helping
Children Maintain a Healthy Weight

Watch the evening news, flip through a magazine, or even tune into the latest reality shows and you're sure to see something about the weight of America's children. One in every three U.S. children aged 2–19 is overweight or obese, and being overweight at a young age can lead to serious health problems later in life.

Recognizing this serious public health challenge, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) launched We Can! (Ways to Enhance Children's Activity & Nutrition) in June 2005. We Can! provides parents and caregivers of 8- to 13-year-olds with tip sheets, handbooks, curricula, and other resources—based on the findings from NIH-funded research—to help children stay at a healthy weight.

In just 5 years, We Can! has grown from 14 pilot intensive sites to more than 1,300 registered community sites in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and 11 other countries. The growth of We Can! illustrates the dedication of its community sites and private- and public-sector partners to spreading the program's core behavioral messages—improving food choices, increasing physical activity, and reducing screen time.

Check our list of site locations to see whether there are We Can! sites in your area. If there isn't one, and if your organization is interested in childhood obesity prevention, consider signing up as a We Can! community site at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/wecan/partner-with-us/types-community-sites.htm. Below are a couple of additional ways that YOU can get involved.

Help People Learn How To Maintain a Healthy Weight

To increase awareness of the program's core concepts, buses and subway stations will display messages in many cities across the country, from this week through the end of August.

Look for messages in:

Join us by promoting a healthy lifestyle to your friends, colleagues, and neighbors. Download and post our We Can! messages in your local worksite, church, hospital, park and recreation center, or other visible place in your community, today!

8x11 Posters:  http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/wecan/downloads/ad-letter.pdf 

11x17 Posters:  http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/wecan/downloads/ad-tabloid.pdf

Become a Fan of We Can! on Facebook

The We Can! Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/nihwecan offers links to healthy snacks and recipes, physical activity tips, and ways to reduce screen time. Take a few moments while you're on Facebook to become a We Can! fan and tell your family and friends about the program's great resources, too.

® We Can! Ways to Enhance Children's Activity & Nutrition, We Can!, and the We Can! logos are registered trademarks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.