Episode 787

Healthy Communities: Prevention Where We Live

Why watch: Episode 787 is about making the healthy choice the easier choice.

A man doing push-ups on outdoor exercise bars beside a riverfront trail, with cyclists and joggers passing, in a still from the CDC film A National Movement to Reduce Obesity and Tobacco Use

Episode 787 is about making the healthy choice the easier choice. It opens with the national picture from CDC's Communities Putting Prevention to Work, the 2010–2012 program that helped 50 communities, home to more than 50 million Americans, reduce obesity and tobacco use, two leading preventable causes of death and disability. Two community profiles show the work up close: Los Angeles County, California, bringing healthier food and nutrition education into school meals, and San Antonio, Texas, adding salad bars and healthier places to be active, with extra focus on neighborhoods where childhood obesity runs highest. Three segments then explain what is at stake: obesity in children, managing weight when you live with diabetes, and the link between excess weight and cancer. For viewers, the program offers hope and practical steps. For schools, city leaders, health systems, employers, broadcasters, sponsors, and funders, it shows how community action can change a whole city's health, including its hearing health.

In this program

A National Movement to Reduce Obesity and Tobacco Use
Los Angeles County, California -- Obesity
Obesity in Children
Obesity Management in People With Diabetes
Overweight and Obesity are Associated with Cancer
San Antonio, Texas -- Obesity Prevention

Sound Tips™ Companion

Weight and hearing are connected. About 4 in 10 U.S. adults and about 1 in 5 children and teens have obesity. Studies of U.S. teenagers found that teens with obesity were about twice as likely to show signs of hearing loss, including early signs of noise damage. A large meta-analysis of adult studies linked obesity with higher odds of hearing loss. These are associations, not proof that weight causes hearing loss; one explanation researchers are studying is that the inner ear depends on healthy blood flow. Diabetes matters too: hearing loss is about twice as common in adults with diabetes, so anyone with diabetes should get hearing checked regularly. Overweight and obesity are also linked to a higher risk of 13 types of cancer. Sound Tips™ for families: eat more vegetables, fruits, and whole grains; choose water over sugary drinks; aim for 60 minutes of activity a day for kids and 150 minutes a week for adults; limit screen time and turn down the headphones while you exercise; and ask your doctor for a hearing check along with your blood sugar and blood pressure.

Explore this in Timecyclopedia →

Watch American Abilities: Sundays 10 AM ET · CW-WHAM Spectrum 16/1212 · WHAMDT2 (CW) 13.2 On the Air · DirecTV Ch. 14