The Hoosier Health and Wellness Alliance (HHWA) is excited to announce its new name and expanded focus. HHWA was originally founded in 2008 as the Indiana Healthy Weight Initiative (IHWI), a statewide coalition focused on reducing obesity. The newly revamped Hoosier Health and Wellness Alliance plans to enlarge its focus to not only address physical activity and nutrition, but also other risk factors associated with obesity, such as the food, social, and built environments. Evidence shows that these environments have great impact on the accessibility, availability, and adequacy of food and physical activity within a community or region. One major issue the HHWA will focus on is food insecurity.
Food insecurity is the lack of access to food due to barriers such as affordability, transportation, or social constraints. Food insecurity is associated with obesity, anxiety, and depression and may contribute to anemia, asthma, and cognitive and behavioral issues among developing children.
Food insecurity disproportionately affects racial and ethnic minorities, low-income families, and single parent households. In addition, many of the same families struggle with affordable housing, medical costs, and low wages.
With an estimated 13% of Hoosiers (887,070 individuals) identified as food insecure (Feeding America, 2017), Hoosier Health and Wellness Alliance’s additional area of focus is increasingly relevant. As a part of the Connections IN Health initiative, HHWA has begun engaging with communities across the state of Indiana in an effort to increase positive health outcomes in Indiana communities by providing the support and effective strategies needed to optimize local impact.
If you are interested in joining the efforts of the Hoosier Health and Wellness Alliance, you can contact Antonia Sawyer, Director at afsawyer@iu.edu.
For more information on HHWA and other chronic disease coalitions in Indiana, contact Connections IN Health at cinh@indianapolis.iu.edu or visit indianactsi.org/community/initiatives.
This project was funded, in part, by grant(s) NUE1EH001382, NU58DP006525, and/or NB01OT009281 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and with support from the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute funded, in part by Award Number UL1TR002529 from the National Institutes of Health, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Clinical and Translational Sciences Award. The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators are solely the responsibility of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policies or views of the Department of Health and Human Services or the National Institutes of Health nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
