History of Physical Activity Health Code

In an effort to address childhood obesity in our community, CassClayAlive!(CCA) was formed in 2009. The mission of CassClayAlive! was to transform the food and fitness environment in schools, child care, and the community to help children establish physical activity and healthy eating habits for a lifetime. The overall goal of the initiative was to reduce overweight and obesity in 2-19 year olds in Cass and Clay Counties by 20% by 2020. CCA was the “parent” to a number of the “Alives" initiatives, which included ChildcareAlive!.

The focus of ChildcareAlive! was to improve the physical activity and food environments in child care settings, and to make healthy choices more convenient and accessible. In an effort to increase the number of child care centers offering the CDC recommended 60 minutes of physical activity per day, a workgroup was formed in the fall of 2013. The workgroup was made up of representatives from Fargo Cass Public Health, CassClay Alive!, ChildcareAlive!, Cass County Social Services, NDSU Child Development, Child Care Aware of ND, Southeastern ND Community Action Agency, YMCA Child Care and TNT Kid’s Fitness.

Using the National Early Care and Education Program Standards for Obesity Prevention as a reference, the workgroup developed language to update the City of Fargo Child Care Health Codes to ensure all licensed child care centers implement and follow CDC best practices for preventing childhood obesity in early care and education programs.

The Fargo City Commission approved the Child Care Physical Activity ordinance on June 23, 2014. The new health code ordinance standards stipulate that all licensed child care facilities implement the Child Care Physical Activity Health Code.