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Dear Colleague,

Eat less. Exercise more. While these simple recommendations help many people maintain a healthy weight, we also know that today’s obesity epidemic is being fueled by much more than overeating and inactivity. Food availability, marketing and pricing as well as the walkability and safety of our neighborhoods can influence our ability to make healthy food and lifestyle choices, especially in urban, poor or minority communities.

To deepen our understanding of the complex factors driving soaring obesity rates, we at the Aetna Foundation are investing more than $1 million to fund research at some of the nation’s leading educational institutions.

We are pleased to announce the following grants. You can read more about the projects in our news release.

• $250,000 to New York University School of Medicine for a two-year study of the impact of the introduction of supermarkets through tax credits and other incentives in areas that are classified as “food deserts.”

• $233,000 to Boston University’s Slone Epidemiology Center for a two-year study of individual and neighborhood-level factors that influence obesity among African-American women, and the identification of the most effective small changes individuals can make.

• $248,000 to the University of Michigan for a two-year study of how the built environment in an urban setting – in this case Detroit – may influence the risk of obesity among residents.

• $250,000 to the University of Pennsylvania’s African-American Collaborative Obesity Research Network for a one-year study of how variations in food prices influence food and beverage purchases among African-American women.

• $150,000 to the Community Alliance for Research and Engagement (CARE) at Yale University for a study of the role of the neighborhood environment on childhood obesity risk factors and health outcomes.

We look forward to sharing the results of these studies with you when they are completed.

Warmest regards,

Anne C. Beal, MD, MPH
President
Aetna Foundation, Inc.

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