The Obesity Prevention Program (OPP) at the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) works with state and local partners to address the rise of obesity. Together with our partners, OPP strives to bring long-term change that addresses the obesity epidemic to our social and economic environments. Preventing obesity remains a top health priority for OPP. 

Mission

The Obesity Prevention Program is dedicated to preventing obesity and consequent chronic conditions, improving the health and well-being of all Texans through strategic partnerships; education; and policy, systems, and environmental change.  

Vision

A healthier Texas where all individuals and communities have the knowledge, opportunities, and resources to achieve and sustain healthy lifestyles, free from the burden of obesity and its related health challenges.  

OPP's Obesity Prevention Priority (OPP) Strategies report focuses on the rising obesity rates in Texas and provides proven strategies to help lower these rates. These strategies are the groundwork to developing a more collaborative approach to obesity prevention. Key strategies include:  

Nutrition

OPP helps Texans make healthy food choices. We do this by implementing policies, systems, and environmental changes that support the accessibility and affordability of nutritious foods and beverages. 

A few examples of the work OPP does in this setting include:

• Partnering with state agencies and local health departments to implement food service guidelines and healthy vending policies in priority settings, such as worksites and early childcare centers.
• Promoting the purchase of healthier prepared and packaged foods and beverages in priority settings through nutrition education.
• Supporting access to fresh fruit and vegetables through local food systems, such as providing fruit and vegetable vouchers at farmer’s markets and produce prescriptions through doctor’s offices. 

Physical Activity  

OPP encourages Texans to be physically active. We do this by implementing and enhancing policies, systems, and improving built environments in Texas to increase access for physical activity. We are dedicated to increasing access to opportunities for physical activity.  

OPP partners with state and local agencies to:

• Increase and improve infrastructure that provides access to physical activity and to nature and the outdoors.
• Strengthen policies that enhance access to physical activity opportunities and routes for pedestrian and cycling commuting to everyday destinations
• Increase awareness of existing policies to expand physical activity opportunities. 

Early Childhood Education

OPP partners with state agencies and local health departments to provide resources to help ECE centers reimagine their outdoor learning environments and implement healthy practices for the tiniest Texans.  

Texas Healthy Building Blocks (THBB) is a statewide recognition program that provides evidence-based obesity prevention training to ECEs. THBB Technical Assistance (TA) Consultants help ECEs identify improvements to work on to reach the recognition threshold, including goal setting and achievement towards healthier environments for children. Areas of improvement may include child nutrition, outdoor play and learning, and screen time.   

Breastfeeding 

Laying a foundation for good health starts from birth. OPP works with local health departments and other state agencies that support mothers who are breastfeeding or would like to breastfeed.

OPP provides technical assistance to local health departments and other state agencies interested in the Texas Mother Friendly Worksite (TMFW) program. Technical assistance might include creating spaces at worksites to express milk, drafting a worksite policy to include in the TMFW application, and/or creating a plan of action to educate worksite leadership. 

Health Promotion & Partnerships 

Providing health education and expanding partnerships is pivotal in creating a network of sustained care in communities. The Community and Clinical Health Bridge program of OPP works with local health departments to increase access to preventive health services through implementation and expansion of a bi-directional referral mechanism between clinical and community service providers. The work includes offering community specific chronic disease education to improve self-management of obesity-related chronic disease.