WASHINGTON--Just two years ago, Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee was more than 100 pounds overweight and had been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. Today, 110 pounds lighter, the new chairman of the National Governors Association (NGA) officially launched a yearlong initiative to raise awareness of the urgent need for Americans of all ages to live healthier, more active lives. The governor unveiled, Healthy America: Wellness Where We Live, Work and Learn, during a midday luncheon at the National Press Club.

Building on his successful Healthy Arkansas program, this new national initiative intends to spur states to enact real, tangible statewide solutions governors can use to help everyone in their states--children, teenagers, adults and seniors--become healthier and more active. To that end, Healthy America will educate people on the need for sustainable, long-term health and lifestyle changes. It also will show them how to implement these changes in their daily lives at home, work and school.

"The facts are simple. We weigh too much, and we don't exercise enough. We must change this trend," said Gov. Huckabee. "This initiative is about more than losing a few pounds. The goal is to convince Americans to embrace a healthier lifestyle. We're talking about a cultural change."

The Chairman's Initiative was driven in part by studies showing that more than a quarter of all American adults are inactive; 65 percent are overweight. By marshalling the public and private sectors, Gov. Huckabee and other governors across the country are working to make communities, workplaces and schools healthier.

"We're facing a health crisis in this country. Fortunately, many of the problems are preventable with proper diet, exercise and smoking cessation," Gov. Huckabee said. "We can't regulate our way out of the obesity crisis. But there are things governors can do."

From educating families on the simple but critical healthy habits to offering students healthier food options at school, Gov. Huckabee said, states have a role and responsibility to begin addressing this growing national crisis. "A lack of action isn't an option. For too long, we've focused our resources on treating diseases rather than preventing them," he said. "We must stop treating snakebites and start killing snakes. If we don't act, we'll raise a generation of overweight, inactive, unhealthy children."

To help meet the goals of his initiative, Gov. Huckabee has recruited a bipartisan team of health-conscious governors for his chairman's task force: California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen. NGA Vice Chair Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano is the co-chair of the Healthy America Task Force.

With the help of the NGA Center for Best Practices, along with doctors, nurses, practitioners, administrators, business leaders, policymakers, seniors, parents and children, the task force will develop and highlight the necessary tools governors need to make America healthier. In addition, the task force's work over the next year will allow governors to identify and act on state policies to help make Gov. Huckabee's vision a reality, including:

• hosting a Healthy America forum with state and national leaders to build nationwide momentum for healthy lifestyles at the NGA Winter Meeting in February;
• holding workshops for state officials to examine best practices, including public-private partnerships, and providing state teams with tools and ideas for implementing state programs;
• exploring opportunities for modernizing and improving relevant state programs, including Medicaid, Food Stamps and child care, to ensure they promote and reward healthy behaviors and have measurable impacts;
• conducting a series of site visits to innovative businesses and state and local programs currently implementing relevant best practices; and
• urging every governor in the nation to implement state employee health initiatives as models for the public and private sectors.

In October, Gov. Huckabee will visit South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford in Charleston to participate in the first of several site visits for the initiative. Later that month, Gov. Huckabee will meet with Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack in Des Moines to tour state and local programs that are promoting wellness and healthy lifestyles. While in Iowa, Gov. Huckabee also will deliver the keynote address at the World Food Prize Symposium.

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