South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control

We promote and protect the health of the public and the environment.

• Policy, Systems, and Environmental Approaches
• SC Obesity State Plan
• Surveillance & Data
• Monitoring & Evaluation
• SC Eat Smart, Move More Coalition
• Key Initiatives
  • -   Farm to School
  • -   Grow Healthy Child
        Care Initiatives
  • -   The Healthy South
        Carolina Initiative
• Individuals and Families Strategies and Solutions
• Reserve Fruit & Veggie Costumes

Policy, Systems, & Environmental Approaches

Given the magnitude of the obesity epidemic, traditional approaches solely targeting individuals cannot meet the challenges of obesity. While well-designed individual level approaches are important, individuals are more likely to sustain healthy lifestyles when the environment in which they live supports those behaviors. Individual level approaches are most effective if they are matched with policy, systems, and environmental change strategies.

Policy, systems, and environmental change strategies help make the healthy choice the easy choice. In leading obesity prevention efforts at the state health department, DNPAO’s work focuses on the use of these strategies.

What is the difference between individual level programs/events and policy, systems, and environmental change strategies?

This table provides examples of traditional health promotion programs/events and policy, systems, and environmental change strategies in a variety of settings. The purpose of providing this comparison is to show how policy, systems, and environmental strategies have a broader reach and encourage sustainable change, and how we can then use existing programs/events to move towards more impactful changes.