“The Weight of the Nation” Teach-In & Movie Preview

Welcome and Agenda 1. Welcome 1 minute 2. HBO Movie preview: The Weight of the the Nation 10 minutes 3. Discussion and Teach-in 4. Taking action 5 minutes 5. We can do it (video)! 4 minutes Welcome to the Union and Kaiser Permanente “Weight of the Nation” Preview and Teach-In. My name is _____________ and I’m here to facilitate today’s brief teach-in. We will begin with the movie preview, have a short discussion, talk about how we can take action, and finally see a short video about what union members at KP are already doing.

The Weight of the Nation Preview: HBO special documentary series Documentary and public health campaign co-sponsored by Kaiser Permanente With the Institute of Medicine, Centers for Disease Control, National Institutes of Health, and the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation On May 14 and 15, HBO is airing a dramatic new four-part documentary series called “The Weight of the Nation.” We are going to see a special preview in just a moment. We have access to this special preview only because Kaiser Permanente is one of the sponsors of this documentary. It’s all part of the total health campaign. The HBO series is just the beginning of an ongoing public health campaign – a campaign that we’ll have a role in as union members. So, let’s see the preview!

(Weight of the Nation video here) 1:32 minute preview. Instructions: In a separate window go to: http://lmpartnership.org/stories-videos/preview-weight-nation . You will need an internet connection to play it live. If you will not have an internet connection when you show this slideshow go to the link above and download it onto your hard drive and play it from there. There are instructions on the page about how to download.

The Weight of the Nation: Key Ideas What was important, surprising, or new to you? Spend about one or two minutes taking people’s reactions and discussing.

Why is Health a Union and KP Issue? We stand for fairness, but obesity and other health risks disproportionately affect working people, the poor, and communities of color. We stand for good jobs and benefits, but health risks make our benefits more costly. A KP employee with one or more health risks costs $5,000 more every year. By reducing our health risks, we could cut the cost of our benefits by as much as one-third! We stand for affordable health care for all, but obesity and other risk factors threaten to overwhelm the health care system, making care for us and our communities unaffordable. So, the idea that “health is a union issue” may be new to you. There are three reasons that health is a union issue. (read the slide contents). Does anyone disagree, or have further thoughts? (one minute)

Rising Obesity Rates Could Make Health Care Unaffordable The economics of health reform are delicately balanced  on keeping per capita cost growth below 5% after 2014. This slide shows what will happen to health care costs if obesity rates keep rising. The red line shows costs if obesity rates continue at current rates. The blue line shows what will happen to costs if obesity rates don’t increase. The health care system is already under stress, and this looks like a prescription for the system to virtually collapse.

Causes: Junk Food Marketing Here’s a billboard with a public service message about childhood obesity … countered by an ad showing a happy, healthy teenager with larger-than-life french fries and hamburgers! How often do kids see junk food marketing? Children see an average of about 17 TV ads for food every day – or about 40 hours every year! Of these food ads, about 72% are for fast food, candy, snacks, or cereal. NONE are for fresh fruit or vegetables. Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the last 30 years! (Source: Kaiser Family Foundation, which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.)

Causes: Better Food Costs More! Since 1978, the cost of fresh fruits and vegetables (the top line) has risen almost 40%. And the cost of carbonated drinks (the lowest line) has fallen almost 40%. Change in price of items since 1978, relative to overall inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index. The price of carbonated drinks, for example, has fallen 34 percent relative to all other prices. Source: Leonhardt, 2010

Causes: Public Policy Drives High Cost Why does a salad cost more than a Big Mac? This chart shows there is an opposite relationship between what kinds of foods the government subsidizes, and the kinds of foods we should be eating more of. Most federal subsidies go to the meat and dairy industries – about 74%. That’s the copper-colored bottom of the pyramid on the left. But the amount of meat, dairy (and other proteins) you are supposed to eat is much smaller, as shown on the right-hand pyramid. There are almost NO federal subsidies for vegetables and fruits!

More causes of obesity and health risks Lack of safe routes to walk to school or work Lack of physical activity at work Lack of neighborhood access to fresh fruits and vegetables Lack of physical activity in schools Lack of safe parks, fields, or sports opportunities Can you think of others? Review, and ask if anyone can think of others. We need to make a lot of changes to get back to health!

Public policy makes healthy food too expensive. What to do? Public policy makes healthy food too expensive. Many neighborhoods lack safe walking routes, access to fresh produce, and safe parks. With changes, our workplace could be healthier, and we could work together to make healthier choices. Our children are bombarded by unhealthy marketing messages. We can’t changes these things alone – to be effective, we need to work together in our unions and our communities! Here are our problems: Public policy Neighborhoods without resources Workplace that could be healthier Our children are bombarded by unhealthy ads! To change all these things, we need to work together in our unions and our communities. Unions exist to solve problems that people cannot tackle on their own!

Be part of the solution: spread the word! Host a screening in your home for 10 friends. Lead a teach-in for a UBT or at another KP facility. Lead a teach-in at a union meeting. We need everyone to help spread the word! If you want to help, consider volunteering to host a screening in your home for 10 friends, or leading a teach-in like this one for a UBT or at another KP facility. Or you could lead a teach-in at a union meeting. If you want to volunteer, all you have to do is what we are doing here today – we’ll give you the materials and support you need. (Ask someone to circulate the “Take Action” Forms for you.) I’m going to start passing around a sign-up form. The top portion is for you to keep, and the bottom portion is for you to use if you want to volunteer for one of these actions. Please fill it out, tear it off, and hand it in before you leave – and thanks for getting involved in this important issue!

Getting healthy is part of our union strategy Our Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions has agreed to these four long-term strategies: Improve quality, service, safety and efficiency while preserving the best place to work Grow KP and our unions to protect our model of care, our unions and our jobs Improve the health of our workforce Improve the health of our communities Getting healthy is one of our four, long-term union strategies endorsed by the Coalition of KP Unions, working in partnership with management and physicians. We are improving quality, service, safety and best place to work through our UBTs. We are growing KP and our unions. And, we are improving the health of our workforce and our communities.

We can do it! Working together, we really CAN create change! While you’re thinking about and filling out that volunteer form, let’s take a look at what some KP union members are already doing. (show the video, and as people leave, collect the “Take Action” tear-off sheets and thank people for coming.) Video link: http://www.lmpartnership.org/stories-videos/udc-actions If you will not have an internet connection when you show the video, please download it to your hard drive before the presentation.