The Shape Up San Francisco Coalition is a multidisciplinary body convened to address the epidemic of chronic disease through primary prevention and environmental strategies, with an emphasis on physical activity and nutrition. Shape Up SF is committed to reducing health disparities in chronic diseases that disproportionately affect African American, Latino and Asian populations.
Our mission is to advance health equity in San Francisco by collaborating with community on systems changes that increase nutrition security and active living.
In order to achieve its goals, the Coalition has identified two key strategies:
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Policy, systems and environmental changes to create environments that support healthy eating and active living.
- Awareness, education, and promotion activities to increase awareness of the importance of physical activity and nutrition.
When considering the root causes of chronic disease, they are ultimately far more widespread than the poor choices of an individual. To that end, addressing chronic disease is far more complicated and nuanced than simply asking people to eat their fruits and vegetables and start exercising 30 minutes a day. To ask people to make those simple’ changes, we must consider how their behaviors are shaped by their social, physical and political environments.