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CX3
Communities of Excellence in Nutrition, Physical Activity,
and Obesity Prevention

In March through May of this year, six CCROPP counties hosted CX3 surveying in CCROPP target communities.  The CX3 (Communities of Excellence in Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity Prevention) project takes an in-depth, on-the-ground look at select low-income neighborhoods to measure the nutrition environment and identify opportunities for improvement. Be­cause the community itself plays a critical role in preventing obesity, this project examines communi­ties in relation to a variety of obesity prevention benchmarks. These benchmarks – or standards of excellence – define what a com­munity should look like in order to help prevent the devastating chronic diseases related to over­weight and obesity for its residents.

Through neighborhood audits, the CX3 project examines factors ranging from food quality, affordability, and availability to healthy food alongside messaging and marketing practices. The local data and resulting performance measure­ments show how a community cur­rently “measures” and where it needs to improve to become a “community of excellence.” The pro­ject’s goals are to assess a community’s strengths, weaknesses, and gaps, set priorities for change based on the localized assessment data, and implement strategic action plans to create community change.