WASHINGTON – The Department of Health and Human Services has awarded $31 million for prevention and wellness initiatives.

The awards will go to 10 communities in eight states, with another going to a state health department, to support public health efforts to reduce obesity and smoking, increase physical activity and improve nutrition.

Funded by the Prevention and Public Health Fund in the Affordable Care Act, the awards are part of the HHS Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) program, administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"As I’ve seen throughout the year in my work with Let’s Move!, prevention works when it comes to improving the health of our families," said First Lady Michelle Obama. "These critical investments will help more communities across America tackle serious health challenges like childhood obesity, while promoting physical activity and healthy eating."

Chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes cause seven out of 10 deaths among Americans each year. Chronic diseases account for more than 75 percent of the nation’s healthcare spending.

“To realize our goals of improving the health of Americans and lowering our nation’s healthcare costs, we must address the underlying factors that influence our families’ health – factors like the foods we eat and the conditions that exist in our homes, neighborhoods and workplaces,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “With Communities Putting Prevention to Work, we’re creating evidence-based models that we can replicate on a large scale to permanently reduce the chronic diseases plaguing so many of our communities.”

The awards will provide communities with the resources to create healthy choices for residents, such as increasing the availability of healthy foods and beverages, improving access to safe places for physical activity, discouraging tobacco use and encouraging smoke-free environments. Of the 11 awards, 10 are dedicated to obesity prevention efforts and one to tobacco cessation.

Awards are as follows:

Communities Putting Prevention to Work Community Initiative

• $3 million to the Alabama Department of Health in Mobile County, Ala.; for tobacco prevention;
• $2.3 million to the Arkansas Department of Health in North Little Rock, Ark., and Independence County, Ark., for obesity prevention;
• $5.8 million to Children’s Memorial Hospital and the city of Chicago for obesity prevention;
• $2.35 million to the DeKalb County Board of Health, in Georgia for obesity prevention;
• $3.7 million to the North Carolina Division of Public Health, Appalachian District Health Department, North Carolina and Pitt County, N.C., for obesity prevention;
• $4.85 million to the Pinellas County Health Department in Florida for obesity prevention;
• $3.6 million to the Santa Clara County Public Health Department in California for obesity prevention; and
• $3.8 million to the Southern Nevada Health District in Nevada for obesity prevention.

Communities Putting Prevention to Work States and Territories Competitive Special Policy and Environmental Change Initiative

• $1.6 Million to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control for obesity prevention.