For more than a decade the City of Philadelphia has been working to fight childhood obesity in schools, neighborhoods, shops, restaurants and public spaces. By working together, educators, parents, and policy-makers have started to tip the scales downward. A particular point of pride is that Philadelphia is the only American city reporting significant declines for African American boys and Latina girls. How did they do it?

By getting schools, policy-makers, communities and businesses to work across sectors toward a common goal.

Specific efforts included a program begun in 1999 providing nutritional education to all public school families eligible for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. That was followed in 2004 with a move that made Philadelphia one of the first cities in the nation to remove all sodas and sugar-sweetened beverages from public school vending machines.

In 2006, the school district implemented a district-wide wellness policy that included guidelines on school meals, physical activity and nutritional education. And three years later—in a bold move that underscored their commitment—Philadelphia schools banned deep fryers from all school kitchens.

But addressing the issue inside the schools wasn't enough. So, the city created financing incentives to attract new grocery stores to lower-income neighborhoods, and in 2010 required all chain restaurants to post calorie information on menus and menu boards.

By working together, Philadelphians have shown what people can accomplish when they share a desire to build a culture of health.