Background:‍

When Denver Public Schools considered dropping its physical education requirement in local high schools, LiveWell Colorado took note. Other school districts had taken a similar path and seen PE participation plummet. For an organization focused on fighting childhood obesity, this wasn’t just concerning news – it was a call to arms.

LiveWell mobilized its network of stakeholders and media to rally the community, ultimately winning the battle to keep PE. But the victory revealed a bigger truth: while promoting healthy habits was important, reducing childhood obesity at scale required an evolved approach. Lasting change meant the team needed to think bigger.

‍

Challenge:‍

Tackling childhood obesity meant confronting the misconception that Colorado is universally healthy. Two facts stopped most people in their tracks: 

1. While the state’s adults ranked among the nation’s fittest, 25% of Colorado kids were overweight or obese.
2. And Colorado ranked 24^th out of 50 states for kid’s physical activity.

So how do you alert a state that takes pride in its health to the reality that kids are falling behind – and turn that realization into action?

‍

Spark:

This was a problem that required two complimentary strategies; a widespread education and awareness effort and systems change. LiveWell knew that while it could simply continue to encourage people to eat better and play more, real and meaningful change would only happen at legislative and community levels, as opposed to an individual one. By creating policies that support kids’ health and educating the public on key issues, the organization was poised to have a larger impact.

My team at SE2 was engaged to tackle the awareness piece, launching the “No More 24” campaign to highlight both kids’ low levels physical activity and barriers to healthy living, such as limited access to good food and trails. By tapping into pride of place and a desire to be better than average, "No More 24" challenged Coloradans to join the fight against childhood obesity and sign a pledge to put our kids first. The message was clear: Colorado doesn’t settle for 24th place – not in sports, not in business, and certainly not when it comes to our kids’ health.

Change

‍The campaign spread through digital, social, and radio channels, but its real power came from community influencers sparking local conversations. The results:

• Nearly 200,000 Coloradans engaged
• 100,000 unique website visits and a click-through rate 4x the national average
• 150 pieces of influencer content produced
• Over two million people reached
• 700% return on investment

Most importantly, LiveWell’s has continued the fight. In 2020, the team rebranded to focus solely on transforming food systems at the legislative and community levels. And according to the 2022 “State of Childhood Obesity” report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, our efforts have paid off. Colorado now has the lowest rate in the United States – 10% among children ages 10 to 17.