King County will use a federal grant to coordinate a regional fight against obesity and tobacco by taking on the marketing of junk food, sugary sodas, and new tobacco products.

Using a $9 million grant awarded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Public Health – Seattle & King County will lead a partnership of cities, school districts, community organizations, and businesses. The coalition will help local residents make healthy decisions, help schools provide healthier meals and more opportunities for exercise, and help cities design more bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly communities.

“We will use this grant to expand our collective fight against two of the leading causes of premature death—obesity and smoking,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine. “Our proven ability to bring partners together to improve the health of our diverse communities is what set us apart in the competition for this grant.”

The partnership is designed to offer communities healthier food options and access to more recreational opportunities to overcome the effects of marketing that promotes high-calorie fast food, sodas, and tobacco products. Public health experts are concerned the rising popularity of new tobacco products—including e-cigarettes and hookah—could reverse the progress made in reducing the number of people who smoke, particularly young people.

The three-year grant will fund the Partnership to Improve Community Health, or PICH, a collaboration led by Public Health – Seattle & King County, in partnership with Seattle Children’s and the Healthy King County Coalition.

The grant will support Constantine’s effort to transform health and human services to focus on prevention. In particular, it will accelerate Communities of Opportunity, a partnership between King County and The Seattle Foundation designed to improve health, social, racial, and economic outcomes by focusing on specific places.

Unlike the traditional one-size-fits-all approach to programs, Communities of Opportunities engages people in the community to determine the particular local needs and allows them to take ownership of the effort.