Action Plan for a Healthy Virginia

Action Plan Strategy

The Action Plan for a Healthy Virginia was originally released in 2019 after years of research and collaboration among Virginia’s top experts in weight-related health. The findings and recommendations in this document are evidence-based and practiced every day across the nation. However, public health data is continuously collected, so best practices may change over time. To provide the most up-to-date information, the references and content of this Action Plan were updated in 2026 to reflect the most recent research in promoting healthy weight.

Whether you are a parent, school official, health practitioner, faith community leader, employer or government leader, you are in a unique position to affect change. This guide is designed to help you create healthy environments and to help you actively lead, advocate for, and implement healthy weight programs in your homes, your workplaces and your communities throughout the state of Virginia.

Environments

In order to meet our healthy weight goals, it is important to focus on three levels of responsibility: individual, family and community. Supporting healthy weight in Virginia requires supportive environments that employ active strategies to make the healthy choice the easy choice. “

Environments:

Colleges and Universities
Early Child Care
Faith-based and Other Community Organizations
Food and Beverage Industry
Healthcare
Home
Local Government
Schools
Workplace

In order to be successful, your plan should incorporate as many strategies as possible within your sphere of influence. If we work together across these sectors or environments and incorporate the eight core behaviors, more Virginians will benefit.

Behaviors

These behaviors are incorporated into the strategies suggested for the specific environments listed in the plan. To guide your selection, use strategies that address all eight behaviors in each environment you choose to influence.

Behaviors: