The Massachusetts Department of Public Health received $1.7 million in federal funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to develop a series of pilot programs focused on combating obesity among children ages 2-12. The project, Mass in Motion: Community-Clinical Partnerships to Reduce Childhood Obesity, will focus on children from low-income families in the cities of Fitchburg and New Bedford.

"I'm delighted that our federal partners have recognized the groundbreaking work that's been underway at the community level to fight childhood obesity in Massachusetts," Gov. Deval Patrick said in a news release. "This generous award will allow us to take these innovative partnerships to a whole new level to continue that fight."

The new project seeks to build on a variety of anti-obesity activities already underway at the community level in Massachusetts as part of the state's Mass in Motion wellness initiative, launched by the Patrick-Murray Administration in 2009. Funding will be used to pilot a series of evidence-based obesity prevention efforts in primary health care settings, child care programs, and schools and after-school programs in the selected communities. The project also includes a social marketing campaign to educate parents on the importance of healthy eating and physical activity for their children.