The million-pound goal is a feasible one, Ferrer said. About half of the adults living in Boston, or about 250,000 people, are overweight or obese, she said. Another 20,000 or more school-aged children weigh more than they should.
If each person loses just 2 or 3 pounds, the city will hit its target, she said.
“This is going to be a fun, community-building opportunity,’’ Ferrer said.
The health commission and other city departments have been working on various healthy food and exercise initiatives for years now, improving school breakfasts and lunches, creating community and backyard gardens, and building neighborhood playgrounds.
“You can walk in almost any neighborhood and see an upgraded playground,’’ Ferrer said.
Her office will launch several new programs with similar aims this year.
Among them, the commission will be recruiting licensed daycare operators to attend training sessions on how to prepare healthy snacks for children and incorporate physical activity into the day. Those operators will be eligible for $250 grants to use to buy items such as staff-training materials, food-preparation appliances, or indoor-activity equipment for children they serve.
Ferrer also plans to hire a nutritionist to work with small neighborhood restaurants on developing healthful children’s menus.
So often, those menus are heavy on french fries and chicken fingers. Ferrer would like to see more fresh fruits and vegetables added to the options.
That effort probably will be focused, to start, in Dorchester, Mattapan, and Roxbury, where obesity rates are highest.
She said her staff often hears from families there who say that they cannot find a healthy meal in their neighborhood restaurants.
“The name of the game is, wherever people are spending time, we should try to make those places that promote good health,’’ Ferrer said.
