DeKalb gets $2 million to fight fat

By Megan Matteucci

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

DeKalb County will get $2.35 million to help residents lose weight.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced the grant to the DeKalb Board of Health on Tuesday. The money must be used for obesity prevention, federal officials said.

The DeKalb grant is part of $31 million in federal funds awarded to communities across the nation as part of the Affordable Care Act. DeKalb is the only community in Georgia to receive the money.

It’s unclear why DeKalb was selected. A DeKalb board of health spokesman could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

The money is aimed at initiatives to promote health eating, exercise and discouraging tobacco use, federal officials said.

Other communities to receive funding include Chicago, Mobile, Ala. and North Little Rock, Ark., along with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.