Let’s Go! is a community engagement initiative to create environments that support healthy choices–making it easier for people to live healthy, active lives. Let’s Go! tracks short-term implementation of evidence-based strategies through annual surveys and site assessment tools. Additionally, Let's Go! monitors longer-term changes in awareness and knowledge by tracking outcomes such as healthy behaviors and improved weight status.
Let’s Go! has a comprehensive evaluation plan to guide data collection, analysis and reporting of program data and measurement benchmarks to track progress and make improvements.
Our theory of change is rooted in the social-ecological model of behavior change. This model recognizes multiple levels of influence on health behaviors including family, friends, local surroundings, the built environment and community. To bring about behavior change, the supporting environments and policies need to be adapted to make it easier for people to make healthy choices.
2024-2025 Site Engagement
The Let’s Go! multi-setting model allows us to reach early care and education programs, out-of-school programs, schools, school nutrition programs, school-based health centers and health care practices (pediatric and adult) and unite them in the goal of encouraging communities to engage in healthy eating and active living.
Early care and education programs, out-of-school programs, schools and school nutrition programs are encouraged to complete the Let's Go! self-assessment and reflect on the practices and policies that make their school/program environment one that supports healthy behaviors. By completing the self-assessment sites can identify strengths and areas for growth and set goals that support creating and sustaining a healthy environment. Sites who complete the self-assessment are celebrated as Partners in Excellence.
Early Childhood Education (n=155)
Out-of-School Sites (n=24)
Schools (n=48)
School Nutrition Programs (n=57)
Let’s Go! embraced the updated recommendations on evaluation and treatment of childhood obesity, released in January 2023, by the American Academy of Pediatrics. These recommendations encourage a more proactive approach to evaluation and treatment. Let’s Go! continued to devote time and effort to improve MaineHealth Medical Group (MHMG) provider adoption of these recommendations. Use of updated clinical practice guidelines in medical care is not immediate, widespread adoption of new guidelines commonly takes over 10 years.
The Let’s Go! team utilized evidence-based recommendations from implementation science to prioritize efforts. Areas of focus continued to include improving provider awareness and understanding of the guidelines, enhancing programming to fill gaps in availability of recommended behavioral therapies, and development of streamlined electronic health record (EHR) pathways for ease of guideline adoption in the clinical setting. In addition, we created educational tools to support use of the pediatric obesity clinical pathway in the electronic health record (EHR), training and expansion of Intensive Health Behavior and Lifestyle Treatment programs, and education around Weight Bias and Stigma.
Improving care for adults who have obesity in the primary care setting has been a priority as well. Let’s Go! partnered with the MaineHealth Weight Management program in medical learner education and supported development of improved adult obesity medicine EHR resources, including e-consults and an adult provider obesity focused pathway.
Let's Go! evaluated gaps and addressed them with:
Addition of screening tools in the electronic health record (EHR) for more thorough evaluation of children who have obesity
Expansion of IHBLT programs to include a virtual option for adolescents
Supporting the MHMG pediatric practice quality initiative around diabetes screening in children who have obesity
In-Person/Virtual Learning
Let’s Go! provides quality professional development opportunities to medical learners and staff at enrolled Let’s Go! sites through in-person and virtual trainings to increase knowledge and implementation of healthy eating and physical activity best practices. Let’s Go! offers many unique opportunities to meet the needs of each target audience, including a School Symposium and virtual Cooking Matters for the Child Care Professional training.
On-Demand Learning
Let’s Go! Learning is our on-demand learning platform. Each on-demand course provides training content relevant to a specific setting and/or strategy.
Learn how partners are implementing Let's Go! strategies in our communities, in their own words.
- “This was one of the best online training courses I have taken.” – Let's Go! Learning Course Feedback
- “This has been the best, awesome informative training class I have ever attended in my 33 years in School Nutrition. I look forward to using the delicious recipes at my school. [My] heartfelt appreciation for all you do. Thank you" – School Nutrition Professional
- “I learned about blanching veggies. We have never done this in our kitchen. I will definitely be doing this, this school year.” – School Nutrition Professional
- “I have been engaged and invested in 5-2-1-0 for over a decade and use so many various resources that are amazing. Our kids all know what 5-2-1-0 stands for and are able to cite many amazing facts from the site.” – School Site Champion
- "I like Bright Bodies because they make the activities fun. I can go there and feel comfortable. I meet new friends and don’t have to worry about anyone making fun of me.” – Child
- "I enjoyed watching [Name] be part of something [Bright Bodies] that kept her active and how she put all the knowledge she learned into practice. [Name] enjoyed all aspects. She was so interested in the program that she finds time to move and be active. [Name] felt respected and listened to. Thank you all." – Grandmother
Thanks to our Funders
We are appreciative of those who provide partnership and support to Let’s Go! This support enables us to continue our focus on community engagement to support environmental and policy change efforts facilitating healthy eating and active living throughout Maine and Carroll County, New Hampshire.
