Use community goals and objectives as guideposts under which behavioral and intervention objectives and activities can be listed to start a work plan. Stating a goal helps the community develop a “vision” of the healthier community it is striving to create. Objectives are measurable, specific statements that lead toward program goals and define what change the community will try to achieve. The importance of both in anchoring the community health-planning process cannot be emphasized enough, for vague goals and objectives are likely to yield scattered, unfocused efforts.

Goals: Broad, abstract statements of intent that help create a vision of what you are striving to accomplish over a significant period of time. A phrase or short sentence that captures the overarching, ideal purpose of your program. Objectives: Short-term outcomes that are pathways to goals. Measurable target that describes specific end results that a service or program is expected to accomplish within a given time period. Objectives are S.M.A.R.T.: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.

Using State and National Health Objectives:
Healthy People 2010 Objectives for Physical Activity
To provide a starting point and a connection to national and state efforts to improve health, the community may wish to review the national health objectives: Healthy People 2010. As national priorities for physical activity promotion, these objectives may be used as the long-term objectives for your program. A complete listing of Healthy People 2010 Objectives Relevant to Overweight and Obesity is provided as
Healthy People 2010 Related to Overweight and Obesity. A sample of the Healthy People 2010 Objective 22.2 and a related Community Walking program list of goals and objectives is provided:

Healthy People 2010 Objective 22.2:
Increase the proportion of adults who engage regularly, preferably daily, in moderate physical activity for at least 30 minutes per day.

Target: 30% percent.
Baseline: 15 percent of adults aged 18 years and older engaged in moderate physical activity for at least 30 minutes 5 or more days per week in 1997 (age adjusted to the year 2000 standard population).

East Hartford Health Department: Trailblazers Community Walking Program
Goal:	Increase physical activity among residents of all ages, abilities, and income levels.
Objectives:	Implement an easily-accessible, evidence-based, year-round community walking program. Enroll 50 individuals during the first year of the intervention. Secure indoor walking venue.