A Montana program that works to fight obesity in the state will receive a federal grant for a total of more than $4 million over the next five years.

The Montana Nutrition and Physical Activity Program to Prevent Obesity and Other Chronic Diseases, which is administered by Montana State University, will receive over $800,000 a year from the Centers for Disease Control grant.

The money is nearly double the amount that the program has been receiving from the CDC each year since 2004.

Participating health departments will be asked to focus on one of four areas: working with employers to make it easier for their workers to be physically active; working with hospitals to increase the rate of mothers who begin breast feeding their children and increase the duration of breast feeding; doing nutrition environment measurement surveys, in which counties assess the pricing of healthy and less healthy food options at stores and work with store managers to increase the promotion and availability of healthier foods; and working with city planners and builders to improve the "built environment" to make areas more conducive to walking and bicycling.