Childhood Obesity - Do you have an overweight child? We offer tips to help your child lose weight and get fit!

The My Overweight Child blog will help you keep informed about the latest research, findings, and resources available to parents of overweight or obese kids. There are many knowledgeable people working on the increasingly dire problem of childhood obesity - and we want to give parents a place where they can check in regularly to see the latest studies and tips available to help you help your child lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

We invite you to add your comments - if you have feedback for the blog, would like some specific topics covered, or you just want to share your experience as a parent dealing with childhood obesity.

Monday, November 13, 2006

Salad Bars + Nutrition Education = Success

Many schools are scrambling to meet a 2006 government mandate for school-wide wellness policies, which includes offering healthy food options during lunchtime. But simply making healthy foods accessible doesn't mean that kids will embrace healthier choices.

Researchers at Loyola University and the University of Illinois at Chicago evaluated a "salad bar project" at two schools in Chicago to determine how to effectively encourage children to eat healthier foods. They found that when nutrition education, which included learning about how vegetables are grown and what they do for the body, and a chance to touch and taste the vegetables, was added to a salad bar option at lunch, the number of students selecting salad bar items quadrupled.

Posted By: Lori S