Since 2004, Schools on the Move... Step Club has been encouraging kids and parents to walk 20 to 30 minutes twice a week before class. Now, a $40,000 grant from St. John's Foundation for Community Health will ensure the program continues.

"Participants receive incentives as they achieve different levels in the program. About 2,000 elementary students and their parents participated in the 2006-07 school year, said Sandra Pratt, community recreation services administrator."

Six of the 24 Springfield, Missouri elementary schools participated during this last school year. Each school had at least 100 kids and parents walking together on a regular basis. Read more at News-Leader.com.

Labels: exercise, incentives, schools

A committee that was convened in 2005 to develop comprehensive recommendations for fighting childhood obesity released its recommendations today. The Expert Committee on the Assessment, Prevention and Treatment of Child and Adolescent Overweight and Obesity was originally convened by the American Medical Association.

"The committee began meeting in early 2005 to study scientific data on the assessment, prevention and treatment of overweight and obese children. The committee then created 22 recommendations for health care professionals..."

Recommendations include a yearly assessment of weight status in all children - including body mass index, regular assessment of dietary patterns, and levels of physical activity. Read more online.

Labels: health_care, research, studies

If you ask kids what they want to eat, or for a snack, few will say "vegetables". Yet they're an important part of a growing child's diet. They're also a great way to add more flavor and less calories to some kid-favorite dishes.

"The researchers [at Penn State College of Health and Human Development] developed two variations of pasta, and served the dishes to 61 children between the ages of 3-5 on different occasions to conduct their research."

One dish was a standard pasta dish, while the other had 25% less calories and a pasta sauce that included blended vegetables. The children who sampled the dishes showed no clear preference. Read more at NSTA.org.

Children and teenagers can make poor choices when it comes to diet and other things they put in their bodies. If you are dealing with teen drug and alcohol abuse, visit Adolescent-Substance-Abuse.com for help and learn the sigs of teen drug use.

Labels: healthy_eating, nutrition, vegetables

With the onset of warmer weather and time off from school, now is the perfect time for parents to help their kids make some healthy lifestyle changes. The changes they make now can go a long way towards combating childhood obesity which can lead to significant health problems later in life.

"Make activities fun. Exercise shouldn't be a chore, especially for children. With warm weather outside, kids can do a variety of activities that involve both fun and fitness. [Dr. Amy Bohn] recommends jumping rope, swimming, skateboarding, and bike riding as alternatives to inside play."

Dr. Bohn also recommends keeping healthy snacks in the house, and having the whole family take walks or bike rides together. Read more at NewsWise.com.

Labels: exercise, lifestyle, summers

...Do Something about Childhood Obesity

Launched in 2005, the National Institute of Health's We Can! campaign aims at equipping parents and caregivers with the resources they need to help children live healthier lives.

"Parents and caregivers are the primary influencers for this age group. We Can! offers parents and families tips and fun activities to encourage healthy eating, increase physical activity and reduce sedentary or screen time."

The We Can! web site also offers community groups and resources for health professionals. Read more online.

Labels: influences, parents, resources

School playgrounds and recreational facilities could play a major role in helping to combat childhood obesity - but only if they remain open and accessible, says a recent RAND corporation study.

In many low-income areas where there is limited or no access to neighborhood parks, children are often heavier and more sedentary. Access to playgrounds, basketball courts and paved playing surfaces - such as those found in schools - could help to increase opportunities for physical activity. But many schools are closing their doors and their playground areas on weekends, researchers found.

Of those areas observed in the study, Washington/Baltimore, Tucson, and New Orleans schools were least likely to have unlocked schools with accessible facilities.

Labels: exercise, playgrounds, schools

Where can your child get a history lesson, information on healthy eating, and recipes simple enough for him or her to make with minimal supervision—all in one location? Log on to www.eu.mini-chefs.eu to see. Eu Mini-chefs is a new website for European kids (but your kids will enjoy it, too), recently launched as part of an effort to combat childhood obesity in Europe.

Your child can take a trip around Europe and discover recipes for regional cuisine—such as Strawberries with Orange Granita—and learn about the history of each ingredient as well as the health benefits gained by eating them.

Future plans for EU Mini Chefs includes email newsletters and an interactive cooking game so that children can learn by playing.

Labels: cooking, healthy_eating, recipes

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), the nation's largest philanthropy devoted to improving health and health care for Americans, has pledged more than $500 million to be used over the next five years in the fight against childhood obesity.

Funds will be used to enhance access to affordable healthy foods in underserved low-income communities, provide greater opportunity for physical activity in schools and communities, and pay for child obesity research. One recent research study funded by the RWJF examined a three-year Arkansas initiative to combat obesity. According to the RWJF study, Arkansas, which has one of the highest rates of childhood obesity, has been able to halt this alarming trend by taking measures in the schools, such as recording children's BMI and reporting this each year to parents, along with tips for good nutrition and appropriate exercise.

Labels: funding, healthy_eating, research

A new 98-page report is being presented to the Federal Trade Commission this week. In it, several well-known companies are cited as using digital marketing techniques to advertise junk food to children. Many of these techniques, which involve social networking sites, Instant Messaging and text messaging, go undetected by parents.

"'As our research shows, major food and beverage brands are utilizing a variety of new venues - including cell phones, instant messaging, video games, user-generated video and three-dimensional virtual worlds - in their efforts to target children and adolescents and to foster ongoing personal relationships with them, often under the radar of parents...'"

The report calls for the FTC to carefully scrutinize the link between these new marketing methods and childhood obesity. It cites a 23.2% increase in spending on Internet-based advertising in 2006.

Read more online.

Labels: marketing, media influences, social_networks

Most people assume that kids spent more time outdoors being active during the summer months than they do during the school year. But a recent study found that kids actually gain weight over the summer. Excessive use of and exposure to media (video games, iPods, TiVo, etc) is considered one of the most likely causes.

"Considering that the average American child will see more than 40,000 ads on broadcast television alone in one year, and that 83 percent of the food ads in kids' sows are for fast food and sweets, it’s no wonder that the amount of time kids spend in front of a screen is directly linked to their risk of being obese."

Though it's not likely that parents can get kids to avoid TV and other media altogether, now is a good time for them to set some ground rules for the summer. Read more at HuffingtonPost.com.

Labels: summers, TV, video_games

The Allen School District in Texas is planning to re-introduce a school route that many modern-day kids aren't familiar with: a walking trail. The plan is to construct a concrete trail that joins with an existing pedestrian underpass.

"'The whole point is to reduce traffic and increase childhood health,' [Kelly McGinnis] said. McGinnis cited studies from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that show a drop in children walking or biking to school and an increase in obesity rates, diabetes, asthma and other health issues."

The new trail would give kids a safe path, away from busy streets, while simultaneously reducing traffic during common drop-off and pick-up times. Read more at Courier-Gazette.com.

Wellspring Texas is the first Wellspring weight loss program in the Southwest where boys and girls, work with a highly motivated staff to become long-term weight controllers while having an amazing summer! Learn more about Wellspring Texas >>

Labels: childhood_health, schools, texas

Shape Up Sommerville is an intervention program which was designed by researchers from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. The program aggressively redesigned school curriculum and after-school activities in an attempt to curb weight gain among school children.

"A key element of the intervention was the work done in collaboration with Sommerville schools. [Christina] Economos and her team planned and implemented a range of initiatives designed to provide and promote healthy eating options and physical activity."

Included in the initiatives were a redesigned school food program that included healthier meals and snacks, after-school curriculum that included creative cooking and cooperative games, and in-class curriculum that included weekly nutrition and physical activity lessons. Read more at News-Medical.net.

Labels: community, education, events

The Institute for Youth, Education, and Families (YEF Institute) has launched a one-year technical assistance initiative that will assist six U.S. cities in promoting community wellness and combating childhood obesity. Each city has developed a leadership team comprised of both city and school district staff.

"The one-year technical assistance initiative will provide municipal and school leaders with peer learning opportunities and consultation with national experts in the areas of local wellness policies, childhood obesity, healthy eating, active living and school health councils."

In April, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation announced that it was committing $500 million over the next five years toward combating childhood obesity. As childhood obesity has become a greater concern nationwide, local wellness policies have attracted the attention of major foundations and of Congress. Read more at NLC.org.

Labels: awareness, community, wellness