My Overweight Child: 'Switch' Program Helps Kids Make Healthier Choices

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.

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Friday, October 02, 2009

'Switch' Program Helps Kids Make Healthier Choices

A family, school and community intervention program in Iowa has help children live healthier lives, according to a study by researchers at Iowa State University.

The following details about the study and its results were featured in a Sept. 22 article on the ISU website:

Children who participated in The Switch program watched an average of two fewer hours of television and also consumed two more servings of fruits and vegetables per week than those who weren't in the program.
Program participants also walked 300 more steps per day.
The study’s successes were modest, which is to be expected, as most people make gradual lifestyle changes.
A six-month follow-up of kids who participated in the program found even stronger results, an indication that the program was helping to create healthy, long-term habits.

The Switch program was developed by the Minneapolis-based National Institute on Media and the Family (NIMF). The program uses community advertising, school-based curriculum, and family-based information packets to encourage children towards more active and healthy lifestyles.

Labels: healthy_eating, healthy_living