Convened in Boston and hosted by the city's mayor, the City and School Leaders Collaborating on Local Wellness Policies initiative met to discuss strategies for citywide wellness policies that could be sustained long-term.

"One of the innovative local programs that project teams visited was the Boston Schoolyard Initiative, a partnership by the city, school district and Boston Schoolyard Funders Collaborative that has refurbished 71 public schoolyards... these schoolyards are converted into spaces in which children can be healthy and physically active as well as learn outdoor science lessons..."

Several strategies were discussed for implementing similar programs in other cities, including connecting wellness committees to existing youth programs, and partnering with a foundation or other entity to ensure implementation of citywide policies. Source: National League of Cities

Labels: awareness, prevention, schools

David Jones, a retired North Carolina state employee, wants to raise awareness about childhood obesity. And he's doing it one step at a time - literally.

"Jones.... plans to walk the 73 miles from Snow Hill to Raleigh in October to take his message to state officials. 'I want to raise awareness that there needs to be more actions taken to defeat childhood obesity,' Jones said."

Three people are expected to join Jones in his walk. They will walk 15 miles a day for six days. Source: Kinston Free Press

Labels: awareness, childhood_health, prevention

The Lawrence Township School Foundation was recently presented with a "Healthy Youth for a Healthy Future Champion Award" in recognition of its My Community Gets Healthy (MCGH) program. The award, which was presented by acting U.S. Surgeon General Rear Admiral Steven K. Galson, recognizes programs that address childhood obesity by helping kids stay active.

"My Community Gets Healthy is a comprehensive, sustainable fitness and wellness program that has expanded into all Lawrence Township public schools. MCGH involves fitness instruction during and after school and also incorporates wellness instruction for families."

More than 700 students participated in MCGH's afterschool program, Up and Running. The students trained three days a week, with a goal of participating in a 5K or half-marathon run. Source: IndyStar

Labels: community, prevention

An obesity prevention program called 5-2-1-Go! has been found to not only help prevent obesity, but reduce the risk of eating disorders among middle school girls. About 4% of girls who did not participate in the program developed disordered eating and weight loss methods, compared to just 1% of girls who did participate.

"The results suggest that it may be possible for school-based programs to help prevent obesity and eating disorder symptoms in adolescent girls."

The authors of the study feel further research is needed to determine if other obesity programs produce the same or similar results.

Labels: girls, prevention, schools

A team from the National Institutes of Health recently reported that the current teen generation is likely to be the first generation whose life expectancy will not increase. This fact is largely due, they say, to the surge in childhood obesity.

"'Obesity prevention starts prenatally,' [Mary Margaret Gottesman, RN, PhD, CPNP, PNP] says. 'Although we don't understand exactly the mechanism, we have found that maternal overweight is a big predictor of overweight children.'"

Gottesman and others recommend that nurses, who perform height and weight checks during office visits, should input the data into a BMI (body mass index) calculator and keep an on-going record of each child's BMI, alerting a parent or guardian if the child is at risk of becoming overweight or obese. She also supports nutritional discussions with the whole family during wellness check-ups. Read more at News.Nurse.com.

Labels: body_mass_index, lifestyle, prevention

The Nation Association of Chronic Disease Directors has established an Obesity Workgroup intended to focus strictly on obesity prevention in America.

"Today's environment does not always promote healthy food and physical activity choices... Our nation's children are facing a burden of chronic diseases, which will impact the quality of their lives, and ultimately, may cripple the U.S. health care system."

The Workgroup will create an open forum where health departments from various states can dialogue and brainstorm prevention and health promotion ideas. Read more online.

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Labels: exercise, healthy_living, prevention

Do you feel discouraged that you can't seem to get your kids to sustain vigorous exercise for longer than a few minutes? A new study suggests that even 15 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise can reduce the risk of obesity, by as much as 70% in boys and 39% in girls.

Researchers from the University of Bristol in England found that boys and girls who increased their exercise even a little bit had a corresponding decrease in fat mass, which over time, may help to prevent obesity.

While the researchers were surprised that such a small change could provide dramatic results, they caution that further studies are needed to draw a conclusion regarding exercise and obesity prevention. They also remind parents that diet plays a very important part in obesity prevention, too.

Labels: exercise, fat camp, prevention