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In Texas, a lawmaker wants to put Body Mass Index right up there with Reading, Writing and Arithmetic--on a child's report card. Body Mass Index (BMI) ranks weight related to height and is an indicator of being overweight. The Texas legislator proposing the law wants the BMI ranking, if it shows a child to be overweight, to lead to providing parents with more information on nutrition and the health risks their child faces. According to the Texas Department of Agriculture, more than one third of school-age children in Texas are overweight or obese.
Should schools be measuring the BMI of their students and reporting it? Comment below.
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Fast food causes weight gain and and puts people at risk of diabetes. Any questions? These are the conclusions of a first-of-its kind, 15-year study of the effects of eating fast food. Eating two or more fast food meals a week seems to lead to a weight gain of 10 pounds over 15 years and increases insulin resistance, a measure of diabetes risk, according to the study conducted at several research centers. The weight gain and insulin resistance, among those ages 18 to 30 at the time the study began, appear to be independent of other lifestyle factors such as alcohol consumption, level of physical activity, television viewing, and smoking habits. No children were in the study, which included more than 3000 adults.
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The term "pre-packaged meal" sounds like a bad thing, but in Lewisville, Texas, the schools are offering only the good stuff to go, and the students are grabbing it. Students can pick up salads, sandwiches with lo-carb bread, fruit and cottage cheese in the meals offered in Lewisville schools. Elementary kids can grab a "Spike-able"--a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a fruit, a vegetable and a healthy treat for dessert. "All they have to do is grab a milk or juice to go with it," said the district's dietician. "If you provide healthy items that are easy and actually taste good I think they take them." To figure out what to serve, school officials meet with students to find out what they like and what the trends are, and they do some food sampling to give everyone a chance to try things they might not have eaten before, like jimaca or star fruit. Our lids are off to the nutrition team in Lewiston!
Got some ideas of your own for changes in school food? Check out our Parent Action Kit, part of our Menu for Change program.
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WE'VE LIGHTENED UP!
Brand new this week. Our Light Smoothies are perfect for those looking for a nutritious smoothie with fewer calories. Our all natural light smoothies are made with organic nonfat yogurt. They come in three flavors - Strawberry, Peach and Wild Berry. Go here for a coupon.
Owensboro, Kentucky was nicknamed "The Fast Food Capital of the World" in the late 1980s, which lead to a study in 2000 that found that 60 percent of the area's residents were overweight or obese. In Wausau, Wisconsin, a study found that 25 to 40 percent of its school children were overweight or obese, with many at risk of diabetes and showing high cholesterol counts. Both communities are now responding with positive changes, particularily in physical education, to make a difference.
In the Owesboro schools, fitness and activity are being stressed. Wausau schools have students using pedometers and heart rate monitors to measure fitness progress. The two schools are just two among many which are renewing their commitment to physical education in the schools. Our lids are off to these caring school communities!
Got some ideas for changes of your own? Check out our Parent Action Kit, part of our Menu for Change program.
ABOUT CREATING HEALTHY KIDS
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chalvorson@stonyfield.com
WE'VE LIGHTENED UP!
Brand new this week. Our Light Smoothies are perfect for those looking for a nutritious smoothie with fewer calories. Our all natural light smoothies are made with organic nonfat yogurt. They come in three flavors - Strawberry, Peach and Wild Berry. Go here for a coupon.
Some North Carolina schools are looking for ways to have students get more physical education in their day, but they're up against a crammed schedule with a focus on the "core" requirements. A gym teacher at one elementary school sees each class just once a week for 35 or 45 minutes. She also oversees an after school "jogging club" for first through fifth graders. A YMCA is trying to offer more youth classes. A new grant may help the communuity create a fitness program designed for kids.
http://www.hendersondispatch.com/articles/2005/01/08/news/news2.txt
In Washington state, third graders are spending their after school hours at the local gym under a new program called Kid Fit. The private health club program incorporates activities designed to interest both boys and girls, such as weight lifting, calisthenics and aerobic activity. Schools in the state of Washington are in the process of implementing the requirements of legislation passed last year, the "Model Policy for Nutrition and Physical Activity," which requires more phy. ed. activities.
Got an idea for more phy. ed. for kids? Write us here using the comment box below.
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It's the season of legislative sessions in many states and Nebraska has now joined 25 other states where laws are being introduced to control the sale of junk food in schools. Nebraska state Senator Arnie Stuhtman has proposed a bank on selling junk food or soda pop during school hours, and for a half hour before and after school. He says he's proposing the ban as one way to stop the growing problem of overweight and obese children. In Nebraska, about one-third of all youth are overweight and/or at risk for being overweight, based on a 2004 survey. Senator Stuhtman's bill (LB285) would not ban vending machines, but would prohibit selling junk food during the school day beginning with the 2007 school year. The senator said he hopes, if the legislation passes, that it would lead to vending machines and canteens full of healthy foods —- milk, fruit juice, apples, nuts, yogurt, pretzels, some kinds of granola bars. Our lids are off to Senator Stuhtman for giving this a try in Nebraska!
We're about to award one lucky school a Stonyfield Farm Healthy Vending Machine. We received 286 in our Healthy Vending Sweepstakes that concluded at the end of December. Watch this space for news of the winners in this contest.
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Scientists are still debating the idea of a link between our increased use of high fructose corn syrup and the expanding waistlines of America's adults and children over the past 30 years. Some say there's a direct link. Others say sugar is sugar, regardless of what form it comes in--so don't blame the corn. High fructose corn syrup has replaced sugar as the main sweetening ingredient in American soft drinks and it accounts for 42 percent of all sweeteners used in this country. The liquid syrup is less expensive for food manufacturers to use, is easier for them to handle and it increases the shelf life of the products it is sweetening. The trouble is, it has been added to not just processed foods and soft drinks, but foods that are already sweet. It shows up in peanut butter, spagetti sauce, and ketchup, to name a few, and this omnipresence is probably contributing to a "need" for sugar on our tastebuds. In short, we're getting too used to this stuff--the theory goes. Meanwhile, the amount of soft drinks (and other processed foods) consumed has gone up dramatically. Almost half of all children between ages 6 and 11 drink soda, with the average drinker consuming 15 ounces a day. That's up from 12 ounces in 1977-78.
Is corn syrup to blame? Write us by clicking
"Comments" below. (There's a delay as we check for spam.]
Meanwhile, you'll note our readers are favoring a Twinkie Tax. See the "blogpoll" on the December 30 entry below.
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Let the kids get their hands dirty, and let them play with their food. Those are a couple of the lessons learned from some recent efforts to get school children to eat more nutritious food. A project in Somerville, near Boston, has children participating in growing vegetables and tending the garden. This and other activities seem to do a good job at getting kids interesting in healthy food, rather than just telling them which foods are "good" or "bad" for them. Some advocacy groups have put together school-based programs that focus on touching, smelling, cooking, and eating nutritious foods, and go light on discussion of food pyramids, vitamins and minerals.
What have you seen work in the schools? How can we best steer children toward healthy food choices? Write us with your comments below. (There's a bit of a delay as we check for SPAM.)
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