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Our lids are off to one Dallas area school district, which is going above and beyond the requirements for nutrition education. In Byran, Texas, the school’s CATCH program (Coordinated Approach to Child Health) has kids eating well, learning nutrition, and moving around! In the lunch line, fruit juice or juice pops are the sweet items, with fruit offered as the only dessert option. Kids are adapting well, they say, but parents sometimes raise questions.
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As girls grow from children into adulthood, their activity levels decline, which could be responsible for the weight gain. In studying a group of girls from age 8 or 9 to age 17 or 18, researchers found that their activity levels dropped, but their eating habits remained the same. Researchers took their findings a step further and determined that 2.5 hours of brisk walking a week could mitigate the weight gain seen in these girls.
Speaking of healthy kids, take a look at this "kid" we've partnered with...Bob Burnquist, one of the best skateboarders in the business. His wife and 5-year-old daughter are skateboarders, too!
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Over-crowding at schools and over-stuffed cafeterias may be contributing to eating problems among our nation’s school children. In some crowded suburban schools, too many kids means shortened lunch periods. Fast-eating often means bad eating. Obesity rates will only get worse if students are rushed or lunch “hours” aren’t offered at truly meaningful times of day (rather than just about breakfast time, for example). Many schools are serving lunch at 10:30 a.m. and 25 minutes to eat is the norm. “It takes 20 minutes from when you start eating for the brain to get a signal from the tummy that says 'Whoa,' " says Debbie Hefner in this article from the Christian Science Monitor. She oversees nutrition services for Ogden School District in Utah. "We're not teaching kids to sit, have conversation and enjoy a meal, and pay attention to their nutrition."
In some cases, lunches are served too late in the day. Hunger causes poor food decisions and over-eating for even responsible adults. What about kids who pass vending machines or candy sales before they pass the lunch line?
Is overcrowding a problem in your school’s cafeteria? We’d like to hear about your stories. Write us using the comment box below.
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Our lids are off to the policy makers in the state of New Jersey who, in early June, managed to sign into law far-reaching restrictions on the type of food that will be available to students in grades K through twelve. Schools will have to adopt nutrition standards first, then stick to them. The policies will ban foods of minimal nutritional standards, foods or beverages listing any form of sugar as a first ingredient, and all forms of candy.
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Bushels of apples?
17 kinds of lettuce?
Super-charged fitness programs?
Whose talking about all these things? McDonald's, of course. Nearly two years after the hit documentary Super Size Me pointed fingers--in some pretty graphic detail--at McDonald's for being THE major contributor to weight gain in America, the Mega Corporation has gone McFitness, as outlined in this L.A. Times story. They've enlisted Oprah's trainer Bob Greene and America's heart diet guru Dean Ornish. They're branding skateboards and bikes and starting fitness programs.
Pundits say the McDonald's extreme makeover could change fast food as we know it. McDonald's says it's just the same old, same old for them. They've always been about "choice, variety and quality", says a spokesperson. Yeah, right.
Still eating burgers under the Golden Arches? Check out the nutritional value of any McDonald's meal.
See how we at Stonyfield Farm are trying to change the menu.
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**Is there a baby in the house? Check out Baby Babble and Toddler Talk, to vent and join the conversation. Open 24/7, same as you.
We just learned, from a Creating Healhty Kids reader, that her child's public school had a coffee vending machine that was available to students during the day. Our first reaction at hearing this news was: "What, are they nuts!"
Then we got to wondering---how common is this? Would you be so kind as to fill out our mini-poll below and tell us about your experiences with coffee vending machines and student access?
If you would like to expand on your answer, please use our "Comment" feature below. You will find there's a delay between hitting "Post" and your comment showing up. We have to check for junk mail first. But rest assured your post will appear soon and will contribute to the ongoing conversation here in Creating Healthy Kids. Thank you!
After hearing the author on Public Radio last week, we went on-line to investigate what the critics were saying about what sounds like a marvelous new book, "Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder." In the book, author Richard Louv laments the passing of an era where children played outside-- unsupervised, unstructured and unencumbered by parental fears, real or imagined. In addition to pointing out the already obvious (kids are getting fatter; they know nothing about nature, etc.) Louv also posits that children being indoors so much is contrary to their nature, and this may be contributing to some of the attention and/or psychological problems that seem to be on the rise.
Adult fears of kidnappings are overblown and fueled by media hype. Similarly, constant media attention to things like virus-carrying mosquitoes and skin cancer haven't helped matters. Louv suggests a return to nature will help kids.
Though we haven't read the book, here's one review. We'd love to hear if you have read it and what you think of it. Use the comment feature below. (There's a delay as we check for spam.)
We'd also like to hear your stories of playing outside as a child. Was it different than what you see now? Do you keep your kids indoors?
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Here at Stonyfield Farm, we've been writing Creating Healthy Kids for more than a year now. We love doing it, but we want to make sure it's providing useful and entertaining information about efforts to curb junk food eating and reduce the rising obesity rates among our country's school children. Will you help us? Fill out the three polls below and we'll do our best to meet your needs. Also, we want your feedback all the time...you can always use our "comment" box at the bottom of each blog entry to join the conversation yourself or to initiate a conversation here in Creating Healthy Kids. Thank you for participating!
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After holding a major conference about the issue last year, the doctors of America have decided it's time to develop some policies and plans about how to tackle the problem of childhood obesity. First off, it appears they'll be taking a look inside our nation's schools--not a bad start.
Here's what one American Medical Association Trustee had to say:
Children spend the majority of their productive time in the classroom, so we must improve access to healthy food and encourage more physical activity in school," said AMA Trustee Ronald M. Davis, MD. "Focusing our efforts on nutrition and exercise in schools can help prevent obesity and overweight in many children who may be at risk.
The doctors' group is now going to develop a school health advocacy agenda to look at ways to fund school-based health programs, physical education and exercise; seek alternative polices for vending machines to promote healthy diets, and review standards for healthier school lunches. Physicians will be encouraged to collaborate with communities to help develop health programs in schools.
In addition to these school-based initiatives, the doctors say they'll begin encouraging felllow physicians "to incorporate body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference as a component measurement in routine adult examinations and BMI percentiles in children."
So, I guess that means your doctor will be determining your child's Body Mass Index at his or her next physical? We'd love to hear your experiences with how doctors approach the problem of childhood obesity. If you could advise doctors, what would you say? Has a doctor ever discussed healthy eating and a healthy weight with your child?
Write us using the "comment" feature below. There's a bit of a delay as we check for spam, but your comment will eventually appear.
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