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Greetings!
If you are part of a group, organization, or
community
participating in an effort to promote increased
activity
please share the news with us so that we can
share it
with the world!
| Preventing Childhood Obesity - What Works??? |
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Here are two prevention strategies have been linked to
improvements in the body weight of children:
· Decrease TV and all recreational screen time
to less than two hours a day. Since parents are
influential role models for children, for proper
implementation of this rule, parents may need to limit
their own TV viewing and may need to move the TV
out of all bedrooms so that viewing time can be closely
monitored.
Increase vigorous physical activity of children to a
minimum of 60 minutes each day (some studies found
75 or 90 minutes of daily activity was effective in
reducing body fat in older children). Activity in very
young children should not be continuous and should
include plenty of unstructured play, preferably outdoors.
Reducing soda consumption may be an effective
strategy to reduce body fat, but the studies published
to date have problems. The research on soda
consumption is continuing
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| CHILD HEALTH IN THE BALANCE |
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Major Report on Preventing Childhood Obesity to be
Released by the Institute of Medicine on September 30,
2004.
Former U.S. Surgeon General, C. Everett Koop, founded
Shape Up America! in 1994 to raise awareness of
obesity as a health issue. The health consequences of
obesity for adults and children alike is now "front and
center" in the minds of the majority of Americans
largely as a consequence of the initiatives and
investments of Shape Up America! over the past ten
years. Shape Up America! will be celebrating its tenth
anniversary on December 6, 2004.
We believe our next ten years should be focused on
the prevention of obesity, especially in children.
Throughout 2003 and 2004, Shape Up America!
President and CEO, Dr. Barbara J. Moore, served on a
committee appointed by the Institute of Medicine that
generated this landmark, evidence-based,
comprehensive report on the prevention of childhood
obesity. Entitled, "Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health
in the Balance," we believe this report is the equivalent
of the Surgeon General's 1964 landmark report on the
health effects of smoking. Health in the Balance can
and should influence parents and all caregivers of
children and will help to change the values and
behavior of all segments of our society.
Health in the Balance is a blueprint for action. It is
comprehensive and includes recommendations for
specific actions to be taken by:
· Parents - who serve first and foremost as role
models for children and also as policymakers in the home
· Schools - which educate as much by what
they feed and how they feed our children as by what
they teach them about nutrition and physical activity.
Schools are being called upon to make annual
measurements of height and weight and to monitor the
BMI of children and to improve the quality and quantity
of physical education.
· Communities - which support children with
activities and programs and organizations that support
physical activity and healthy eating. Our communities
are being called upon to provide sidewalks and parks
and a police force and other community organizations
that protect children and keep them safe so they can
play outside.
· Health care professionals - who should
properly guide, monitor, evaluate and keep track of
the growth of children over time
· Political leaders and policymakers - who can
influence community, industry and workplace programs
and policies that influence how parents are supported
and how children are nurtured
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| NEWS YOU CAN USE FROM OUR MEMBERS |
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Carol from Missouri reports: "on Sunday mornings for
a local TV station, we share a healthy recipe that has
few ingredients, low in fat and calories, and is overall
healthy and fun. The recipes are also posted on the
network's web page it is very popular, and has drawn
a lot of local interest." Carol works for the Missouri
University Extension which is doing some wonderful
work in schools: "We have a curriculum for every grade
level. This helps the teachers because we do a series
of 7-11 lessons. Each lesson is a food and nutrition
lesson, hands on, and delivered with a snack at the
end. The snack piece is always tied to the lesson.
The snack is easy and nutritious. We also make sure
that they get a recipe to send home. We also teach
food safety and the importance of exercise. We try to
have some easy exercises that they can do at some
point in our lessons. We have been doing this for the
past eight to ten years. The success with our
teachers and students has been awesome. This is a
free program to the schools. Teachers do have to be in
the classroom but their involvement is usually minimal.
My teachers are always commenting about how much
their children have learned about nutrition. In fact,
even the teachers usually report changes in their
eating behaviors after I have come. Many of my
students I have taught since kindergarten. They
remember me and enjoy these classes so much. I love
it when they come in and tell me that they have been
trying to eat more fruits and vegetables or that their
parents are waiting for the next recipe to come home.
We also send newsletters home to the parents with
additional information about foods, recipes and things
they can do with their children for more physical
activity." [NOTE: Every state in the U.S. has an
Extension Service and many are establishing programs
like this. If your family has school-aged children, we
encourage you to inquire with your state's Extension
Service.]
We also heard from Leslie in Massachusetts: "I am the
wellness coordinator for [our company] in Westwood,
MA. Last month we initiated the 10K-A-Day Activity
Program. To kick off the program, we had a "Walk Out
of Work Day" where everyone was encouraged to go
out and walk 1.5 miles as part of the registration
process. We gave all participants a pedometer (with
step counting ability), a water bottle, and a 365 day
walking log. The program is running all summer 10
weeks and we are asking everyone to log their steps
for 5 of seven days a week for at least 8 weeks. To
keep everyone on track, they turn in a coupon every
other week with the steps logged and become eligible
to win raffle prizes- t-shirts, visors, sunblock, walking
shoes and socks. I also put information on health,
nutrition and activity on our intranet every week. The
grand prize is an Apple iPod MP3 player. We had 73%
join the program and after four weeks we still have
almost 50% turning in the coupons. The best part is
that everyone is talking about how many steps it takes
to do this or that. They are comparing how many steps
they take and try to get bragging rights. Most of all
this program has done so much to raise the awareness
of the amount of activity needed for better health and
the surprise at what their levels were to begin with.
The program has been embraced at all levels of the
company and the wellness committee is getting praise
from all." [Note: If you are interested in starting your
own walking program, visit the Shape Up America!
online store to purchase the pedometers, walking logs
and more.]
Great Deals on Bulk Pedometers »
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| GIVE US A HELPING HAND! |
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Every day we are contacted by many people or groups
that would like to be able to distribute motivational
materials in areas of the country that are at an
economic disadvantage.
Shape Up America! is a non-profit organization and we
are limited by the availability of sponsors, grants, and
donations from people just like you.
Help us meet these people's needs by purchasing
materials marked "for donation" on the comment area of
the order form, or simply by donating any amount that
is comfortable to you.
We will publish on future newsletters and also on our
web site groups or people that have received goods
thanks to your generosity.
Also, if you are part of a group in need, please email to
us your request so that we can let the world know your
needs!
Donate To Shape Up America! Now »
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| Preventing Childhood Obesity - Shape Up America! Conference Proceedings to appear in Pediatrics in October, 2004 |
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The prevention of childhood obesity begins prior to
conception. Many factors that influence appetite and
the development of obesity take place years before the
child starts kindergarten. Women of child bearing years
are encouraged to eat a balanced healthy diet that
delivers all essential vitamins and minerals, especially
the essential vitamin - folic acid. The folate status of
a woman at the point of conception will have a
significant impact on her baby's brain development
including the portion of the brain and nervous system
that relates to the regulation of food intake and a
healthy body weight.
In addition to healthy eating and a more active
lifestyle, breastfeeding is another important choice that
parents make that can help prevent obesity. For many
reasons, including obesity prevention, breast milk is the
best food for babies up to six months of age. At that
point, parents should begin to slowly introduce cereals
and other foods one at a time. Although supplemental
foods are introduced, it is recommended that partial
breastfeeding continue until the child is one year old.
To increase awareness of some of these issues and to
stimulate more research, Shape Up America! organized
and hosted an international conference on the
prevention of childhood obesity held in Washington DC
in December of 2003. That conference focused on the
critical developmental period for the regulation of
appetite that begins prior to conception and continues
throughout pregnancy, infancy and the pre-school
years. On October 4, less than one year later, we
celebrate the publication of a special supplement to the
journal, Pediatrics, which describes the proceedings of
that conference. We hope this timely supplement will
stimulate more research into parenting skills, family
dynamics, the introduction of new foods, and other
developmental factors that promote appropriate self-
regulation of food intake and energy balance in very
young children.
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