A good reason to shut off the TV and get the kids outside!

Children and teens are seeing fewer television advertisements for fruit drinks, regular soda and sweets such as candy, cookies and pastries, according to a study recently published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.  However, youths of all ages are exposed to substantially more TV ads for fast-food resaurants. 

What does this all mean? 

Click here to view a summary of the study findings.

Just Released: First Lady's Let's Move toolkit to help parents raise healthier kids

Visit the First Lady's Let's Move website and benefit from all of the great tools just released for parents www.LetsMove.gov.

The tools recognize that parents are busy and benefit most from simple steps that include specific examples of what parents can do to help their families eat healthy and move more.  Whats more, the parent links give you direct, on the spot assistance.  If you are looking for a local playground, just type in your address and you will see a map of your community with all the local playgrounds; the same for nature, outdoor events, forests and parks.  Do you wonder how many fruits and veggies your child needs?  There is a place to type in their age, gender and amount of physical activity and it will give you the exact amount.  These are just a few examples of the support Let's Move provides to parents.   If you are determined or even just a little curious about whether you can help your family eat healthier and move more, then the Let's Move website is definitely worth exploring. 

Videos for Parents: Healthy Eating for Kids at Home and School

Parent Action for Healthy Kids worked with the Michigan Department of Education to bring you these important videos.

• Healthy Kids Snacks - Helping parents shop for and prepare healthy snacks

            View Video: http://bit.ly/bSOx4P

• Role Modeling for Healthy Eating - Parents Matter

            View Video: http://bit.ly/9OQbuQ

• Selecting Healthy Choices From the School Menu

            View Video: http://bit.ly/drJ5eU

Physical Education Vs. Physical Activity

The statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are alarming. Today, about 16 percent of all children and teens in the United States are overweight. The two major causes of obesity are too much of the wrong foods and a lack of physical activity. Our children are falling way short of getting the 30-minute minimum of moderate physical activity a day. In fact according the The Journal of Pediatrics, Vol 146, No. 6, June 2005, children need 60 minutes of daily physical activity.

What can we do? We can get moving and get our children moving. It is important to understand the difference between the two terms "physical education" and "physical activity." A quality physical education program offers the best opportunity to provide physical activity to all children and to teach them the skills and knowledge needed to establish and sustain a physically active lifestyle. We can make sure that schools provide a quality physical education program that promotes, through a variety of planned physical activities, each student's optimum physical, mental, emotional and social development, and should promote activities and sports that all students enjoy and can pursue throughout their lives.

What is Quality Physical Education?

• Elementary school: 150 minutes per week; 225 minutes per week for middle and high school. The class size should be equal to other subject classes, as recommended by the Michigan Department of Education.
• Adequate equipment and facilitates for all students to be active at the same time.

The Results:

• Improved overall quality of life
• Reduce the risk of depression and effects of stress
• Reduce risk of obesity, Type II Diabetes and heart disease
• Improved academic performance

Wonder how much sugar your family is getting from foods and beverages? 

Safe Routes to School Program (Michigan)

Safe Routes to School (SR2S) is a state and national movement to make it safe, convenient and fun for children to bicycle and walk to school. In Michigan, officials from transportation, public health and education have joined with parents, students, teachers, school administrators, engineers, landscape architects, law enforcement and other community leaders to support Safe Routes to School.
www.saferoutesinfo.org

PE Central Website Provides Info on Phys. Ed. Programs

This site has information regarding physical education and health for teachers, students, and parents. PE Central's goal is to "provide the latest information about developmentally appropriate physical education programs for children and youth." It includes lesson and assessment ideas, Information about adapted PE, how to create a positive learning environment, a program called "log it" to log steps/miles with pedometers, and much more.
www.pecentral.org

Hoops For Heart Fund-Raising Program

An educational and fund-raising program in which middle school students perform basketball skills. Funds raised support research and educational programs to reduce disability and death from heart disease and stroke.

www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=2441

Jump Rope For Heart Fund-Raising Program

An educational and fund-raising program for elementary school students that promotes physical activity. Funds raised support research and educational programs to reduce disability and death from heart disease and stroke.
www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=2360

Brain Breaks - Free Activities Idea Book for Teachers

A free on-line Physical Activity Idea Book for Elementary Classroom Teachers. This booklet was developed by the Michigan Department of Education in cooperation with the Michigan Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (MAHPERD), Albion College, Concordia College and the University of Michigan.
www.emc.cmich.edu/BrainBreaks/default.htm

Recess Before Lunch Fact Sheet

A fact sheet about why it is better to have recess before lunch
www.opi.state.mt.us/schoolfood/recessBL.html

Healthy Kids Healthy Weight - Tips for Families with Kids of all Shapes and Sizes

It is important for parents and caregivers to role model healthy behaviors, and to make healthy eating and physical activity easy for all family members. The Healthy Kids Healthy Weight Tips for Families fact sheets give great suggestions in an easy-to-follow format. Each fact sheet can be downloaded and used at home, put into a newsletter or distributed at a parent meeting.
www.emc.cmich.edu/healthyweight

Nutrition Tool Kit Available

The Nutrition Tool Kit is part of the Michigan Action for Healthy Kids Coalition. This tool kit entitled Tips and Tools To Help Implement Michigan's Healthy Food and Beverages Policy gives success stories, suggestions for healthy school parties, healthy fundraising, healthy food and beverages for parent, teacher, staff meetings and student activities, provides alternatives to using food as a reward, tips on getting healthy food and beverages in your school, resources and much, much more. To download and duplicate copies for educational purposes go to www.emc.cmich.edu/pdfs/toolkitnutrition.pdf

Nutrition Explorations Website

For nutrition education information for parents, educators and food service personal, go to www.nutritionexplorations.org

Michigan Team Nutrition Plan Information

USDA's Team Nutrition is an integrated, behavior based, comprehensive plan for promoting the nutritional health of the Nation's children. This plan involves schools, parents, and the community in efforts to continuously improve school meals, and to promote the health and education of 50 million school children in more than 96,000 schools nationwide. Michigan Team Nutrition has information and resources on nutrition and physical activity as well as opportunities to apply for grants. Explore the Michigan Team Nutrition web site at www.tn.fcs.msue.msu.edu

Family Bookbag Program Promotes Reading & Healthy Behaviors

The Family Bookbag was created so that children in grades K-12 and their families can have fun reading together at home, while at the same time learning about eating healthy and being physically active. To find out more about this program, go to www.tn.fcs.msue.msu.edu/bookbagorder.pdf

Michigan Steps Up Program Helps Families Set & Track Goals

Michigan's Surgeon General, Dr. Kimberlydawn Wisdom, invites families and communities to join Michigan Steps Up. Improving your health doesn't always require big lifestyle changes. Just a little planning and a few small steps can add up to big rewards. When you log onto Michigan Steps Up you can set up a free customized personal plan that will help you set and track the goals that are important to you. Go to www.michigan.gov/surgeongeneral

Kids' Health Website - A Resource for Both Parents and Kids

This American Academy of Family Physicians website is aimed at families and has a specific parents' link. Parents can utilize the site or links for nutrition, physical activity, and health information related to youth. Go to www.kidshealth.org

Parent Tips for Rearing Heart-Healthy, Active Children

This American Heart Association-sponsored website is geared at helping parents help children develop good physical activity habits at an early age. Information addresses heart healthy habits that parents can model for their children. Go to www.justmove.org/fitnessnews/hfbodyframe.cfm?Target=parenttips.html

National Center on Physical Activity and Disabilities (NCPAD)

The NCPAD website contains references for journal articles, newsletters, book excerpts, and hyperlinks to websites as well as NCPAD's fact sheets on topics relating to specific activities and disabilities. It also provides national resource directories of facilities, programs, and events concerned with physical activity and disabilities.
www.ncpad.org