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National and International Organizations That Fight Obesity
November 8, 2009
National
Alliance for a Healthier Generation
About: The American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation joined forces in May of 2005 to create a healthier generation by addressing one of the nation’s leading public health threats – childhood obesity. Along with our co-leader Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, the Alliance works to positively affect the places that can make a difference to a child’s health: homes, schools, restaurants, doctor’s offices and communities.
Mission: To reduce the nationwide prevalence of childhood obesity by 2015 and to empower kids nationwide to make healthy lifestyle choices.
Programs: 1) Healthcare Initiative–engaging insurers, employers and provider associations in a landmark agreement to reimburse physicians and registered dietitians for obesity prevention-related services. 2) Industry Initiative–engaging with companies from diverse industries that have the ability to improve access to healthier foods and beverages as well as physical activity for kids and their families. 3)Healthy Schools Program–supports administrators, teachers, parents and students in implementing policies and programs that enable students to eat better and move more 4)Empower ME Campaign–by kids, for kids movement inspiring all kids to make healthy behavior changes and to become advocates for healthy eating and physical activity.
Examples of positive changes: Glen Haven Elementary School – Dekalb County, Georgia
After just one year of participating in the Healthy Schools Program, the staff at Glen Haven Elementary School has seen drastic changes in student behavior and test scores. With strong support from their principal, a wellness council was created and the school started adding programs to help everyone move more and eat healthy.
Instead of the standard “Jamming’ Minute” that many Healthy Schools Program schools have incorporated into their daily routines, Glen Haven decided to do a “Jamming’ Two Minutes,” every day after morning announcements. The “Bulldogs on the Move” program was designed to help teachers add more physical activity into the day. Twice a week teachers take their students outside for 12 extra minutes of walking, running, jumping or other movement. They have added a number of intramural activities such as flag football, basketball, a step team and cheerleading squad. In addition, once a month they host “What a Salad Wednesday,” where the different grades take turns sponsoring a salad buffet for the staff.
Since starting the program, Glen Haven has seen a 17% increase in standardized test scores, a “huge” decrease in disciplinary actions and suspensions and a large increase in staff camaraderie.
Hortonville School District – Hortonville, Wisconsin
Hortonville Schools are moving in a healthy direction for both students and staff. In the high school, students received free milk and fruit during the mornings of finals for the first semester which was very popular. Students are also getting physically active, as seen by the rising participation in intramurals programs. New offerings include Zumba classes, broomball and volleyball, where participation has more than doubled. To reinforce nutritious snacks, students receive fat free chocolate milk as a treat at the games.
At the middle school, students are participating in “Smart Start” and begin each day with a healthy activity such as Frisbee, volleyball or Hoops for Heart, a service project through the American Heart Association that encourages kids to be active and learn how to reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease. “Smart Start” has also provided healthy information on snacking and students have enjoyed sampling fresh fruit smoothies.
At the elementary level, one school in the district has been creative in helping staff manage their stress by offering 10-minute chair massages. Furthermore, pedometers have been provided to classroom teachers to help track their steps along with students. Staff luncheons are now also promoting healthy eating by offering a fresh salad bar.
Participation in staff wellness activities has also been on the rise with yoga classes this year. Two new activities being offered in the staff wellness program are Zumba and Weight Watchers at Work®. District staff wellness funds have been distributed to all buildings for a variety of healthy offerings and activities. Staff received a $15 reimbursement from a staff wellness grant for participating in Weight Watchers at Work®. Due to the popularity of that program both morning and afternoon groups have been offered. To date, 44 participants have lost over 445 pounds!
Obstacles: 1) Have to make significant changes in children’s lifestyles. Have to have the support of schools, families, and communities to have lasting impact. For example, even if child is being encouraged to eat healthily and be active at school, the effects of those teachings may be undermined if they are not reinforced, or worse, are contradicted in the child’s home (and vice versa). 2) Access to Healthy Food and Physical Activity is Disappearing Poor nutrition: Only about 20 percent of high school seniors report eating fruit and green vegetables five or more times a day. Unregulated nutrition: Foods offered in school vending machines are often of little nutritional value and can be loaded with fats, sugars, salt and calories. Less physical education: 92% of elementary schools do not have daily physical education classes year-round. About 1/3 of high school students take daily physical education classes. Disappearing recess: Nearly one-third of elementary schools do not schedule recess on a regular basis. Some schools lack the space to play while others feel that recess is a waste of time. 3) Different Economic, Racial, and Ethnic Groups are More at Risk. Poor health care: More than 1.6 million children were unable to get needed medical care because the family could not afford it. Medical care for an additional 3 million children was delayed because of worry about the cost. Limited access: In part because they lack access to healthy food and sports facilities, children from lower incomes are more likely to be overweight or obese.
International
FOE: Fight the Obesity Epidemic
Foe.org.nz
Mission: working to stop and reverse the rise of obesity and type 2 diabetes in New Zealand.
Goals: 1)Stopping the promotion of unhealthy food to children 2)Having labels on food packaging, such as a traffic light system, so that shoppers can easily identify healthy and unhealthy foods 3)Introducing tax changes and/or subsidies to make healthy food more affordable relative to less healthy food.
Methodologies: 1)Seeking and accepting opportunities to promote messages about obesity prevention in the media 2)Publishing reports and publicizing their findings 3)Producing an on-line newsletter (Obesity News) about current developments and initiatives both in New Zealand and elsewhere 4)Making submissions on issues relating to obesity prevention such as the Public Health Bill, the Health Select Committee Inquiry into Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes, and the review of advertising codes 5)Maintaining a website to provide up-to-date information about issues and developments relating to obesity prevention.
Obstacles: 1) FOE is a big proponent of the Public Health Bill, which would allow the government to regulate the food industry to prevent obesity. This Bill has been held up in Parliament for the past 2 years. 2) FOE is trying to persuade the government to adopt a traffic light food labeling system (green=part of a healthy diet; red=should be avoided or consumed rarely; yellow=between red and green). Wealthy food industry is lobbying against the adoption of this easy-to-understand traffic light system. 3)New Zealand Parliament’s Health Select Committee conducted a study in 2006 on obesity and made recommendations on prevention; however, there has been little progress in implementing the Committee’s recommendations.
H1N1 by Kara Winerman
November 8, 2009
H1N1: A Younger Person’s Flu
One of the most striking things about the H1N1 virus is the major effect it has had on young adults and children. Typically, most serious complications and deaths during flu season occur in adults over the age of 65; however, with H1N1, the majority of deaths have been in people under the age of 65. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of the end of October there were 114 deaths from H1N1 confirmed among children. That is why children and young adults between the ages of 6 months and 24 years are in one of the priority groups to receive the H1N1 vaccine.
So what many people are asking in the midst of the H1N1 pandemic is how safe is the vaccine? According to both the CDC and World Health Organization (WHO), the studies conducted so far have shown that the pandemic vaccines have the same safety record as the seasonal flu vaccines. Any side effects from the pandemic vaccines are also similar to those from the seasonal vaccines, and so unless a person suffers from severe allergies to eggs or other substances in the vaccine, then it is strongly recommended that everyone, particularly children and young adults (and pregnant women and those with underlying health conditions) receive the pandemic vaccine.
In addition to getting vaccinated, it is important that children practice good health behaviors to prevent contracting H1N1. Parents and teachers should both inform children about prevention methods and model these behaviors to make them routines in the home and in the classroom. Prevention behaviors include sneezing/coughing into a tissue instead of one’s hands and then immediately throwing the tissue away, washing hands frequently and thoroughly with soap and water, and staying home from school when sick. These prevention behaviors, along with general good health behaviors, such as eating well and getting plenty of physical activity, should be modeled by adults and incorporated into a normal routine for children. That way they become standard practices that don’t panic children about swine flu, but rather set them up to prevent the spread of even seasonal flu and the common cold, and make them all-around healthier individuals.
