IOM Issues Recommendations for Preventing Obesity in Early Childhood

A report from the Institute of Medicine released on June 23, Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Policies, summarizes the best available evidence about key strategies for preventing obesity among children under age 5. The report recommends ways individuals, organizations and policymakers can ensure that young children have healthy environments in which to live, learn and play. Among the key recommendations from the report are those that call for changing public policies that impact child-care centers, including:

• establishing dietary guidelines for children from birth to age two;


• increasing participation in food assistance programs such as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP);


• ensuring that recreation areas encourage all children to be active;


• allowing community residents to use school playgrounds and recreation areas when schools are closed; and


• establishing voluntary nutrition and marketing standards for the food and beverage industry.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded the work of the IOM committee that independently produced the report.

Access the full report.

"Making the Case" for prevention.

Last Monday, we kicked off the Prevention Conference with a “Making the Case” workshop with Prevention Institute. Two trainers from Prevention Institute helped us tackle tough questions facing obesity prevention advocates in Wisconsin, such as promoting the role of policy, systems and environmental change to reduce obesity and related chronic diseases, and making the case for devoting limited time and resources to prevention initiatives. Here are a few tips from Prevention Institute that can guide you as you prepare for your next meeting with policymakers, businesses and organizations in your community, and the press.

• Plan ahead for tough questions.



• Use every conversation about prevention to widen the frame from individuals to focus on environments and the many ways environments shape the health outcomes of communities.



• Rehearse your elevator pitches and prepare and review your answers to tough questions with colleagues or—as one of our trainers confessed she does—at home in front of a mirror!



• Emphasize co-benefits. Many obesity prevention initiatives have positive benefits beyond improving health outcomes, such as strengthening ties between community organizations and creating safer, more vibrant community environments that are more attractive places to live, work and play.



• Practice “pivoting.” Tough questions, such as “Aren’t parents responsible for making healthy choices about physical activity and nutrition for their children?”, can trap us in unproductive conversations that reinforce popular frames about personal responsibility for health outcomes and prevent us from making the case for environmental and systems changes to address public health issues. You can quickly address tricky questions and “pivot” back to your topic, keeping the conversation on message.
  Question: “Doesn’t your work in obesity prevention aim to limit people’s choices?”
  Answer: “Actually, we are working to expand people’s choices. In our community, too many families don’t have access to healthy choices about food and fitness. By establishing joint-use agreements that open schools and other facilities to the public, we can provide everyone in our community with safe places to be physically active. Healthy corner stores increase people’s opportunities to make healthy food choices.”

Prevention Institute is a national non-profit committed to preventing illness and injury, fostering health and social equity, and building momentum for community prevention as an integral component of a quality health system. Prevention Institute synthesizes research and practice; develops prevention tools and frameworks; helps design and guide interdisciplinary partnerships; and conducts training and strategic consultation with government, foundations, and community-based organizations nationwide and internationally.

Wisconsin Prevention Conference underway!

Can't be at the Prevention Conference today? Follow along with the Wisconsin Prevention Conference: Using the Power of Voices to Influence Change and find resources from conference sessions at:

http://bit.ly/wibackpack

Letters: Kids need physical activity for health

Letter to the Appleton Post Crescent.

It's time we change the numbers facing our kids: According to the American Heart Association, one in three American kids and teens is overweight or obese, nearly triple the rate in 1963.

Because of these increasing rates of obesity, unhealthy eating habits and physical inactivity, we may see the first generation of kids that will have a shorter life expectancy than their parents.

So what are we doing in Wisconsin to teach kids the skills they need to live a healthier, active life?

Children spend most of their day in school. So, it makes sense our kids have access to comprehensive physical education courses and healthy foods in and out of the classroom.
Appleton East High School and the Outagamie County Fitness and Nutrition Coalition are piloting Active Schools strategies such as Bike to School Week, intramurals, ping pong club, boxing club, zumba dance club, tracking daily exercise with use of pedometers and school tubing trips to increase options for physical activity before, during and after school hours.

To keep kids healthy and fit, it's recommended that they engage in at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity each day. Not only does it keep their bodies active, but it keeps their minds active, too.

Regular physical activity is associated with a healthier, longer life and lower risk of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and some cancers. Research also shows effective physical education programs actually improve academic performance.

As a concerned citizen, I want to make sure our kids learn all the essential skills to live a healthy active life.

Ben Stumpf,
Neenah

Obesity in the News

PE an Unfortunate Casualty of Budget Cuts [Editorial]
Muncie Star Press

May 13, 2011
School programs outside of core academics, such as PE, art and music, are being pitted against each other as they battle to survive. The programs were created not as a luxury, but as a necessity, but inadequate state and federal funding is jeopardizing the development of our children. With our children trending toward obesity and leaving sedentary lifestyles, where the only exercise too many get is texting and working a game console, an argument could be made that PE should be elevated to a core curriculum status.

Schools, State Leaders Tackling Childhood Obesity Epidemic
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
May 27, 2011
Faced with ballooning health care costs, Georgia state leaders, medical providers, schools and others are calling new attention to childhood obesity. Gov. Nathan Deal recently launched the SHAPE initiative -- a statewide program designed to promote fitness and healthy living among Georgia's youth. Starting next school year, districts will give students in physical education classes annual fitness assessments, called Fitnessgrams.

Goodbye Food Pyramid, Hello Dinner Plate
New York Times

May 27, 2011
Whatever you do, don’t call it a pie chart. The Obama administration is about to ditch the food pyramid, that symbol of healthy eating for the last two decades. In its place officials are dishing up a simple, plate-shaped symbol, sliced into wedges for the basic food groups and half-filled with fruits and vegetables.

Appleton Plans to Install 30 Miles of Bike Lanes in Next 15 Years
Appleton Post Crescent
May 21, 2011
Traffic engineers are rolling out a plan that adds bike lanes and routes on 30 miles of city streets over the next 15 years.

What Makes Bad Food So Good? Thoughts on America's Most Obese Region
NPR

May 19, 2011
Holmes County, Mississippi, is the most obese county in Mississippi, the most obese state in America. NPR's Debbie Elliott and filmmaker Dave Anderson of Oxford American reflect on their time there — specifically, on what makes bad food so good.

McDonald's Under Pressure to Fire Ronald
Wall Street Journal

May 18, 2011
More than 550 health professionals and organizations have signed a letter to McDonald's Corp. asking the maker of Happy Meals to stop marketing junk food to kids and retire Ronald McDonald. The letter, slated to run in the form of full-page ads in six metropolitan newspapers around the country on Wednesday, acknowledges that "the contributors to today's (health) epidemic are manifold and a broad societal response is required. But marketing can no longer be ignored as a significant part of this massive problem."

DCF names Library Square School in Kenosha as a Rising Star

To honor child care providers and in celebration of Provider Appreciation Day, the Department of Children and Families has selected six Rising Star providers, including one of the 20 Active Early pilot sites. 

Library Square School is a shining example of how thoughtful changes can have a big impact. These child care providers know that physical activity is good for a child's body and mind. To encourage this, teachers had led play that involved physical activity. However, with the support of YoungStar, a Department of Children and Families initiative, and with Active Early, a Department of Health Services program, the children are now taking the lead on being healthy.

Read more about the group child care center here.