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Healthy Tips for
Healthy Kids
By Beth Cline
“You are what you eat, from your head down to you
feet.” Many parents will recognize these lyrics from
the popular 1980’s PSA series “Time for Timer” that
ran during Saturday morning cartoons. Government
programs have long been aimed at teaching children
the importance of fitness and nutrition. While
cartoon-style encouragement may have been the
preferred tactic of the 80s, government
organizations including the White House are seeking
new ways to confront obesity and inspire children to
be active and eat healthy.
The Presidents Council on Physical Fitness and
Sports (PCPFS), begun during President Eisenhower’s
term in office, promotes fitness to all Americans
from local communities to the highest levels of the
national government.
“Youth aged 6-17 need 60 minutes [of physical
activity a day],” explains Melissa Johnson,
executive director of PCPFS. “If there were a
medication that conferred all of the health benefits
of regular moderate physical activity, every doctor
would prescribe it. Physical activity is the
ultimate magic pill.”
Parents may remember the President’s Challenge as a
part of their physical education classes in school,
but in recent years, with the rise in childhood
obesity, the program has evolved out of necessity.
Designed to reach beyond the confines of the PE
classroom, PCPFS encourages children to get, and
stay active.
PCPFS has designed two award programs encouraging
kids to be active every day. The first, for
beginners, is the Active Lifestyle Award. It strives
to get kids to participate in one of the nearly 100
recommended activities for 60 minutes a day, five
days a week over the course of six weeks. By setting
goals, making a plan and keeping a log, they are
eligible to receive awards.
The second program, the Presidents Champions
Challenge, uses the Active Lifestyle Award as a base
and helps kids stretch the limits of how active they
can be. Both programs award points based on length
of activities and the use of a pedometer to measure
steps. PCPFS recommends the following ways for kids
to get started:
• Help
children start a playground kickball game.
• Encourage kids to take the family dog for a
walk.
• Sign kids up for a sports team of their
choice.
• Walk with children to school, to the store or
to the park.
• Look for new sports or physical activities in
which children can get involved. Check out
www.presidentschallenge.org for
some great suggestions.
The United States
Department of Agriculture is doing their part to
encourage healthy habits. In 2005, the redesigned
food pyramid focused on fresh fruits and vegetables,
encouraging whole grain carbohydrates and lean
proteins. The updated website (www.mypyramid.com
) is packed with great suggestions for parents and
teachers on how to teach children nutrition, and
plenty of colorful, easy to understand material
aimed directly at children.
Even the Center for Disease Control and Prevention
is helping communities promote fitness. Through
their website, print and television campaigns, the
Center encourages children to create healthy habits
and find fun activities. Try their Find Places To
Play section of
www.VERBNow.com , a great resource for
everything from local parks to little league teams.
Simply pick an activity and enter your zip code. Or
the next time children claim they are bored, log
them onto the game generator page. By selecting from
a variety of sports equipment, locations and
activities, it helps kids create fresh games to play
with family or friends.
It is not just the national government stepping up
to teach children healthier habits. In Arkansas, for
example, Governor Mike Huckabee has helped introduce
several new initiatives aimed at making schools a
healthier place to eat. Recent changes include
increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables on
lunch menus and offering more low fat and low sugar
drinks and snacks.
In Arkansas, changes are soon to stretch beyond the
lunchroom and into the vending machines. Low-fat
milk is quickly becoming an option in a world once
limited to sugary sodas and fruit juices.
Accessibility limits are also being placed on
vending machines. For example, children can’t access
the machines until 30 minutes after the last lunch
period has ended, and even once they can, the drinks
are limited to the 12-ounce size during the school
day. By offering children healthier options, they
are still free to make food and beverage choices
only now with more of an opportunity to make good
ones.
Even local government is pitching in to fight the
obesity problem. Most counties and cities have a
parks and recreation departments, offering members
of the community affordable sports programs. For the
beginner athlete, or an experienced child who isn’t
necessarily a part of a school team, this is a great
place for children to get involved in sports. Many
also offer sports summer camp programs and clinics
for area residents.
Combating childhood obesity is a battle being fought
from neighborhood backyards to community
playgrounds, and school cafeterias to the White
House lawn. Take advantage of May’s celebration of
National Physical Fitness and Sports Month, as a
chance for your children focus on physical activity
and healthy habits at home, school and play.
Articles in the Healthy Kids Series are presented by
the Marine Corps Marathon Healthy Kids Fun Run to be
held during the last weekend of October 2006. Visit
www.marinemarathon.com for registration
information. The one-mile run welcomes children ages
6-13. Beth Cline is the Public Relations Coordinator
for the Marine Corps Marathon. No federal or Marine
Corps endorsement implied.
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