childhood obesity

Back-to-school is an exciting time of year that provides new opportunities for teaching and learning.  The USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion offers great nutrition resources for young children, parents, and educators for this upcoming school year.  ChooseMyPlate.gov now features MyPlate Kids’ Place, a new section of the website designed for children between the ages of 8 and 12 years old. MyPlate Kids’ Place offers fun resources for kids, such as games, videos, and songs, that encourage them to make better food and physical activity choices throughout the school year.  In addition, resources for parents and educators are available to engage their children and students in “teachable moments” that will influence their food decisions.

Here at USDA, we’re on a mission to help all of our nation’s children have the best possible chance at a healthy life.  So, we’re very encouraged by some recent news from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):  the rate of obesity among low-income pre-school children appears to be declining for the first time in decades.

The declining rates show that our collective efforts are helping to gain ground on childhood obesity, particularly among some of the more vulnerable populations in our country.  Low-income children are often at a disadvantage when it comes to getting the food they need to grow up healthy, which is why USDA’s nutrition programs and resources are so vital.

To recognize the contribution that research in agriculture makes in our daily lives, we’re focusing this month’s Science Tuesday blogs on the successes that USDA science agencies have achieved for us all.

Many of us use technology daily to communicate faster than ever before. And Economic Research Service (ERS) is part of that group, too.  Using state-of-the-art technology, our economists and analysts work hard to deliver timely, policy-relevant research on topics such as childhood obesity, global food security, and climate change  -- issues that affect us all.  So, today we’re emphasizing the importance of economic information because “Ag Research Counts” every day, for every American. We’re continuing our trivia contest on Facebook with questions from past ‘Science Tuesday’ blogs.  You can weigh in on Twitter using the hashtag #AgResearchCounts. Here are this week’s blogs featuring ERS research that impacts each of us every day:

Are you interested in helping shape the future of USDA human nutrition research? What human nutrition-related issues are you interested in? Childhood obesity? The nutrient content of foods? Health promotion and disease prevention? Now’s your chance to let your voice be heard. Be an active participant by visiting our “Idea Space” and sharing your thoughts with us. Your input will help guide us in setting our human nutrition research priorities for the future. Our research helps solves problems that affect Americans’ lives every day. Help us decide which problems should be our priorities.

As USDA's chief scientific research agency, the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is leading America towards a better future through agricultural research and information. Now ARS wants your input in planning its human nutrition research program for the next five years.

The Louisiana State 4-H Food and Fitness Camp is joining the Let’s Move! initiative to combat childhood obesity through improved nutrition and increased physical activity.  As a camp for fourth and fifth graders designed and run by high school 4-H teens, the program motivates campers to eat healthier and move more.

Goya, the largest Hispanic-owned food company in the United States, is part of the First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! movement to empower parents to make healthy choices for themselves and their families.  It is partnering with USDA’s new icon, MyPlate/MiPlato, that reminds consumers to build healthy plates at meal times.  As a national strategic partner, Goya is promoting the messages that support MyPlate and MiPlato to educate and encourage families to consume a well-balanced diet.  By teaming up with Let’s Move! and USDA, Goya has committed to provide people with several tools to improve their health.

In support of the First Lady’s initiative, Goya created an army of resources to help fight childhood obesity.  Goya has produced a brochure in both English and Spanish with six healthy recipes, ten tips on how to create a well-balanced plate, and a coupon for low sodium beans is being distributed to several Let’s Move Faith and Communities partners around the country.  Dr. Luz Myriam Neira, Director of Nutrition at the San Antonio Food Bank, said “the booklets were so well received by SNAP/Ed participants” that she will be using an electronic version of the booklet, sans coupon, to meet the demand for helpful recipes and tips. They are also working with a local grocery chain using these materials in their nutrition education efforts.  

Did you know that Georgetown is the Red Poppy Capital of Texas? I was surprised to find out that the city is known for the red poppy wildflowers that bloom throughout the city each spring. They hold the Red Poppy Festival each year in April and attract approximately 30,000 visitors.

It was a sunny and warm day in Frisco, Texas, on January 13. You would never know that it was the dead of winter. It was a perfect day to drive from Dallas to the suburbs well north of the city, to attend the GRITS Regional Summit on Childhood Obesity. Yes, that’s GRITS. No, not the go-to southern breakfast food, but Girls Raised In The South, hosted by Sisterbration, a nonprofit dedicated to prevention education for women and girls living in the South.

Sisterbration partnered with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office on Women’s Health and the Dallas Area Coalition to Prevent Childhood Obesity for an excellent day of awareness and education against childhood obesity. Shannon Jones, our section chief of policy for Southwest Region Special Nutrition Programs, gave a presentation on food insecurity, and detailed some of USDA’s programs that create a safety net against hunger.

All Colorado State University (CSU) researcher Laura Bellows wanted to do was make a difference in people’s lives.  She ended up being recognized as one of the most promising young scientists in the country.

On Sept. 26, President Obama selected Bellows to receive the 2011 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in honor of her research into childhood obesity prevention.  PECASE annually recognizes scientists and engineers whose work enters the frontiers of science and technology.

Cross posted from the Let's Move! blog.

May 25 was a fabulous day in Dallas as I presented 154 HealthierUS School Challenge awards to schools of the Dallas Independent School District – the greatest number to a single school district thus far. 78 schools received gold awards and another 76 earned bronze level awards.  And, Texas leads the nation with 228 out of 1155 schools in 42 states that have earned awards.