Healthier Schools to Help Fight Childhood Obesity

Last Thursday’s blog talked about Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign to combat childhood obesity. Part of that campaign urges schools to provide healthier meals for students. Many schools are making this a priority.

Deborah Zee, Director of Food Services for the Voorhees Township Board of Education, points out many changes that have made school lunches healthier. “We’ve done away with frying foods and we’ve introduced salads, deli, wraps, and a lot of fruits and vegetables,” she explains.

The Voorhees School System follows the state’s Model Nutrition guidelines, which are designed to combat childhood obesity. These schools have never offered sodas either in the cafeteria or in vending machines, and all foods, including french fries, are baked instead of fried. Grilled cheese sandwiches are made with whole grain bread. Dessert items are typically healthier choices such as whole grain cookies or smart choice popcorn. Pizza, the cafeteria’s most popular item, is now topped with turkey pepperoni.

Zee says that students have been receptive to changes in food offerings because changes are made gradually. This year she introduced brown rice to mixed reviews but she is planning to offer more whole grains next year. She also believes that healthier schools are not just about the food choices.

“We’ve joined in a district-wide move to encourage students to get a lot of physical activity with the emphasis on teaching children to make good choices,” she explains. “We also teach them about gardening to let them see how it goes from seed, to plant, to actual food. We have a Greenhouse Gang in the middle school where kids can plant fruit and vegetables and watch them grow.”
The trick to healthy eating must start when kids are very young, says Zee. While schools can offer healthy choices, it’s parents who must help their children create good eating habits even before they go to school.

“People have to realize that the current eating and behavior patterns that exist are dangerous,” concludes Dr. Gidding, MD, Cardiology Division Head of the Nemours Cardiac Center at A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children. “I think it’s easy for families to be overwhelmed by this problem, but they need to remember that it’s one step at a time and setting achievable goals is important.”

Help for Parents
With 70 recommendations, parents may struggle to even know where to begin. The Letsmove.gov website offers help to children, parents, teachers, doctors, coaches, the non-profit and business communities, and others in understanding the epidemic of childhood obesity and taking steps to combat it. Parents can learn step-by-step strategies and receive regular updates on how the federal government is working with partners to reach the national goal.

Helping our Toddlers Avoid Obesity

With Michelle Obama leading the charge to end childhood obesity, this serious topic is getting more attention. A new study on the subject revealed what most parents already know – there are three easy steps to keeping our kids healthy and avoiding obesity. According to the US Preventative Service Task Force, eating together as a family more than five nights per week, sleeping at least 10 ½ hours on weeknights, and limiting television and video watching to no more than two hours on weekdays, will give your child a 40 percent lower prevalence of obesity.

While these recommendations are fairly obvious, finding the time in our busy, hectic schedules to actually make these things happen isn’t easy. But, it’s necessary. The study points out that since the 1970s, childhood and adolescent obesity has increased three to sixfold. Approximately 12% to 18% of 2- to 19-year-old children and adolescents are obese (defined as having an age- and gender-specific BMI at 95th percentile).

Obesity can lead to other health problems for your kids, including diabetes and heart disease. Getting them on track now with a healthy lifestyle will set them on a positive path for their entire lives. In addition, all three routines also provide other benefits. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, by eating with your children, it is more likely that meals will be healthier and more balanced.

They also point out that teens who rarely have family dinners are three-and-a-half times more likely to have abused prescription drugs or an illegal drug other than marijuana. Girls who have five or more meals a week with their families are one-third less likely to develop unhealthy eating habits, which can range from skipping meals to full-fledged anorexia or abusing diet pills. Regularly sitting down for a meal with your children is one way to connect with them and be involved with what is happening in their lives. They are more apt to tell you when they face difficult challenges or temptations.

The second recommendation, getting enough sleep, can also be easier said than done. By the time everyone gets home from work and after-school activities, has finished the family dinner and homework, getting 10 1/2 hours of sleep can be tricky. Yet, kids who get a full night’s sleep are sharper during the day, have more energy to enjoy physical activities, and stay healthier overall.

The final recommendation, limiting television and video watching, will allow your kids to spend time doing other, more productive activities. Playing a family game, exercising, (check out the Hop 66 Ball) and reading, will all promote a healthy lifestyle.

Gardening at Home with your Kids Encourages Tasting Healthy Foods

Michelle Obama is teaching families about the benefits of growing your own vegetables in a garden in your yard. Of course, you don’t have to live in the White House to share her vision that growing your own food is important today. There are many benefits to enjoying a home garden with your kids. For one, they are more likely to taste foods that they have watered and nurtured. Additionally, it’s a fun shared experience that you can enjoy together, as well as a way to teach your kids about nature and the environment.

I asked Meredith Melendez, Horticulture Consultant at the Rutgers Cooperative Extension Burlington County branch, for tips on how to get the most out of your garden. For starters, I wondered if home grown vegetables are, in fact, healthier than ones bought at the supermarket. “That’s debated a lot, but I like growing my own vegetables because I know what I’ve done to them,” she explained. “I know my comfort level when it comes to dealing with pests and disease and so I treat my plants accordingly. I think control over what you’re putting in your mouth is comforting to people.”

When planning your garden, Melendez recommends that you take time to think about why you want a garden. There are so many different reasons. It might be because you want to grow your own food or it could be that you want to expose your kids to the natural environment. The focus with the White House has really been producing food, but in terms of kids in the garden, it’s just great to create these outdoor environments for them to experience nature on their own, and in a supervised setting.



There are plenty of free catalogs that you can look through to figure out what piques your interest and start in that direction. Next, choose your garden’s location carefully. Your plot is really important in terms of how much sunlight it’s going to get and how the soil’s been treated. There’s a lot of information now on shade gardens, but when it comes to getting fruit and vegetables out of a shady area, that’s where it gets really tough.

Melendez recommends that folks get their soil tested. In New Jersey you can do that through Rutgers Cooperative Extension for a $15 fee. Check out Master Gardener Programs where you live for a similar testing service. That will tell you your soil Ph which is really important for the types of plants that you can grow in that soil, and it will also tell you the nutrients available in that soil. From that information you can get tips regarding fertilizer, lime, and ways to get the soil at the right composition for what you want to grow.

Whether or not growing your vegetables will actually save you money is debatable, in terms of the money you spend to create and sustain your garden. But, Melendez sees other benefits in growing your own. “I know we eat more vegetables because they’re coming out of our garden than if I had to go to the store to purchase them, so it’s a great way to get my family involved in growing these things,” she points out.” It certainly helps with my kids. If they pick it, they tend to eat it more than if we just bought it at the store.”