What do you get when you combine the forces of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the National Dairy Council (NDC) and the National Football League (NFL)? A powerhouse team of knowledge, muscles and nutrition.
On September 17, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the USDA will partner with the NDC and the NFL on their new youth-led health and wellness program, Fuel Up to Play 60. The program, launching to more than 60,000 schools nationwide this fall, will empower youth to take charge of their own health by being more active and eating healthier foods as well as improve the overall health of their school environment and community.
The program is open to all children and participation is quite simple:
I was shocked to see a report on the news this morning where it was reported that heart disease begins in childhood. Childhood, people! The time of innocence and Popsicles, riding bikes to the store for a bag of Doritos, chasing the ice cream man and birthday parties galore – oh, yeah, heart disease begins in childhood. I can see that. Apparently, so can scientists who have looked at autopsies of children as young as five who died in accidents and found evidence of fat lining the arteries of the heart. More children than ever are being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and everywhere you look you see children as big as adults.
I have lots of kids. Lots of kids means lots of treats and lots of birthday parties, lots of trips to the beach with snacks and lots of visits to the movie theater where it’s much cheaper to buy the jumbo popcorn – after all, SOMEONE will eat it, right? Well, no. It’s my job as a parent to keep them healthy, and in my house, that means limited fast food, no juice (except for V-8) and cakes and cookies on special occasions.
Kids have to deal with tremendous peer pressure. Unfortunately, that also applies to their eating habits. Researchers just released a study that examines how kids eat in relation to who they are around at the time. Those involved in the study were 9 to 15 years old. And, researchers found that all of the kids, regardless of their weight, tended to eat more when they snacked with a friend than when they were with someone their age that they did not know.
But, the peer mimicking went further. Interestingly, the largest calorie intake was seen when overweight children snacked with an overweight friend.
Stephanie Paul has lost 140 pounds through sensible dieting and exercise. Her weight loss story inspires others to lose weight and make long-lasting healthy lifestyle changes. 
My name is Stephanie Paul and I have lost 140 pounds. I was 18-years-old when I started and now I am 21. It was definitely a journey.
As a young child I was tiny and then went on steroids when I was 7-years-old due to a health condition. I grew up a happy child and ate a lot of foods I shouldn’t have eaten. I became an obese child and let food take over my life. I ate when I was happy, sad, and any other emotion that I was feeling. I used to get made fun of in school. To me, I felt nothing wrong with eating high calorie meals and snacks.
I started getting sick of being obese and after my grandmother died of cancer I had to change something about that. I started counting calories and eating healthy. When you start measuring what you eat you figure out that you were eating too much all the time.
Parents, teachers and kids across the country are gearing up for the most bittersweet time of year – back to school. A friend’s first-grader summed it up well when she was told it was the first day of school: “You mean I have to go back?!” Yes, you have to go back. And no amount of fresh crayons, pencils and new outfits will cover up their disdain as they drag their feet back into those classrooms.
This week at DietsInReview.com, the focus was on the kids, with Healthy Back to School Week. We invited moms, yoga instructors, chefs, nutrition experts and more to share their insights on ways to fuel kids’ minds, bodies and souls as they transition back into the classroom and prepare for a strong year ahead.
Whether it’s packing a healthier sack lunch, advocating for more nutritious school food, putting more fitness into their days, or helping them de-stress, we’ve got it covered.
Healthy Breakfast Recipes for Back to School
Send them out the door with the most important meal of the day. Make these days in advance and have on-the-go fuel the rest of the week. - Rebecca Bailey at Life With Boys
4 Comments
