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:

1. Kids must Pledge to make their bodies and their schools healthier by committing to eat healthy, play at least 60 minutes every day, and participate in fun activities in and out of school.
2. Kids must Track their progress online or on paper, including their new healthy eating and exercise habits.
3. Kids accumulate Points on their Fuel Meter by sticking to their healthy habits, referring their friends and getting their schools and teachers involved. Each point they accumulate increases the student’s chance to win prizes.

The competition, which starts October 15 and lasts until March 15, is divided into two terms: From mid-October to December 15 and then from February 1 to March 15, 2010. Students in each state who have amassed the most points at the mid-term will win an iPod touch and an NFL gift card.

The two grand prizes will be awarded to one individual at the end of the competition. And grand they are! One lucky and healthy child will partner up with an NFL player for a Fuel Up to Play 60 promotion and receive a healthy makeover complete with a day spent with an NFL player and his personal trainer.

The Fuel Up to Play 60 is a fun and effective way to get thousands of kids from 4th to 10th grades to improve their nutrition and physical activity.

For more information or to register your child, go to the Fuel Up to Play 60 website.

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NFL Fights Childhood Obesity with Fuel Up to Play 60

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

Chef Ann Cooper says the National School Lunch Program Needs a Makeover and Chef Ann Cooper’s Proposed Changes for a National School Lunch Program

She calls herself the Renegade Lunch Lady and she’s on a mission to overhaul the food being served in America’s school cafeterias. – Chef Ann Cooper

Healthy Lunch Box Swaps that are Good for your Kids

Trade the fruit snacks, snack cakes and potato chips for fresh fruit, yogurt cups and whole grain crackers. Learn easy and even affordable swaps to pack more nutritious lunches. – DietsInReview.com

Mocha Manual Mom Returns to Routine for Back to School

This busy mom of two not only has to adjust the kids’ routines when school starts, but her own gets shifted, too. Find out how she not only survives, but thrives. – Kimberly Allers Sears at Mocha Manual

National Dairy Council Promoting Healthier Kids and Healthier Schools

Discussing how we can reverse this growing childhood obesity epidemic by promoting the addition of more nutrient-rich foods and more physical activity in our kids’ diets and lifestyles. – Tab Forgac at National Dairy Council

Healthier Snacks and More Activity Make for Healthier Children

This mom has found sneaky ways to get the kids moving more and making better food choices. Disguise chores as a fun activity and grow your own small vegetable garden! – Jill Knapp at Get Up and Get Moving

4 Healthy Eating Tips for College Freshmen

Eli Sussman, co-author of Freshman in the Kitchen, offers some simple advice that college students can use to enjoy eating and avoid the freshman 15 their first year on campus. – Eli Sussman at Freshman in the Kitchen

5 Yoga Tools for Happy, Healthy School Kids

Even the young ones can draw enormous benefit from regular yoga practice. This yoga instructor includes tips for making yoga a part of pre-exam and bed time routines. – Aruna Kathy Humphrys at Teaching Kids Yoga

The ABCs of Back to School: Anxiety, Butterflies and Coping

A new classroom, new teacher, new friends and even the shock of a new schedule can put kids on the edge. Help them destress with these helpful tips. – Amy Acton at Humana’s CrumpleItUp

How to Help Your Overweight Child at Home and at School

Having an overweight or obese child can be a sensitive issue. Here’s information on how being supportive and introducing healthy lifestyle habits can influence big change. – Wendy Reinhardt Kapsak at the International Food Information Council

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Healthy Back to School Week

The New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center in Boston, Massachusetts has a new program aptly titled “Move It!” to help kids get some exercise, and a little fun with seals while they’re at it.

Five northern fur seals will be featured in a new exhibit at the New England Aquarium. The seals can run on their flippers and dart around the water at great speeds. But how exactly does this entice kids to get active?

Panels around the aquarium will show seal movements such as stretching, jumping and swimming, explain the ways the moves are similar to humans and encourage kids to “Try It!”

“You can almost see a child in front of the exhibit, gyrating, trying to mimic the seal and saying, ‘Well this is pretty cool,’” says Paul Boyle, an environmental biologist and a vice president at the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. “Then they go home and they may roll around in the backyard and then they may start to, you know… run.”

Even if it doesn’t ultimately lead to better fitness for kids – it sounds more like fun than breaking a sweat – kids will learn something new and be outside away from the TV and video games for once.

(via: Yahoo)

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Kids Get Fit with Seals at the New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center

Whether your children are old enough to start joining you in your fitness routine or you even have children yet, now is the perfect time to start developing the habits in yourself that you want your children to adopt. Your child is unlikely to want to join you in activities that you do not enjoy. Your child, who sees you as a role model, is more likely to do the things you do. I rode in bike races as a child because that was what my father did.

I have a dear friend whose oldest son just finished second grade and has already completed more running events than I have. Connor has grown up watching his parents run for health and fitness, his father runs races, and his grandmother run marathons, ultramarathons, and triathalons!

His parents have not pushed him into running, and he runs in 5k races only at his own request. At the age of 7 he ran a 5k in 24 minutes! He was also recently awarded the Presidential Award for Physical Fitness. Way to go, Connor! He has discovered the joy in running because it was shown to him. His parents never insisted that he share their activities, yet he has developed a love for running simply by observing what the important adults in his life are doing. He is blessed to have had the opportunity to develop healthy habits so early.

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7-Year-Old Runs 5Ks, Earns Presidential Award for Physical Fitness

Gwyneth Paltrow at the Bent on Learning charity event.

It is not just adults who are down-dogging these days, it is also kids. And kid’s yoga is proving to be a huge hit for these young yogis.

Bent on Learning is a non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance physical, emotional and cognitive abilities in New York City-based school children through yoga. With support from yoga devotee Gwyneth Paltrow and Donna Karan’s Urban Zen Foundation, Bent on Learning is bringing yoga into select New York City public schools and also offering workshops to teachers to incorporate simple yoga techniques and mindfulness training into their teaching.

With the support of some of New York City’s most accomplished and passionate yoga instructors, Bent on Learning is holding weekly classes at select NYC schools. Each class teaches yoga postures, or asanas, breath work and meditation. The program is also aligned with New York state and national physical education standards.

The organization first started as a volunteer effort in 2001, just after 9/11 in order to help children heal and manage post-traumatic stress. During the past eight years, the program has grown rapidly. It now reaches more than 1,000 students across 10 different NYC schools each week.

While this 5,000 year-old Indian tradition has been met with open arms by Westerners, most yoga classes in the country are geared to adults. But programs like Bent on Learning teach kids how to incorporate the benefits of this ancient mind-body-spirit practice into their young and very hectic lives.

A Bent on Learning class at Lyons Community School.

Kid’s yoga not only encourages physical activity, which most Western kids don’t get enough of, but yoga’s non-competitive nature doesn’t leave kids striving to be faster or better than their classmates. In fact, it does just the opposite. Yoga engenders a sense of self-acceptance and cooperation. One important study showed that young women who did yoga displayed less symptoms associated with eating and body image disorders and they also exhibited greater appreciation for their own bodies. Given the societal pressures that young kids face to look and dress a certain way, yoga can help curb the blade of the external forces and encourage the child’s confidence and self-esteem.

Bent on Learning is also using yoga to help children stay more focused, whether it’s concentrating on their math homework, reading a book or eating dinner with their family. Yoga fosters the ability for us to be in the moment, which for many kids (and adults) can be a challenge, but over time, as the child learns how to stay in tune to their immediate surroundings, they can develop focused mental and cognitive function that will have positive effects in all aspects of their lives from school to family to their relationships.

Hopefully, over the next few years, we’ll see additional programs like Bent on Learning reaching out beyond New York so that children all over the country can receive the physical, mental and spiritual benefits of this old, but very applicable, practice.

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Gywneth Paltrow and Bent On Learning Teach Kids Yoga

It’s called the “Walking School Bus,” a program where kids walk to school in groups along specified routes, picking up classmates along the way. It’s not only great for saving gas, but kids get a little exercise along the way. And oh, adults are along for the ride to assuage worried parents.

Only 13 percent of kids walk to school these days. That’s down dramatically from 30 years ago, when 66 percent of kids walked.

From a public policy perspective, this is a great idea because it can save a lot of money in gas and maintenance expenses related to buses. One school district using the idea spends a mere $200 a year on the program. Just think how much that saves in gas alone!

Here’s a video report on the Walking School Bus program from CBS News.

And if you’re involved with your public school system and want to take action, here’s a site that gives you more information and outlines the benefits of starting a Walking School Bus program in your area, and the points to consider before launching it.

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The ‘Walking Bus’ Program Gets Kids Moving