Empowering Healthy Kids Blog

Be Active Day! On January 17th 12pm-4pm at the Blue Ridge Mall in Hendersonville:

Be Active Day is the kick-off event for the Childhood Obesity Prevention Demonstration Project. Henderson County was one of five counties selected statewide to implement a comprehensive program to address childhood obesity.

The grant’s Eat Smart Move More campaign will increase awareness about the need to move more every day, reduce TV time, prepare more meals at home, consider portion sizes and beverage choices, and eat more fruits and vegetable. For tips on physical activity and healthy eating, visit

In Houston:

Baylor College of Medicine has been awarded a $1.5 million grant for research related to obesity in children.

The Human Nutrition and Obesity Program grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Research Institute.

Researchers will evaluate a community program to be held in Houston aimed at prevention of obesity among high-risk children.

“Healthy Kids–Houston” will hold three six-week sessions for minority children ages 9 to 13 that will include physical activity, nutrition education and behavioral lessons at various Houston Parks and Recreation Department community centers.

The program is a partnership between Baylor, Houston Parks and Recreation Department, Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority and Texas Children’s Hospital, including Texas Children’s Pediatric Associates.

With the myriad of child obesity programs out there, it is important that we have some independent research performed (such as the one above) on programs to ensure it’s effectiveness and efficiency. While I still believe that parents are in the best place to decide what’s best for their children, this sort of oversight can offer some level of transparency into public health funding.

I stumbled across the US Department of Health and Human Services 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. In particular, see Chapter 3: Active Children and Adolescents.

Key message: Aim for moderate- and vigorous-intensity physical activity for periods of time that add up to 60 minutes or more each day.

The American Council on Exercise has released their

Top 10 Exercising and Fitness Trends for 2009:

1. Boot Camp-Style Workouts: Boot camp workouts remain extremely popular because they provide a total-body workout that’s varied, fun and challenging. Up to 600 calories can be burned during a boot camp session, which is obviously going to facilitate weight loss. But in addition to a great cardiovascular workout, muscles are strengthened through high- and low-intensity exercises such as pushups, squats and lunges. You don’t typically experience significant muscle fitness benefits in other aerobic exercises.
2. Budget-Friendly Workouts: With today’s economy showing no signs of strengthening, more people will cut costs to stay in shape. Of the ACE-certified professionals surveyed, 48 percent said that gym memberships will decrease in 2009 and 52 percent said less people will hire personal trainers. Look for more people to use the resources around them as their gym and equipment.
3. Specialty Classes: While yoga and Pilates will remain strong, dance-based classes are all the rage this year! Zumba, a fitness program inspired by Latin dance, combines South American rhythms with cardiovascular exercise. Bollywood, ballroom, Afro-Cuban and other exotic dance styles are growing in popularity thanks to shows such as Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance.
4. Getting Back to Basics: Despite the fact that many exercises and equipment are becoming more advanced and trendy, trainers will continue to focus on basic movements and techniques with their clients again.
5. Circuit Training: Studies have shown that interval training combining strength training and cardiovascular activity at different intensities provides a more time-efficient workout than participating in traditional aerobic and weight training sessions. With an increase in popularity of circuit training, many gyms are even setting up their own circuits to allow their members an easy path to fitness.
6. Kettlebells: The reason for the surge in kettlebell training is that it gets back to basic training that requires functional, whole body fitness. Kettlebells require an individual to focus on whole-body conditioning because lifting and controlling a kettlebell forces the entire body, particularly the core, to contract as a group, simultaneously developing strength and stability. Kettlebell workouts engage multiple muscle groups, making it a great way to get a whole body workout in a relatively short period of time.
7. Boomer Fitness: Individuals age 50+ have the means, motivation and desire to enhance their quality of life through physical activity—and they are only growing. The 50+ audience continues to redefine our expectations about age, vitality and life, and has highlighted the importance of physical activity as we age. Since September 2007, AARP’s fitness initiative for boomers—aimed at providing a wide range of affordable fitness services to its 39 million members—has been going strong.
8. Technology-Based Fitness: From iPods to Cardio Cinema to exergaming (i.e., Wii Fit, Expresso Bikes) the latest in technology will continue to infuse itself in all aspects of fitness. Look for 2009 to provide more interactive video games that provide fitness benefits, as well as new inventions to make exercising a more engaging experience.
9. Event or Sport-Specific Exercises: Despite the emergence of new and trendy workouts, sports or recreational activities will remain a popular way to stay in shape. Participating in a friendly game of basketball or volleyball, training for a marathon, or taking a day-long bike ride are just a few ways that people are staying in shape and having fun doing so!
10. Mixing It Up: Traditional programming is changing from what we called linear progression to undulating as research shows similar if not better results. For example, mixing low-intensity cardio with intervals on different days, and mixing high-volume, low- intensity weight training with low-volume, high-intensity training on alternate days.

The ones in bold are ones that I think relate well to children’s fitness. At MyPed we are currently developing a mash between exergaming and edutainment as a way to educate and motivate kids to be fit and healthy.
One trend I, not mentioned here, that will occur is the shift towards the family unit getting involved in fitness - brought about the increased awareness, new advances in technology (eg. Wii Fit can be used by the whole family) and it’s a relatively cheap activity for the family.

Virgin HealthMiles part of Richard Branson’s Virgin group is donating $6.3 million in donations to raise awareness of childhood obesity by partnering with Texan Governer Rick Perry:

For two weeks beginning January 1, 2009, Governor Perry and Texas executive agency leaders will compete with other governors and their respective state leadership in the Capitol Steps Challenge. Teams will compete head-to-head by tracking their daily activity, with a goal of achieving the highest average steps per person.

At the end of the Challenge, Virgin HealthMiles will declare the state team with the highest average steps per person as the Most Active Governor’s Team in the nation and will make a $50,000 donation to that state’s childhood obesity program. If the winning state chooses to participate in the second phase of Virgin HealthMiles’ obesity initiative, they can earn double all donations, increasing the total potential donation to $250,000.

 

The second phase of Virgin HealthMiles’ obesity initiative will be individual State Leadership Challenges, where teams of 250 individuals from state government offices across the U.S. embark on a year-long program to increase their physical activity — again leading by example to their constituents about the relationship between increased activity levels and improved wellness. Based on activity levels, states can earn donations of up to $125,000 toward their childhood obesity programs. More details on the State Leadership Challenge will be announced in early 2009.

More here.

UPDATE: It’s started.

Interesting, and, in my opinion, this trend will only continue to grow:

Last year, 1.3 million children ages 6 to 11 were members of a health club, according to the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association. And as of April, a quarter of IHRSA member clubs surveyed had children’s programs.

I hope this helps:

The N.C. Division of Public Health announced yesterday that 14 community grants focusing on obesity have been awarded to county health departments across the state, including two in Northwest North Carolina.

Grants of $380,000 from the Childhood Obesity Prevention Project went to the Appalachian District Health Department for work focusing on Watauga County, as well as to the Cabarrus, Dare, Henderson and Moore county health departments.

Each group will run a comprehensive public-awareness campaign in conjunction with county bicycle and pedestrian plans, as well as programs in preschools and child-care centers, pediatrics practices, YMCAs, hospitals, schools and the faith community.

The division awarded an additional $150,000 in grants to nine other health departments and health districts in support of the Eat Smart, Move More North Carolina movement. They are Davidson, Buncombe, Carteret, Chatham, Durham, Granville/Vance, Lee, Wake and Warren counties.

The financed projects will build upon existing effective programs or will try new approaches to increasing healthy behaviors. The proposals ranged from workplace wellness programs to building parks and walking trails.

While public awareness campaigns are a positive thing, as with all marketing (which is effectively what awareness campaigns are), the results need to be measured to ensure citizens is getting a good return on tax payer dollars.

YMCA launch a new programme, “Healthy U” aimed at increasing the health and wellbeing of children in New Jersey:

A new initiative by the Horizon Foundation for New Jersey will use fun exercises and promotion of healthy eating habits to reduce obesity in 18,000 school-age children through YMCAs statewide, foundation officials announced today.
The Healthy U program, as the initiative is being called, is being funded by a $1 million foundation grant. The goal is to reduce obesity rates in children enrolled in YMCA after school programs by up to 10 percent by the year 2011. Using a curriculum developed by researchers at the University of Texas, Healthy U will be rolled out at 359 YMCA sites across New Jersey starting early next month. It will be open to children between the ages of 5 and 12 and will also have a strong parental component.

Healthy U is based on the Coordinated Approach to Child Health (CATCH) curriculum, a national, award winning program with over 15 years of proven research documenting its success in reducing childhood obesity.

The program, which also provides specialized training to YMCA staff, has three major components — physical education, proper nutrition and parental involvement.

Sandy Hopkins from Delaware Trail Elementary uses video games to promote physical activity:

Today, thanks to a grant from an educational foundation at her school that supports innovative teaching ideas in the classroom, Hopkins’ students play their way to physical fitness with “Dance, Dance, Revolution” and “EyeToy” for Sony’s PlayStation 2.

Hopkins operates the games as a station, with 3-4 screens and dance mats. Six students typically use the station at one time, and those who are waiting to play use practice dance mats she has created out of carpets and tape. Jump ropes or stationary bikes are sometimes provided at the station as well. Every student is expected to remain active during the entire period.

I believe that novel ideas using technology will increase across schools as teachers try to find new ways to motivate and engage with kids. I have talked with a number of teachers and one constant struggle (other than budgets) is coming up with new creative ideas to teach and inspire kids to learn - thus the number of individual teacher-led innovations will continue to grow.

My philosophy towards public health and social problems is to find work on the solution from the ground up. Start with the individual, then family, then local community, then state, then national. This is why I like this initiative - the solution is skewered towards the local community:

Picking up the phone may not be the best form of exercise, but the CanDo Coalition is hoping people will do it to help defeat obesity.

The local nonprofit organization is using an automated telephone survey to gather information on the health needs of Loveland residents, so the group can plan ways to help local residents eat better, get active and prevent obesity.

The CanDo Coalition began in 2003, Englert said, as a response to the obesity rate in Larimer County, which had doubled during the previous 10 years.

The founding organizations were the Poudre Valley Hospital Foundation, Colorado State University and the city of Fort Collins.

Over the past five years, the CanDo Coalition has worked with Fort Collins schools, employers, health care professionals, new mothers, low-income residents and older adults to improve residents’ health habits.

In the schools, CanDo created a “School Wellness Kit” for teachers and parents, to help them find ways to get children to eat healthier, exercise more and limit TV, computer and video-game time.

The coalition also has helped Fort Collins businesses start exercise, weight-management and stress-management programs.

The funding for the Loveland expansion came from LiveWell Colorado, a partnership of health care organizations, charitable foundations, nonprofit organizations and public health agencies.