Healthy Attitudz

Seven Myths about Veggies

2010-06-10T09:00:00.002-04:00

Answer these and then read on to find out how close you are to passing the veggie knowledge quiz!

Myth: Fresh vegetables are more nutritious than frozen
Myth: Cooked veggies are less nutritious than raw
Myth: Iceberg lettuce doesn't have any nutrients
Myth: Local vegetables are always cheaper
Myth: Potatoes make you fat
Myth: Bagged salads are squeaky clean
Myth: Farmer's markets only have organics

Ohio Senate approves bill to combat child obesity

2010-05-20T08:17:00.000-04:00

Can Healthy Attitudz help?

The road map to solving childhood obesity

2010-05-17T16:49:00.001-04:00

The road map to solving childhood obesity

Mike Allen
Sun, 16 May 2010 23:27:32 EST
http://fredericksburg.com/News/Web/politico?p_id=2122

White House domestic policy adviser Melody Barnes says first lady Michelle Obama is speaking quite literally when she says the goal of her Let’s Move campaign is “solving the problem of childhood obesity within a generation.”

“That is literally achievable,” Barnes said in an interview for the new POLITICO video series, “The Politics of America’s Youth.” “In the 1970s, about 5 percent of the nation’s child and adolescent population was considered obese. Now, that’s shot up to 20 percent. We set the goal of 2030. So we’ll go from 20 percent childhood obesity to 5 percent childhood obesity by the year 2030.”

The White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity, appointed by President Barack Obama, this month delivered a 124-page Report to the President, with 70 recommendations in five areas: early childhood, empowering parents and caregivers, health food in schools, access to healthful, affordable food and increasing physical activity.

Barnes is a policy architect of Let’s Move, a road map for federal, state and local governments, as well as the private sector, to engage individuals and communities. The audience, she said, includes “parents, doctors, nurses, the food and beverage industry and workers who provide school lunches.

“We want to get back down to those 1970 levels, and we know that in doing that, we’ll be able to solve a whole host of other health-related concerns,” Barnes said. “We spend about $150 billion annually on diseases that emanate out of obesity, like heart disease and diabetes. So, if we can catch this on the front end, then we can solve those problems and prevent them from occurring on the back end.”

Barnes, a native of Richmond, Va., has one of the West Wing’s most expansive portfolios: She was a leader of a conference call for the press last week on the administration’s response to the growing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and she’s responsible for education and health care. She was chief counsel for the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) on the Senate Judiciary Committee and was head of policy at the Center for American Progress before becoming senior domestic policy adviser to Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign.

In an interview with C-SPAN in 2007, Barnes said her first memory of political activism was selling cupcakes for the 1972 presidential campaign of George McGovern.

“Healthy cupcakes,” she jokes now. “We’re not trying to eliminate and eradicate cupcakes and cookies from people’s lives. Everyone enjoys that, or most people do — I know that I do. This is an issue of balance, and we want to make sure that people are active, that children are active, that they’re eating fresh foods, fresh fruits and vegetables, so that they are conscious of leading healthy lives, and they are, indeed, leading healthy lives. A cupcake every once in a while is actually probably a nice thing.”

Barnes said she stays fit, in part, by running up and down the steps of the West Wing and by practicing yoga.

“I go to the gym,” she added. “I try to walk home when I can. All those things are really important — building them into my life in a natural way but also trying to find the time to do it.”

Here are some of the exchanges from the interview, conducted in an ornate room in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building:

How do you defuse criticism that you’re telling people how to raise their children?

“The first lady started talking about this issue in the context of the White House garden and working with young people from local elementary schools, watching them work in the garden, plant the plants, harvest the garden, cook the food. [And she talked] about it from the perspective of being a parent — her own experience with her daughters and talking to their doctor. I think people can relate to that. And we know that people across the ideological spectrum — Republicans to Democrats, moderates to independents, all regions of the country — recognize that this is a serious problem. ... It’s inclusive, and our job is to empower people — by letting parents know that 60 minutes a day of physical activity is really important for your child in terms of leading a healthy life and not being obese. That’s not telling them what to do — that’s providing them with a piece of information.”

How did the White House decide to make this a formal campaign?

“It really evolved from those early conversations around the garden — also, recognizing just how important this is. And, quite frankly, with the president’s initiative around health care reform, we recognized that we have to make sure that people get quality and affordable health care, and by focusing on prevention and wellness, that’s something very, very important that we can do to reduce costs and to make sure that people lead active, better lives.”

How did the first lady decide to take it on personally?

“I remember talking to her during the transition, and several of us went to meet with her right before the Inauguration. We just started talking about this issue and what was happening in communities, the fact that they are now talking about diseases that children had that, 20 years ago, doctors didn’t even see in children — Type 2 diabetes that didn’t exist in children before, all as a result of childhood obesity. So, knowing the facts, combined with personal experience, combined with a real effort to address the health care issues that are affecting our country, all of those issues came together and served as a catalyst for this campaign.”

What about adult obesity?

“We know that children are wonderful ambassadors to their entire family. So once a child starts to get out and they’re more active, they start to eat healthy foods, whether they’re at school or, you know, as a snack, and they come home and say, ‘You know, I really enjoy eating oranges, or I really love asparagus,’ then parents start to respond to that, and I think you watch the entire family’s meal start to change.”

One focus of the campaign is “food deserts.”

“One of our important goals deals with access to healthy foods and vegetables in communities. There are some communities that are considered ‘food deserts,’ places where people can’t get fresh, nutritious food, where there isn’t a grocery store in a mile or two within a person’s home. It’s both an urban and a rural problem. When people think about rural America, they think about farms and access to really wonderful, healthy foods, but there are food deserts in rural areas, as well. The president included in his budget an initiative to use public funds to leverage even larger private dollars to put the grocery stores in communities where they don’t exist and also some really creative and innovative ways — for example, mobile grocery stores, where you’re moving those into communities where there’s not a lot of population density.”

The campaign has also talked about infant health.

“One of our important pillars is making sure that children have a healthy start in life, that their mothers are getting prenatal care, that they’re able to breast-feed. More and more women are considering breast-feeding, because we know it’s such a natural and healthy way to start providing nutrients to children without a lot of sugar and other products that they don’t need at a young age. I think there’s more and more receptivity to [breast-feeding], particularly as people get the information, get the facts.”

What can children do themselves?

“We want to make sure that children have the ability to bike to school or to walk to school. That’s a wonderful way of getting physical activity, as long as we’re sure that the community is safe, as long as we ensure that there are bike paths, so students aren’t out in traffic as they’re trying to bike to school. ...Also, being active and participating in sports. Whether it’s an active sports league or it’s a noncompetitive sporting activity, we want children to get out there and be active.”

And what can parents do?

“Read the front of the package labeling and determine whether or not the product that you’re about to buy is one that you really want to put on your kitchen table.”

Food manufacturers?

“We want to make sure they’re talking about providing information about the products that are actually included in the foods and beverages that they’re marketing. So we can talk about bringing down sugars, we can talk about bringing down fat. I think there will be some exciting things happening on that in the very near future.”

How has the industry response been?

“We’ve gotten a really wonderful response. For example, there are foods in our schools called a la carte foods — not necessarily what’s being served at lunchtime but access to foods that students can get at some point during the day. For the first time ever, both the administration and the food and beverage industry agree that those foods have to meet a certain nutritional guideline.”

Finally, what would you like restaurants to be doing?

“Providing information about what’s in the food that they’re serving. So, on the menu or somewhere easily accessible to the patrons of their restaurant, people should be able to know what’s really in that product [when you] pick your food or beverage.”

What Parents Can Do to Keep Kids From Snacking Their Way to Obesity - On Parenting (usnews.com)

2010-05-05T11:55:00.001-04:00

What Parents Can Do to Keep Kids From Snacking Their Way to Obesity - On Parenting (usnews.com)

Posted using ShareThis

Health Buzz: Obese Kids Face More Bullying - US News and World Report

2010-05-05T11:54:00.001-04:00

Health Buzz: Obese Kids Face More Bullying - US News and World Report

Posted using ShareThis

8 Study Snacks That Make Kids Smarter

2010-03-19T10:45:00.000-04:00

8 Study Snacks That Make Kids Smarter

Ask any kid, whether second-grader or swaggering senior, and you'll hear the same claim: Studying makes you hungry! Memorizing math formulas? Chips and soda are part of the equation. Digging into Moby-Dick? Harpoon a bag of M&M's.

Actually, the idea's right on -- eating can help the brain focus, if you know which foods to choose. But gee -- surprise -- candy and chips aren't among them.

What will help kids who are cracking the books? It depends on what kind of help they need, but it comes down to one of two Cs:

Carbs -- healthy ones -- for kids who tend to get so freaked about tests or tough teachers that they lose all focus.
Comfort foods for studiers who start out okay but gradually get tense, can't sleep, wake up exhausted, and then don't do well.

Of the two, only one needs a little explaining: carbs. The brain needs glucose (blood sugar) to stay sharp and alert. In fact, the brain is the only organ in the body that uses only glucose for energy. Glucose comes from carbohydrates. But the brain (like the body) does much better with a steady flow of energy, not the quick rush it gets from eating rapidly absorbed carbs like candy and chips. So slowly absorbed carbs -- which, gee, more surprises, include whole grains, fruit, and veggies -- produce longer lasting mental energy.

What's more, in addition to supplying the brain with energy, healthy carbs also have a steadying effect, explains Mindy Hermann, RD. They help boost serotonin, a calming brain chemical. And that combo -- calm energy -- is an ideal mix for many study-stressed kids, especially an hour or two before an exam or chem lab. So what to feed the homework harassed?

For Studiers Who Start Out Strong but End Up Stressed and Sleepless:

A cup of something warm and soothing. Whether it's a light soup, warm milk, chamomile tea, or diet hot cocoa (to avoid the sugar hit) is personal preference -- all can help kids who've gotten tightly wound up to settle down again, says Hermann. Offer these about an hour before bedtime.

For Kids Who Can Freak Out Over Hard Teachers or Pop Quizzes:

Apple slices spread with peanut butter. The carb-rich fruit will give serotonin a boost, which helps calm raggedy nerves, so it's easier to focus. The peanut butter is filled with healthy fats.
Cheerios or other oat "Os" cereal. A big bowl of these to munch and crunch can be a great study snack. This whole-grain kid favorite delivers a lot of nutrients as well as slowly absorbed, subtly calming carbs.
Grapes. Like apples, these sweet carbs get serotonin going while their high fiber content slows down sugar absorption -- plus, fiber itself seems to have stress-soothing abilities. Some kids prefer their grapes frozen for melt-in-the-mouth fun.
Whole-wheat pretzels. They have the same crunch as regular pretzels but loads more fiber and often a lot less thirst-making salt, so studiers aren't constantly breaking their train of thought to get yet another drink.

More than good grades are on the table here, by the way. Kids who get into the habit of eating plenty of fruit and vegetables -- aka healthy carbs -- are likely to keep it up into adulthood. If they do, their RealAge could be 36 when they're actually turning 40. Smart.

Ticker Challenge

2010-02-25T07:55:00.003-05:00

Ticker knows being healthy is as easy as 1-2-3. Ticker stays healthy by being active 1 hour per day. Being active includes playing, dancing, playing sports, walking, and other activities that increase your heart rate. Ticker eats 2 colorful fruits and 3 colorful vegetable servings per day also. Ticker encourages all children to do the same starting now. Take the Ticker Challenge! Log your daily results in the blue box at the top of the page.

The winner will receive a $50 Wal-Mart gift card! The challenge ends March 16th so start today!

To find out what is a serving is visit www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov for more information.

Cute Kid is Amazing!

2010-02-03T16:22:00.001-05:00

Do you have a Cute Kid? (of course!!!)

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Simply submit a Photo of your child and you could win:
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Membership is Free and Easy –Sign Up Today!
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Enter Today and Receive Instant Rewards:

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Screen Time, Blood Pressure - CHANGE

2009-11-06T09:12:00.000-05:00

The Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine recently released study findings that too much screen time may raise the blood pressure of young children. The researchers found that screen time included more sedentary behaviors such as watching television, using a computer, and playing video games. In what seems to be the first time a link has been made between sedentary behavior and elevated blood pressure in children aged 3 through 8. This may be true even in cases where the child is not obese or overweight.

To perform the study the children were adorned with accelerometers. The meters are a tool utilized to measure the amount of movement. The researchers used them to determine how much time the children spent on sedentary or little movement activities. In the study the children spent an average of five hours a day on sedentary activities, with screen time averaging 1.5 hours. That is well over The American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation limiting screen time to two hours per day.

The researchers found that children who had the least amount of screen time had lower blood pressure levels than those children who had more screen time.

There is a negative trend occurring in the United States. There are more and more children developing elevated blood pressure.

Make an adjustment! Healthy Attitudz recommends a challenge. Limit screen time to less than 1 hour a day and add at least 60 minutes of daily physical activity. Order your activity monitoring wrist bands for the whole family and make your challenge a fun, family affair!

How are you Handling Halloween's Refined Sugar Overload?

2009-10-29T11:12:00.000-04:00

Mid October seems to mark the beginning of weeks full of temptation, refined sugar, and unneeded stress. Many watch their waistlines grow and their children bounce off the walls one minute only to dive into a coma from their sudden and excessive sugar intake.

Please write here and tell us how you are handling sugar overload with your family. What tricks to you have to share that you feel every parent should know? What steps are you taking to avoid this cycle?

"Good Nutrition is Essential to Good Learning"

2009-10-29T10:22:00.001-04:00

The quote, “Good Nutrition is Essential to Good Learning” is decades old and was spoken by someone who was not in the health care field. President Lyndon B. Johnson made and believed in this statement so much that he signed into United States Federal Law the Child Nutrition Act on October 11, 1966. The Child Nutrition Act 1966, from now on referred to as CNA, was built to strengthen and expand food service programs for children.

CNA 1966 SEC 2.[42USC.1771] Declaration of Purpose includes:
In recognition of the demonstrated relationship between food and good nutrition and the capacity of children to develop and learn, based on the years of cumulative successful experience under the national school lunch program with its significant contributions in the field of applied nutrition research, it is hereby declared to be the policy of congress that these efforts shall be extended, expanded, and strengthened under the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture as a measure to safeguard the health and well-being of the Nation’s children, and to encourage the domestic consumption of agricultural and other foods, by assisting states, through grants-in-aid and other means to meet more effectively the nutritional needs of our children.

The culmination of the act includes three programs; The Special Milk Program, The National School Breakfast Program, and The National School Lunch Program.

Research has concluded that a child with an improper diet can suffer the harsh effects of malnutrition. When a child lacks proper nutrients or an improper balance of nutrients they can lack proper brain development, impede brain growth, and affect their ability to learn. The reason it is so increasingly important for proper food programs and rules is because of the above mentioned outcomes and the fact that many students may be receiving all or a large percentage of their meals from school alone.

The CNA has made several positive changes in the lives of many children over the years. According to a 2007 study, The National School Breakfast Program feeds 10 million children each day, and The National School Lunch Program feeds more than 30 million students.

However, having said that, the program is aging. The standards being used for the nutritional protocols and meal requirements are based on legislation that called for using the Dietary Guidelines for Americans from 1995 and the Recommended Dietary Allowances from 1989.

So, what is happening now?
The U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) has requested that an Institute of Medicine committee review and provide recommendations for the much needed modifications. The Institute of Medicine committee decided to take on the project in phases. The first phase maintained the ultimate goal of improving the diets of children by reducing the prevalence of inadequate and excessive food and nutrient intakes. The committee has completed most of their work and has written a proposal. The proposal is currently under review. The committee is getting ready to shore up Phase II. The phase II proposal is expected sometime in fall 2009. The second phase maintains the ultimate goal of understanding current age appropriateness as nutritional requirements change with age and the overall cost implications of the proposed changes.

Things everyone can do
Foster the behavior children need by snacking on fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
Talk with children about their day and their daily dietary habits and behaviors.
Check with your local health department and schools to find out what can be done to help make positive changes.
Ask questions; are vending machines in local schools appropriate?

There is a new and growing nutritional ‘cancer’ overcoming the health of children. Take action and work to prevent lifestyle related illness, diseases and additional costs.

Don't be Stunned, Take Action

2009-10-26T11:13:00.000-04:00

Click here to view maps indicating youth fruit and vegetable consumption by state
Youth Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Maps

Healthy Attitudz fruit snacks are a convenient way to help your child achieve their goals. If you would like to help in an effort to offer fruit snacks at your locals schools and communities, please contact us today.

Remember, it is never to late to start making healthy choices.

Dear Parents, Did you know?

2009-10-26T10:32:00.000-04:00

Dear Parents,

Make sure you are providing your young child with the education and help they need today so they do not become part of the unfavorable statistics of the future. Make their future brighter, start today.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Issues First State by State Report

The Healthy People 2010 objectives aim for at least 75 percent of Americans to eat the recommended two or more daily servings of fruit, and for at least 50 percent of Americans to eat the recommended three or more servings of vegetables daily. What if you knew that the results showed that only 33 percent of adults meet the fruit consumption recommendation and 27 percent meet the vegetable consumption recommendation. What if you were then told that the number of high school students consuming the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables was even lower or much worse. It is time to take action, take charge and ensure that your young child has a fighting chance to rise above. Healthy Attitudz is here to help.

Click here to read the full CDC report CDC Issues First State by State Report

Fundraisers

2009-10-05T15:38:00.000-04:00

Healthy Attitudz mission is to inspire and educate children on making healthy choices. By starting early, the child has a much better chance of sustaining a healthy lifestyle and a better quality of life. Our products make it a fun and tasty Attitudz adjustment!

How many of you concerned parents have looked around when your child brings home a fundraiser package or when a child comes to your door to sell you something for a fundraiser and said to yourself; “Wow, this is a lot of sugar, but it is for a good cause. I’ll buy some”.

A simple Internet search for fundraisers immediately brings up ideas for selling candy bars, bake sale items, candies, doughnuts (a dozen friendly sugar laden, deep fried treats), cookie dough, pizza, cinnamon rolls, soft pretzels, and list unfortunately goes on. All of this to raise funds for school functions, sports teams, and fabulous community causes.

Halt the brakes! Is this really good for our local communities? Can this possibly be good for our children? Did we ever stop and ask ourselves what we were actually teaching our children?

We know the answer to that. An occasional treat as part of a balanced diet is absolutely condoned. However, we must consider the fact that many children do not have a balance diet and the occasional treat doesn’t always have to be doughnuts. It can be something like fruit jerky and homemade cool whip. It is absolutely delicious! I know you are thinking about it now!

Just how many of you are shaking your heads right now and saying, “Yes, we need other options”.

I want to help you change that and offer you something more exciting.

Together we can create the perfect package for you community and your school. There is a huge opportunity to start making a difference in children’s lives through educating them on the value of proper nutrition and making healthy choices. Together we can teach children the responsibility and ethics that go with fundraising for a cause with something they can feel good about promoting. Something they know is healthy. Something they know is a good choice. Something they understand to be nutrient dense and not void of all that is good for their bodies. And as some may say, most importantly, something that tastes yummy!

If you are interested in selling Fruit Jerky bars or the up and coming activity monitoring wrist bands that are coming to the site soon, please by all means, call me, email me, or both!

A Healthy Attitudz is All about BALANCE

2009-09-02T16:07:00.000-04:00

Healthy Attitudz® LLC – Let’s begin our journey together with one of the most important aspects of inspiring and educating a child on the benefits of making healthy choices. That aspect is balance. It is imperative for a child to start learning early that more than anything, being healthy is all about finding balance. As a child grows, he or she will learn to identify a balance between food and fun.

As a parent, you can help to instill this message with your child by explaining energy. The ‘energy in’ is the food they consume. The food is fuel that fills up their tanks. Explain to your child that some fuel is better and lasts longer than other fuels. For example, the energy obtained from a simple sugar snack food item such as a cookie does not provide the sustained energy that an apple provides. Try this! Here is a fun way to interact with your child to educate them on this lesson. Simply ask your child whether or not a food choice provides their growing bodies with good fuel or not so good fuel. Observe as their minds churn as they start to assess what they select before consuming it. It’s fun, try it!

The second half of the balance equation is ‘energy out’. Explain to your child that they fuel their bodies with good fuel so they can produce sustained ‘energy out’. They produce ‘energy out’ when they perform physical activities such as playing, running, skipping, jumping, and even laughing! Here is a fun way to interact with your child to educate them on this lesson. Create a simple fuel tank meter picture with numbers on it from 1 -10, where 1 means that the fuel tank is close to empty. Then, ask your child a couple of questions after they have finished playing their favorite physical activity. Simply ask your child how much ‘energy out’ they feel they created and ask them to point to the fuel meter to show you how full or empty their fuel tanks are. Again, observe their minds churn as their creative minds visualize their own inner fuel tank meters! It’s fun, try it!

Let me know how it goes!

Welcome!

2009-08-31T13:37:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the Healthy Attitudz® blog where as a team we can discuss, share, and inspire each other to create healthy environments for our families and ourselves.