Here at SCOPE HQ, we try to avoid using the term “obesity” because we feel that it looks at the problem from the wrong direction… we are all about helping communities become healthy places that help foster healthy weights among kids, and help prevent childhood obesity. We also know that terms like “overweight” and “obesity” can be loaded ones for families, and instead of placing blame or singling out anyone in particular, we want everyone and every community – big or small, active or inactive – to view the Live 5-2-1-0 as an important guideline to promote healthy, active living for kids… with the ultimate goal of preventing unhealthy weights.
The article focuses on blogs that relate to childhood obesity prevention, and gives a link and a brief description of each blog. I’m familiar with several of the blogs listed, and though I haven’t reviewed all of them, this list looks like it’s covering some great resources and sources of peer support especially for families who may already be struggling with healthy living. It’s worth a look for everyone, and I hope you report back and let us know what you think of them!
I am sure I am not the only one who has heard chocolate milk being promoted as a good option for kids, a way to get them drinking milk and increasing their calcium and vitamin D intake. I’ve also heard it makes for a great after-workout recovery drink.
But lately flavored milk has been receiving more criticism. After a quick review of the facts as given by the Canadian Nutrient File, it can be seen that chocolate milk has about 22 extra grams of sugar (per 250 mL) than regular milk, which equals almost 90 extra calories. Knowing this, is it still worth serving children flavoured milk, or should we concentrate on increasing consumption of plain milk?
Last week the Los Angeles Unified School District decided to take a stand against childhood obesity, becoming the United States’ largest school system to stop serving sugar-laden flavored milk.
Meanwhile grade 4 students in Edmonton are spreading the word of how much sugar is contained in sweetened milk. Their anti-chocolate milk videos and blog have received a lot of attention from the likes of celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, and the CBC. The videos are a lot of fun, so check them out!
So what is the take home message? Everything in moderation. Save the chocolate milk for a weekend treat and lets applaud LA for removing it from their daily school lunches.
Hosted by CBC and their Live Right Now campaign, Run Run Revolution is an inspiring tale of a group of 12 and 13 year olds who were chosen to be part of their schools running team. This group of kids was selected for their diversity and commonality of leading sedentary lifestyles, which makes them representative of many of their Canadian peers. The running team was challenged to a 5km race and team sprint to be raced at the Boston Marathon. Through a cold, snowy and dark winter these kids worked as a team to inspire each other to be the best that they can be.
If you are ready to take the next step and begin your own Run Run Revolution you can access both a physical training guide as well as nutritional information that was used on the show. Do it solo, create a neighborhood group or start your own school team…the possibilities are endless!
For more information, to view the video or to access the training program just visit the Run Run Revolution website.
What do you think of the recent open letter to McDonald’s CEO Jim Skinner, asking to retire Ronald MacDonald, on the grounds that McDonalds’ child-targeted marketing of unhealthy foods is partly responsible for today’s obesity epidemic?
A step in the right direction or barking up the wrong tree?
Here’s an excerpt:
We know the contributors to today’s epidemic are manifold and a broad societal response is required. But marketing can no longer be ignored as a significant part of this massive problem.
We ask that you heed our concern and retire your marketing promotions for food high in salt, fat, sugar, and calories to children, whatever form they take – from Ronald McDonald to toy giveaways. Our children and health care system will benefit from your leadership on this issue.
But should McDonald’s really be carrying the brunt of this burden? The issue of child-targeted advertising is far reaching and quickly becoming more and more complicated in this day and age. For more information on this issue, an April article from the New York Times gives interesting background. Compared to some of the deceptive ad campaigns mentioned in the article, disguised as online games (eg: Honey Nut Cheerios Comic Strip Creation) and social media, old Ronny seems positively wholesome to me.
Well isn’t this just the coolest. Lets Move! has brought superstar Beyonce onboard their campaign. Beyonce has released a catchy workout tune, ‘Move Your Body’ that has kids busting moves across the United States. At 1:42 on Tuesday May 3rd, 2011, 600 schools across the country participated in this coordinated dance workout. The internet is scattered with youtube videos of the dances. With fun campaigns like this it’s easy to see why there is so much energy and momentum behind the Lets Move! intiative.
First Lady Michelle Obama drops by a D.C. School to watch students do the Let’s Move! Flash Workout.
Here, one lucky school receives a visit from Beyonce herself while they are doing their Flash Workout!
I have one in front of me every day at work. I have one in my pocket each and every day, and another in my computer bag, and there’s even one on the Skytrain platform I wait on every day on my commute to work. I am surrounded by screens!
Chef Jamie Oliver knows what we’re talking about. He and his Food Revolution are great advocates for the benefits of cooking fresh, whole foods from scratch. He also speaks out on the sugar-sweetened beverages front. In SCOPE’s 5-2-1-0 guideline, we recommend 0 sugar-sweetened beverages for children. Many parents are surprised to learn that this includes most juices and vitamin drinks as well as pop. When it comes to drinking, it should be all about water and milk. Jamie’s website has a great handout for figuring out if your drinks are high in sugar – you can grab it here!
The Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC) has launched a new health promotion campaign called Live Right Now across all of their platforms, including local and national media, radio, television and on their comprehensive website. Some of the components include
Million Pound Challenge: Challenging Canadians to pledge to lose a million pounds. Village on a Diet: Citizens of Taylor, BC, a small town with one of the country’s highest obesity rates, star in a reality show that documents their work towards the goal of losing 1 Ton in 10 weeks, with the help of experts and each other to shape up and get fit!
Challenges: Sign up to take a series of challenges – from the community level to the family or individual level – walk around the block, ride a bike, shovel the walk… think it up, write it up, and challenge your friends! Physical Activity Challenges
Media-wide coverage of health and fitness-related topics to help Canadians learn more about the problem and ways to deal with it.
A PSA from the US AdCouncil features the cast of Shrek the Third – Fiona, Donkey, Puss and the gang – encouraging kids in english and spanish to “Get up and play an hour a day!”
As cute as it is, this PSA has been criticized widely by researchers, parents and journalists, and it’s easy to see why (see two articles by Weighty Matters blogger here and here). Just search for this PSA on youtube and the very next clip is the McDonalds Shrek the Third commercial. Since Shrek and co. are used to promote health and activity by the US Department of Health and Human Services AND by McDonalds to promote consumption of themed menu choices like chicken mcnuggets, apples with caramel dip and minty mud mcflurries, the concern is obvious: what if kids don’t distinguish between Shrek’s message of healthy activity and his promotion of (mostly) bad food choices?
This is why some lawmakers in the USA are trying to take away the ability for fast food restaurants to sell child-targeted meals with a toy if they contain an unhealthy amount of fat or calories (see this New York Times article). County supervisors in San Francisco have already succeeded. Put differently, if these laws passed, restaurants in those areas wouldn’t be able to sell Happy Meals with a toy, if the meals the toy came with were unhealthy for children. In the recent mid-term elections, these laws did not pass, however their popularity is increasing. Don’t be surprised if you start hearing about that coming up in your neighbourhood too.
So what do you think? What can we do to prevent children’s products from being used to promote unhealthy choices? Do you think it’s important?
The reasons to include kids in cooking are many. Time and again, nutritionists have advocated that involving kids in meal preparation helps them develop an early healthy relationship with food that can last a lifetime. Not only that, but learning new skills builds a child’s self-confidence, and helping create something can give a tremendous sense of accomplishment. It’s also a great way to spend quality time with your kids, and a great rainy-day indoor activity that doesn’t involve TV or the computer (in keeping with our 5-2-1-0 guidelines!).
Of course, the web is overflowing with healthy and not-so healthy recipes that you can make with your kids, and we here at ScopeBC very much prefer the healthy ones.
That being said, The Globe and Mail presented one not-so-healthy cooking idea that was just too fun for us to pass up: Wizard Food. Unfortunately, Harry Potter Land seems to be much like Candy Land, with most recipes being a combination of two or more blood-sugar-raising and artery-clogging foods (take for example, butter beer made by mixing soda with caramel syrup). But! There is one that we support – Three Baking Sheets to the Wind’s Pumpkin Pasty Recipe. Tell your kids this is what Harry ate on the Hogwarts Express, surely that will catch their interest!
The creativity you can bring to kitchen is unlimited, as are the different foods you and your kids can prepare. There are a lot of web and book resources that present healthy recipes, and we’ll be bringing you our favorites in the months to come!
