Partner RESOURCES

National Assoc. for Sport and Physical Education & Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Dr. Howell Wechsler, director of the Division of Adolescent and School Health for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, presented at the National Association for Sport and Physical Education General Session on April 10, 2008. Click here to access Dr. Wechsler's presentation, "Physical Education in the U.S. : A Status Report from the CDC 2006 School Health Policies and Programs Study".

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
"Resource Guide to AHRQ Child and Youth Health and Health Services Data"

This report provides information on accessing and using the child health data sets and measurement tools available through the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The guide was developed by the Oregon Health & Science University, Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative, and is available in both print and as a CD-ROM. Click here to access the resource guide.

National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity
April 2008 State Legislative Report

Click here to download a PDF of the 50-state summary for the week of April 28, 2008.

News from our Partners

National Middle School Association
"Make the Investment in School Wellness Initiatives"

by Nora Howley (former interim executive director and board member of Action for Healthy Kids)

"School leaders, educators, parents, and other education stakeholders are aware of the rising rates of childhood overweight and obesity, and as a result are taking action around the country to help curb this epidemic. The federal wellness policy mandate, which went into effect just over a year ago, provides schools with the unprecedented opportunity to make school wellness a higher priority. The time is now for school leaders and all other concerned individuals to energize their collective efforts to shape students' lifelong habits of good nutrition and physical activity.

Action for Healthy Kids is a national nonprofit organization that works to improve school wellness practices by helping students make better food choices and providing opportunities throughout the school day to move more and more often. Since its inception, Action for Healthy Kids has promoted the most important reason school leaders should invest more time and resources in bringing healthy changes about in schools: healthy kids learn better. Well-nourished and active students are better prepared to achieve their academic best. Action for Healthy Kids' landmark report, The Learning Connection: The Value of Improving Nutrition and Physical Activity in Our Schools, details the crucial link between student health and academic achievement."

Click here to access an online version of the complete article as printed in the April 2008 issue of Middle Ground, a publication of the National Middle School Association.

American Academy of Pediatrics
"Childhood obesity is a growing concern for pediatricians and caregivers. In response to this problem, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) created guidelines for children regarding physical activity and screen time, which includes both watching television and playing video games. The AAP has made the following recommendations:

• boys should take at least 11,000 steps a day;
• girls should take at least 13,000 steps a day; and
• children should limit total screen time to two hours a day. 

A new study evaluates these recommendations and the combined influence of screen time and physical activity on a child's risk of being overweight." 

Click here for a PDF of the complete article as printed in Science Daily (April 16, 2008).

NEW! from Action for Healthy Kids
Tools to Engage Parents in School Wellness

Creating healthier schools requires the engagement and commit­ment of numerous stakeholders, especially in underserved communities where multiple challenges confront millions of children and families every day. Recognizing parents as a largely untapped force for change in school wellness, Action for Healthy Kids has produced a Parents Advocat­ing for School Wellness toolkit. MEE Productions, an organization regarded for its success in mobilizing parents in underserved communities, provided valuable content and technical assistance with the development of this resource. 

The toolkit is designed to help Action for Healthy Kids Teams and other school wellness advocates unlock the potential of parents as change agents and engage them as partners in support of healthier schools for their children. The Parents Advocating for School Wellness toolkit includes materials to help motivate and assist parents - particularly in urban communities - to move from awareness and caring to hands-on advocacy. This kit will help users:

• Understand how to cultivate parents as school wellness advocates, and how to connect with them and communicate effec­tively;
  
• Recruit parent advocates through community organizations and schools as well as by hosting a community informational event;
  
• Train parents on the importance of good nutrition and physical activity;
  
• Provide specific suggestions for how parents can work effectively with schools to promote wellness (based on successes of Action for Healthy Kids Teams); and
  
• Connect with community partners and schools.
  

Through this toolkit, parents and other caring adults can become better informed about the impor­tance of school wellness and be motivated to promote school wellness in local schools and communities. The end goal: mobilizing family-school-community partnerships to make positive contributions to the health of students and schools.

Click here to download a copy of the Parents Advocating for School Wellness toolkit. 

SAVE THE DATE!  June Phone Symposium
Thursday, June 5, 2008
3pm ET/2pm CT/1pm MT/12pm PT
registration is required

Action for Healthy Kids' Partner organizations are invited to join a phone symposium to learn about Farm to School programs in the United States. These programs connect schools with local farms with the objectives of serving healthy meals in school cafeterias, improving student nutrition, providing health and nutrition education opportunities that will last a lifetime, and supporting local small farmers. Farm to School staff members, Anupama Joshi (program director) and Steph Larsen (program policy organizer), will discuss how to help improve student nutrition, and health and nutrition education, while working in partnership with farmers from local communities.

Registration is required for this phone symposium. Please register by sending an e-mail to StateTeams@ActionForHealthyKids.org. Call information and supporting documents will be sent to registrants on Tuesday, June 3^rd.

SPOTLIGHT ON TEAMS

The Nebraska Action for Healthy Kids Team recently held their Moving Forward with School Wellness summit and awards banquet for more than 225 school and health professionals and 35 students. The summit was designed to provide information on how to put school wellness policies into action; promote resources to improve school wellness; and recognize schools that are addressing the epidemic of overweight, undernourished and sedentary youth.

At the summit, 24 schools received Nebraska Action for Healthy Kids' "Healthy Schools Action Awards" for their work to promote health within the school environment. Break-out sessions highlighted "best practice" programs including successes seen in schools and programs that received funds through the Action for Healthy Kids Team Grant Program (made possible by National Dairy Council) to implement a "Back Pack" and "Cooking with Kids Program". Students attended sessions that encouraged their involvement with school wellness and becoming change agents in their communities. 

Click here for more information about the Nebraska Team.

Making Better Food Choices: MyPyramid
The fourth Making Better Food Choices challenge highlights MyPyramid, the symbol and food guidance system from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that encourages Americans to make healthier food choices and to be active every day. It recommends the proportion of foods from each food group and focuses on the importance of making smart food choices from every food group each day. MyPyramid uses a personalized approach to nutrition based on an individual's age, gender and activity level that influence the amounts of food needed from each of the five food groups. Activities from this challenge include:

• Healthy snack taste tests - helping youth taste new and healthy foods can be a fun and effective way to share how to make better food choices by following MyPyramid.
• Foods to taste - feature healthy snacks that incorporate foods that include a mix of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat and fat-free milk and milk products.
• Combination Foods Bar - add a Combination Foods Bar to the cafeteria or a health fair that includes all of the "Food Groups to Encourage" to help students look at, learn about and taste a variety of combination foods.

Moving More: Goal Setting
The fourth Moving More challenge focuses on goal-setting as a key ingredient to success when it comes to making healthy choices. By setting and working toward goals, students can sustain the momentum of Game On! The Ultimate Wellness Challenge. The Goal Setting challenge also features activity pyramids and physical activity tracking tools to inspire and help students to keep moving. 

Resources and activities from We Can! (National Institutes of Health), the National PTA, and the National Association for Sport and Physical Education are promoted through this challenge. These include:

• a booklet and flyer for parents on how to help families balance "energy in" and "energy out";
• a family activity sheet;
• a booklet to help parents promote physical activity and healthy eating at home; and
• tips and ideas for parents who want to help families make better food choices and move more.

The MyPyramid and Goal Setting challenges, along with the complete Game On! The Ultimate Wellness Challenge toolkit, are available through the Action for Healthy Kids website; click here to access this resource directly.

Resources from Action for Healthy Kids Teams

Action for Healthy Kids Teams are leading the way in the development of tools and resources to help wellness advocates educate and engage parents in school wellness. Click on the links below to access resources from Teams that can help with outreach and communication to parents in your community.

Colorado Action for Healthy Kids
Parents are the Power! Toolkit for Creating Change

Pennsylvania Action for Healthy Kids
Pennsylvania Action for Healthy Kids Parent Outreach: Change in Nutrition and Physical Activity Outcomes

Virginia Action for Healthy Kids
Click here to download PDFs of the following resources:
       Healthy Families: Being Active with Your Kids
       Healthy, Creative Ideas for Fundraising
       School Parties: Putting the Health Into Fun
       Healthy Rewards for Kids