This morning, First Lady Michelle Obama announced a national campaign to tackle the challenge of childhood obesity, called “Let’s Move!” 
 
This is an exciting time to be involved in efforts to help children lead healthier lives.  The First Lady is deeply committed to children’s health and has taken on the issue of promoting a healthy weight in children.  The Let’s Move! campaign announced this morning will help parents make healthy family choices, increase opportunities for children and families to be physically active, ensure our kids have access to healthy meals in their schools, and help increase access to affordable, quality, and nutritious foods.
  
Official Let’s Move! Web site:  http://www.letsmove.gov/
 
White House Let’s Move! Press Release:  http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/first-lady-michelle-obama-launches-lets-move-americas-move-raise-a-healthier-genera

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Contact: OPHS Press Office
(202) 205-0143

First Lady Michelle Obama, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin announced plans today to help Americans lead healthier lives through better nutrition, regular physical activity, and by encouraging communities to support healthy choices. At a YMCA in Alexandria, VA, they talked directly with national and local leaders, parents and health professionals about reducing overweight and obesity in adults and children.

The First Lady recently announced that she will launch a major initiative on childhood obesity in the next few weeks and has asked HHS to play a key role. Today, HHS released The Surgeon General’s Vision for a Healthy and Fit Nation. In her first release to the nation, Dr. Benjamin highlights the alarming trend of overweight and obese Americans, and asks them to join her in a grassroots effort to commit to changes that promote the health and wellness of our families and communities.

“The surge in obesity in this country is nothing short of a public health crisis that is threatening our children, our families, and our future,” said First Lady Michelle Obama. “In fact, the health consequences are so severe that medical experts have warned that our children could be on track to live shorter lives than their parents. The paper released today is an incredibly important step in directing the Nation’s attention to solving the obesity epidemic and we do not have a moment to waste.”

The prevalence of obesity has more than doubled among adults and has tripled among children and adolescents from 1980 to 2004. Currently, two-thirds of adults and nearly one in three children are overweight or obese. Increased food intake, a sedentary lifestyle, and environments that make it difficult for people to make healthy choices but easy to consume extra calories, all contribute to the epidemic of overweight and obesity. This epidemic threatens the progress we have made in increasing Americans’ quality and years of healthy life.

“Curbing the obesity epidemic requires committed people and organizations across the nation working together to take action,” said Secretary Sebelius. “Today, we outline a vision for the nation that requires parents, neighborhoods, the medical community, employers, schools and individuals to take a coordinated and comprehensive approach to combating overweight and obesity.”

Additionally, many racial and ethnic groups and geographic regions of the United States are disproportionately affected. For instance, African American girls and Hispanic boys are more likely to be obese compared to non-Hispanic whites. Among adults, American Indian and Alaskan native adults have the highest rates of obesity. The sobering impact of these numbers is reflected in the nation’s concurrent epidemics of diabetes, heart disease and other chronic diseases. Researchers warn that if trends are not reversed, our children will be seriously afflicted with medical conditions such as diabetes and heart disease in early adulthood.

“Americans will be more likely to change their behavior if they have a meaningful reward - something more than just reaching a certain weight or dress size,” said Dr. Benjamin. “The real reward is invigorating, energizing, joyous health. It is a level of health that allows people to embrace each day and live their lives to the fullest without disease or disability.”

The recommendations in The Surgeon General’s Vision for a Healthy and Fit Nation include:

Improving our communities – Neighborhoods and communities should become actively involved in creating healthier environments. The availability of supermarkets, outdoor recreational facilities and the limitation of advertisements of less healthy foods and beverages are all examples of ways to create a healthier living environment.

Healthy Choices and Healthy Home Environments – Change starts with the individual choices Americans make each day for themselves, their families and those around them. Reducing the consumption of sodas and juices with added sugars; eating more fruits, vegetables and whole grains; limiting television time; and being more physically active help us achieve and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Creating Healthy Child Care Settings – It is estimated that more than 12 million children ages 0-6 receive some form of child care on a regular basis from someone other than their parents. Parents should talk with their child care providers about changes to promote their children’s health.

Creating Healthy Schools – To help students develop life-long health habits, schools should provide appealing healthy food options including fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, water and low-fat beverages. School systems should also require nutrition standards and daily physical education for students.

Creating Healthy Work Sites – Employers can implement wellness programs that promote healthy eating in cafeterias, encourage physical activity through group classes and create incentives for employees to participate.

Mobilizing Medical Communities – Medical care providers must make it a priority to teach their patients about the importance of good health. Doctors and other health care providers are often the most trusted source of health information and are powerful role models for healthy lifestyle habits.

To view The Surgeon General’s Vision for a Healthy and Fit Nation, visit www.surgeongeneral.gov
Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at
http://www.hhs.gov/news.

aritcle from KidsHelath.org Kids Health and all its wonderful articles regarding health for the entire family can be found at KidsHealth.org Please visit.

Preschoolers have a lot of energy, and they use it in a more organized way than when they were toddlers. Instead of just running around in the backyard, a preschooler has the physical skills and coordination to ride a tricycle or chase a butterfly.

Preschoolers are also discovering what it means to play with a friend instead of just alongside another child, as toddlers do. By being around other kids, a preschooler gains important social skills, such as sharing and taking turns. Despite occasional disputes, preschoolers learn to cooperate and interact during play.

Helping Kids Learn New Skills

Preschoolers develop important motor skills as they grow. New skills your preschooler may be showing off include hopping, READ MORE

A year or so ago my daughter complained of flank pain (pain on the side of her torso towards the back). This was especially alarming to me since her fraternal twin sister has kidney issues which were originally diagnosed based on the very same complaint.

After x-rays, ultrasounds and visits to the pediatric urologist and pediatric GI, it was determined that her issue was strictly digestive! Her kidneys had become swollen to the point of improper function due to constipation. Believe it!

Initially, the treatment was somewhat aggressive. I had wanted to treat her based on diet alone, but her urologist cautioned that her condition was at a point severe enough that medication was the most appropriate first step with maintenance via diet and exercise becoming the lifestyle once the immediate conditioned was resolved. So, as kidneys and digestive track were once again functioning properly, the charge of maintaining her good health through diet and exercise fell to me. Luckily, she’s not a picky eater, so I didn’t think my job would be that tough. I was wrong!

I’ve discovered that, even if you have the best eater in the world (which this daughter is), she may still suffer from tummy-aches and other discomforts due to constipation. I try to prevent her problems by keeping myself educated, controlling as much of her diet as possible, building meaningful physical activity into her day and employing dietary fiber supplements. So far, our daily lifestyle choices have been paying off!

While we had been making headway, we were still very pleased to have been recently introduced to Pedia-Lax Fiber Gummies. My daughter loves these gummy supplements, and it’s much easier to have her munch on one or two of the yummy Pedia-Lax Fiber Gummies, than it is to mix a powdered supplement into a food or beverage for her (since the taste is always altered a bit). Plus…they really serve their purpose! The Pedia-Lax Fiber Gummies help keep her “regular”, consequently, keeping her tummy-aches to a minimum! What a relief for mom!

To learn more about the Pedia-Lax Fiber Gummies, please continue reading or just click here…

Introduced in 2009, Pedia-Lax® Fiber Gummies, are a daily fiber supplement made just for kids by Fleet®, a trusted brand for digestive health for more than 100 years.  So many kids lack the proper amount of fiber in their diets, but wrinkle their little noses at the kinds of foods that will add it in (my kids love to say “Mom, I don’t WANT brown bread!”).  Pedia-Lax Fiber Gummies are a great, tasty and sugar-free way to get some much-needed fiber into your little ones’ diets.  I’ve included some important info below and hope you will consider reviewing the product and telling your readers about it.

In 2009 the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) significantly increased the recommended daily fiber intake standards, far above the previous “age plus five” rule. In fact, today’s updated guidelines recommend 25 grams of fiber per day for four-year-old children. But how do we meet these requirements and get our children to eat high in fiber foods?

Now there’s a delicious daily fiber supplement to help kids ages 2-11 maintain better digestive health and stay regular.* The penguin-shaped, great tasting Pedia-Lax Fiber Gummies are sugar-free, calorie-free, gluten-free and made with natural fruit flavors. With a recommended serving of three gummies every day, (equal to ½ cup of broccoli!), Pedia-Lax Fiber Gummies are a great way to supplement the fiber found in fruits, vegetables and other fiber-rich foods in your child’s daily diet. It’s a great solution to help bridge the gap between the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended amount of fiber and the fiber that kids actually consume in their daily diet.  Bonus…Pedia-Lax Fiber Gummies are dentist approved!!!

GKM readers can visit http://www.fibergummies.com/ where they will get a $1.00 off coupon and use the “store locator” to see where the product is sold in their area. And, because we know getting kids to eat foods high in fiber without complaint is a challenge faced by many moms, the Fiber Gummies website also offers helpful tips on how to incorporate a delicious, high-fiber diet into a busy family’s lifestyle with tips for meal planning and easy-to-make recipes on the website, too.
 
* This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

By Emily Esposito
Taste This! TV

Childhood obesity is on the rise, and it is now more important than ever for parents to teach their children at an early age how to eat healthy and learn to love those healthy foods. That is where Chef Joe Ciminera comes in.

Chef Ciminera has found much success working under some of the nation’s top chefs including Daniel Boulud, Christian Doulevere, Pierre Manor, Mike Depirito and Jean Louis Pallidan as well as working at world renowned restaurants such as Le Cirque, Les Celebrites, Le Petite Bijou and Carmines. He is also the chef and host of Taste This! TV, a nationally televised cooking show on PBS. All of his experiences have helped him gain a foundation for his work which has informed his current philosophy: “there are no rules in cooking”.

The Food For Kids seven day meal plan is an approach to get kids on the right track to eating healthier. The plan is broken down for each day of the week and then again by each meal. This allows parents and children to follow along with chef Ciminera as he shows you how to prepare these easy, delicious and nutritious meals and snacks. Chef Ciminera will teach you that often it is not about completely changing the way your child eats, but substituting certain ingredients for healthier ones that many kids never even notice. After spending two years trying out his recipes on kids throughout the country, the final result is over 30 kid approved recipes that are easy to make and healthy.

After consulting with children across the country, Chef Ciminera understands what minor changes need to be made in order to get a child to eat healthier. The first is to involve the child in the food preparation. Because the children have helped make the meal, they see eating it as their reward. Children also tend to eat foods that are colorful and fun. Chef Ciminera discusses how to accomplish fun and colorful meals and all the small changes that make a big difference in the way your child eats and their overall health.

To learnmore about Chef Ciminera, his television show and his number one concern, visit http://www.foodforkids.info/ 

Also, Chef Ciminera has shared some recipes with the GKM visitors. Click here to try Chef Ciminera’s kid-tested and approved, healthy family recipes.