KU health and fitness day gives kids chance to see college basketball

By Lindsey Slater

November 18, 2008

For an 11 a.m. game on a Tuesday, the stands were pretty full for the Kansas University women’s basketball game against Iowa.

The attendance of more than 3,500 students, teachers, parents and administrators representing Lawrence public elementary schools helped.

Tuesday was the first time that KU planned a health and fitness day with such a large group. Students in third through sixth grades from all of the city’s 15 elementary schools cheered on the Jayhawks and learned a thing or two about what it means to be a student athlete.

Women’s head coach Bonnie Henrickson was impressed with how well the youngsters seemed to know the game.

“Elementary school kids have great basketball IQ in Lawrence because they really knew when we needed help,” she said after KU won, 76-55. “They got loud when we needed them to be loud.”

The kids were more than happy to help cheer on the women.

“It was pretty cool,” said Anya Dickinson-Cove, a fifth-grader at Schwegler School. “Once they got the lead, it was no doubt they’re going to win.”

There were even a few future coaches in the crowd.

“They played really well today,” said Joshua Thomas, a sixth-grader at New York School. “Next time they play, I think that they should do a little bit more defense.”

Before the game, sixth-graders spent time learning about safety, nutrition, fitness and goal setting from the athletic staff and players.

Afterward, some Jayhawk athletes took to the court to answer questions.

“Being an athlete is tough,” said senior Marcus Herford, a wide receiver for KU’s football team. “It’s a tough deal, but we take it on each day with vigor.”

Junior softball outfielder Ally Stanton said she was surprised how many kids were in the stands.

“We felt like little rock stars. They’re so cute,” she said.

KU Athletics and their sponsors paid for everything for the students, from lunch to T-shirts.

And this first experience was a positive one for the school district and student athletes alike.

“We have kids that may or may not be able to do something like this with their families, so to give them this opportunity is just great,” said Anne Hawks, a curriculum specialist for the Lawrence district.

Students also had the chance to get autographs from the women’s basketball team after the game.

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Are you concerned about the quality of the food your child is eating at school? Many parents are, and for good reason. School cafeterias have long been criticized for offering unhealthy choices like fast food and french fries instead of healthier fare. So what can you do to help your child’s school district shape up? Here are a few ideas from the experts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

• Get the kids involved. Urge school officials to form a student council to examine the issue. Then have the kids themselves identify which foods could be replaced by healthier options.
• Persuade your district to make healthy eating fun, with contests that promote both physical activity and healthy eating.
• Suggest to your child’s teacher that he or she include daily exercise breaks during class time to cut down on children’s chair time. Taking a stretch break can help reduce stress and improve concentration — so they’ll do better in school too!

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Want to help your kids break the junk-food habit? Try offering them these seven healthy snack options recommended by the National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases:

1. Fresh fruit
2. Canned fruit in juice or light syrup
3. Small amounts of dried fruits like raisins, apple rings, or apricots
4. Fresh vegetables such as baby carrots, zucchini slices, tomato wedges, or cucumber spears
5. Reduced fat cheese or small amounts of peanut butter on whole-wheat crackers
6. Low-fat yogurt with fruit
7. Graham crackers, animal crackers, or low-fat vanilla wafers

For more healthy and easy snack ideas, try my Fit Kids Eat Right snacks!

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When you serve meals to your children, are their plates piled sky high? If so, you may be teaching them to overeat without realizing it, say researchers from Cornell University. In their study, the experts found that serving sizes were the best predictor of how much a child would eat. This contradicts earlier studies that suggested children only eat when they are hungry or when they’re having a growth spurt. In fact, such big portions may explain why weight problems run in certain families. Parents who were raised in homes where plates were loaded up at mealtimes may in turn pass the unhealthy tradition along to their own children.

So, do your kids a favor and help them learn what an “average” serving size looks like. If you aren’t sure yourself, check out the nutrition label on the product package and use measuring cups until you can “eyeball” the correct amount. It’s a healthy lesson that you — and your child — will benefit from for a lifetime!

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Tue Jan 1, 4:26 PM

LONDON (AFP) - Britain introduced a ban on advertising junk food to under-16s Tuesday, aimed at promoting healthy eating and countering growing child obesity.

The ban, which extends measures already in place for under-10s, will curb television adverts for food and drink products with high fat, salt and sugar content.

Specifically the new measures, agreed last year, will ban adverts for junk food and drink around all programmes of particular appeal to children under 16 years.

According to official data released in October half of all Britons will be obese in 25 years if current trends are not halted; furthermore, 86 percent of men will be overweight in 15 years and 70 percent of women in 20.

Some campaigners say the ban which came into force Monday does not go far enough, calling for a total ban on junk food ads after 9:00 pm.

“We need urgent action to help people, especially children, avoid the less healthy, less happy and, ultimately, shorter life that obesity leads to,” said Richard Watts of the Children’s Food Campaign.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown launched a new 100-million-pound (205-million-dollar, 145-million-euro) programme in October aiming to increase from two to five the number of hours of physical education in schools per week.

Some 2.3 million pounds has already been set aside in the last 10 years to increase the number of hours of sport in school.

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As a parent you may wonder how you can help your child make wise choices in the school cafeteria. Is there any way to get them to bypass the pizza and fries and choose wholesome foods like milk, vegetables, and lean entrees instead? Yes, says a study published in the Journal of Child Nutrition and Management! The secret? Give kids nutritional information about the foods and they’ll make better choices.

To test their theory, the researchers watched what children ate for a six-week period at several school districts, including schools in urban, rural, and suburban settings. Then the researchers posted nutritional data listing the calorie count and fat content of each item served. Sure enough, once armed with the facts, children started making wiser choices — opting for cheese pizza (which has less calories and fat) over pepperoni, for example.

While the experts admitted that children might not always choose salads over burgers, any small changes to improve their diets help. Ask your school to post nutritional data in the lunchroom, or get a menu and work out the numbers yourself. You’ll help show your children how everyday choices add up to big results!

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For those of you who have been following my blog here you know I have been reporting on the battle to reform the media’s influence on childhood obesity. Today was the day that the joint commission of the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Health and Human services sat down at a workshop to reveal a report on how the 57 programs studied by the Associated Press have been reformed.

To give you some background I started following this story back in April of this year when there was talk about the FCC needing to get involved in regulation of all advertising practices geared toward kids and junk food marketing. In May of this year there was some buzz on Capital Hill about limiting the amount of junk food advertising toward children. Ed Markey(D-Mass.) has been the one at the forefront in pushing the FCC to get involved.

According to a June 4th article the FTC says that there are 9% fewer ad’s-5,538 in 2004 down from 6,100 in 1977. To me,while this may seem to be a significant decrease to some we still have a long way to go. The Kaiser Family Foundation 2005 study released in March showed a number double of what the FTC study showed.

95% of todays current advertising is pitching fast foods and restaurants,high sugar-cereal,desserts,sweets,snacks,and sweetened drinks.

Going back to the Associated Press report they feel that of the 57 programs currently being funded that encourage healthy eating habits among young kids the $1 billion to fund these programs is being wasted.

The government task force report was due out this month,but now has been pushed back to September. Food industry lobbyists are the ones responsible for influencing the delay of the report.

Also it is worth mentioning that the task force which was initiated by our own state Senator Sam Brownback was not meant to be a finger pointing mechanism but rather a tool to join hands against the fight against childhood obesity.

Now with that being said I traditionally do not vote republican when I go to the polls. I come from a democratic household and thus vote democrat when I feel we have a candidate worth voting for. However, I have applauded Senator Brownback for taking the initiative to get a movement any kind of movement going in an effort to focus on prevention so that we don’t have to spend money into treatment of obesity down the road.

One thing too is that I fail to see why the junk food marketers tend to target a population that is such a vulnerable market? These are the formative years when a child’s mind is still learning and growing. We should be instilling in them healthy eating and living habits instead of habits that will create problems that we have to pick up the tab for until they turn 18 and can go find their own insurance and pay their own bills.

In Kansas their was a study done around the early part of this decade that found that the state was spending well over $300 million in obesity related expenses from the medicare/medicaid budget. That is money that could have been used to expand the food stamp program so that recipients could maybe get more. A family of two like myself and my son are actually allowed just over $200 a month, but we get $157 a month.

Ok so now I am rambling on a bit I tend to do that when I get on a subject I am passionate about. I did an extensive amount of research last semester into the state food stamp program for a project I had to do for a class and what I learned I could use for content on this blog for many many weeks and months to come.

Additional Source not linked to: Media Post Publications

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Children With “Adult” Diabetes?

Here’s a scary result of the increase in childhood obesity: A new study confirms that it’s been accompanied by a spike in the number of children diagnosed with type 2 — or adult onset — diabetes around the globe. In fact, some 45 percent of teens with diabetes now have type 2. Unlike type 1, which is caused by an inherited disorder where the pancreas doesn’t make enough insulin, in type 2 diabetes the body becomes desensitized to insulin. Both types are serious, chronic illnesses that dramatically increase the risk of other problems (like kidney failure or heart disease). So beware!

What can parents do to protect their children? Fight back against the two primary causes of type 2 diabetes — a sedentary lifestyle and excess weight! But don’t ever put your child on a diet by yourself. If you’re concerned about the risk of diabetes, the best place to start is with a visit to the doctor for professional advice!

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Childhood fitness emphasized in local programs

Schools, YMCA promote activities to fight youth obesity

By: Glen Reese

Thursday, July 5, 2007 5:17 PM CDT

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Childhood fitness has become a hot topic in the nation with recent studies reporting the widespread dilemma of youth obesity.

The Raytown School District and private entities in the Raytown area are taking the problem seriously.

Elementary schools have a district fitness program for students every third school day. Four areas are emphasized: upper body strength, flexibility, abdominal strength and cardiovascular endurance, which is promoted through a mile run.

“We stress various fitness activities,” Westridge Elementary School physical education teacher Michael Mitchell said. “We try to be creative. We have them playing team sports and low organizational games at the same time.”

A lot of the students are out of school for the summer. Sitting inside watching television or playing video games is OK — to a point, Mitchell said.

“There’s nothing wrong with video games,” Mitchell said. “But stay active with physical activities, too. Ride your bike, play with friends or get into a league. We want well-rounded students. We encourage them to read. We want them to work both their minds and their bodies. Don’t be one-dimensional.”

The Raytown YMCA has myriad programs to help kids stay active during the summer months.

“We have something for beginners and kids every night,” health and wellness director Chris Bessmer said. “That’s a passion for me. We take in everybody and make it as cheap as we possibly can.”

The YMCA offers lessons for the Latin dance Zumba and beginner step aerobics. The Family Fitness Challenge is held on most Monday nights featuring physical educational games, and a handout covering a different topic is distributed each week.

Sports World is new this year. Kids use weight balls and plastic noodles for cardiovascular exercises. The Teen and Tween program teaches youths and teenagers how to use the YMCA exercise equipment correctly.

Dance, Dance Revolutions is held in the arcade area with constantly moving dance steps shown on a screen using a PlayStation. A summer school physical education program is available for ages 5 to 15 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

A Kid-Power program will start in the fall with the goal of warding off childhood obesity. Challenge sheets will be handed out featuring topics such as nutrition, cardiovascular fitness and muscular fitness.

The YMCA has been working with KMBC-TV on a fitness challenge, coming up with creative ways to keep children active.

“We want to introduce kids to a healthy lifestyle and make it fun at the same time,” Bessmer said. “It’s all working out.”

Parental involvement is a big part of the solution.

“Parents need to be a so-called role model,” Bessmer said. “My parents didn’t work out, so I didn’t really get into fitness until I was in college. Parents have the No. 1 impact on their kids. They need the correct knowledge so that they can take it back home with them to pass on to the kids.”

Staff writer Glen Reese can be reached at 358-6397 or greese@npgco.com.

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This was from a blog post from my 360 page a few months ago I wanted to repost it here as I thought it is still something worth keeping on the front burner.

Kids’ Advertisers Bolster Defenses at ANA Conference

Lawyers Warn Marketers to Prepare for a Litigious 2007

By Stephanie Thompson and Lisa Sanders

Published: January 17, 2007

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Lawyers are rolling up their sleeves for the bounty of work in the children’s advertising arena this year surrounding obesity and, likely, a whole lot more.

Despite intimating that no peace is in sight for an industry trying to protecting itself against potential litigants, John Feldman was adamant that food marketers not be constrained by critics and regulations.

“2007 will be a year of focus on kids’ advertising,” said John Feldman, partner at law firm Reed Smith, at the Association of National Advertisers’ Advertising Law & Business Affairs Conference that began today. At the conference, Mr. Feldman announced the creation of KidAdLaw.com, a website offering news and updates on regulatory activities pertaining to marketing to children.

Right now, he said, the scrutiny is on food marketers’ advertising to children, but a number of other self-regulated categories could be next on the docket. “Politically,” he said, “what gets traction better than kids?”

‘Children’s Advertising in the Crosshairs’
Mr. Feldman and C. Lee Peeler, president-CEO of the National Advertising Review Council, appeared in a panel dubbed “Overweight and Overwrought: Children’s Advertising in the Crosshairs.”

At issue were what Mr. Feldman calls the “rules of the sandbox” for marketers of children’s products or services amid newly revised guidelines for the Children’s Advertising Review Unit and the creation of a Children’s Food & Beverage Advertising Initiative led by the top 10 marketers in the kids’ package-goods space.

Despite intimating that no peace is in sight for an industry trying to protecting itself against potential litigants, Mr. Feldman was adamant that food marketers not be constrained by critics and regulations. “If you’re in the business of selling candy, sell candy; if you’re in the business of selling burgers, sell burgers,” he said. Where marketers need to tread carefully in this high-stakes game of “gotcha” is in dressing up products as healthy when they’re not.

“If you make something that is a treat, full of fat and calories, any implication that it’s healthy is dangerous,” he said.

‘The No. 1 commercial pariah’
Indeed, if food marketers aren’t careful, said Guy M. Blynn, VP-deputy general counsel, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., they could end up like his employer, which he called “the No. 1 commercial pariah in America.”

Mr. Blynn, along with Geoffrey K. Beach, a partner at law firm Jones Day, spoke on a panel called “Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire.” They shared lessons learned and advice going forward for attendees, such as those from Big Food, who may find themselves in similar situations.

For example, Mr. Beach suggested several approaches to writing and keeping documents that may help marketers in the case of a lawsuit. When even a memo outlining a brainstorming session can come back to bite a company in court, “context is key,” he said. One little explanatory paragraph at the start of a document could be enough to show the true weight of a printed statement. It is also important to remember that documents will be around for a long, long time, so “mean what you say, and say what you mean.”

The ultimate key to staying out of the courts, however, may lie in permission-based direct marketing, they said. It’s all about making it hard to opt in and easy to opt out. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco’s age-verification process is multitiered and backed up by either face-to-face proof or third-party verification — but that’s a lot to go through to buy a box of Oreos.

We need education in society to make healthy food choices it is sad when we have left common sense so far at the end of the universe that we now have to have regulatory measures to keep us from buying junk food not only for us but our children. Furthermore what the hell is up with letting children control the junk food that comes into the house and the marketing anyway. Just say no to your kids they will get over it. They dont need moon pies, candy bars, snack cakes, and all that other crap. I say no to my kid at least a thousand times if not more when it comes to junk food and the purchase of it in the store or wherever we may be. We have at minimum ice cream on a regular basis around here. I did buy him Yogos the other day but I rationed them out to him. I don’t let him have all the candy he gets at Halloween, and Valentines day. I go through it pick out the junk and then let him have what I consider the healthier of the lot. Then I trash the rest of it. He is better for it and he has demonstrated at school to his teachers that he can make healthy food choices at breakfast and lunch.

It starts in the home parents need to get the kids out from in front of the TV anyway if they arent in front of the TV 24/7 then they arent exposed to the ads pure and simple. I let my son watch maybe two hrs a night tops of tv. On the weekends it is negotiable depending on what there is on TV that I want to watch. Moderation is also key if you really feel that it is going to be detrimental to your relationship with your child to never let him or her have junk food then learn how to ration it out to them so they dont make gluttons of themselves.

I am on a limited income but just because I am on a limited income doesnt mean I have to eat junk. I can still eat healthy. Instead of macaroni and cheese and hot dogs with white bread have a lean hamburger with low fat sliced cheese and a vegetable it really does cost about the same maybe just a little more but it is worth it to spend more on healthy foods than junk foods.

I want to hear your thoughts fire away and hold nothing back. Just try and be respectful and no name calling at the very least.

Joe

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