Posts Tagged ‘childhood obesity’

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Snack Time

February 12th, 2013

We’re one step closer to winning the battle of childhood obesity.  The USDA just released the new “Smart Snacks in School” proposal to provide national standards geared towards increasing healthy food options in vending machines and snack bars. As required by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, the USDA is striving to help improve the health and well-being of our children by creating nutrition standards for all foods sold in schools. 

The new proposed standards have been established using evidence-based research, existing standards currently implemented by schools, and healthy food and beverages already available in the marketplace.  The proposal identifies food allowances such as snacks with 200 calories or less, water, low-fat milk, plain or flavored fat-free milk, and 100% juice for middle and high schools.  The new proposed standards for healthier foods will impact all foods sold during the school day.  Kids will be able to purchase healthy meals, snacks, and beverages once the rules are final. The proposed rules will not apply to after-school hours, weekends, or off-campus fundraising events.

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Workin’ Out

February 11th, 2013

Student participation in PE and sports has lots of benefits like improved social skills, confidence, general health, well-being and healthier weight.  According to the CDC rates for obesity among students with disabilities are 38% higher than for students without disabilities.  Students who have intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities and mobility limitations have the highest obesity rates. Ensuring that students with disabilities are afforded their right to participate in physical education and sports can be an effective strategy in making progress toward achieving our winnable battles.  

Last week, in a letter to school districts, the US Department of Education provided sample scenarios and guidance for increasing participation of students with disabilities in PE and extracurricular activities, including sports. The guidance includes examples of reasonable modifications which may help schools in providing physical activities for all students.  Under section 504, of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, students with disabilities are ensured access to educational and extracurricular activities available to other students; however sports opportunities have been limited.  For more information you may contact our Office for Children with Special Health Care Needs.

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Mealtime

February 7th, 2013

Does when you eat make a difference in how much you weigh? A new study in the International Journal of Obesity indicates eating late may make it less likely you will lose weight as quickly. The five-month study was done in Spain and included 420 people in a weight loss program using the Mediterranean Diet. People in the study were grouped into early-eaters and late-eaters (lunch before/after 3pm). The late-lunch eaters lost less weight even though their calorie intake and other factors (like amount of sleep) were similar in the two groups. 

Does this mean you should eat your big meal earlier in the day? Maybe and maybe not.  Remember, the people in the study were in a supervised weight loss program and eating a diet rich in good-for-you fats (like olive oil) and with lots of fruits and vegetables. For you, a good place to start is taking a look at how much and when you eat along with how much physical activity you get each day. Try out the Choose MyPlateSupertracker. It’s a great tool to use to track your progress on eating healthy and moving more. You can switch up the size and timing of when you eat and see if being an “early-eater” makes a difference for you.

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Selling Food

January 16th, 2013

Food marketing to children and teens is a major public health concern. Earlier this year, the Walt Disney Company announced it will no longer accept advertisements for junk food on its child-directed television, radio, and online sites.  Disney also updated its nutrition standards for foods that can be advertised to children.

The food and beverage industry spends $2 billion per year advertising food to children.  Kids aged 2-11 years old see an average of 13 food ads a day, mainly promoting unhealthy foods. This contributes to our country’s obesity epidemic; one in every three children is overweight or obese. To see some of the best and the worst examples of advertising food to children, check out the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity — Food Marketing Practices. 

Food marketing can make the job for parents harder or it can be used to promote healthy eating. In a recent study by Cornell University, children chose apples over cookies when Elmo stickers were placed on the apples. (The Elmo sticker increased the consumption of apples, though, did not have an effect when placed on the cookies.) 

Our nutrition education programs like the Arizona Nutrition Network and WIC do a good job of promoting healthy foods but are small compared to industry efforts. The Food Marketing Workgroup (FMW) is made up of partners like the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), the American Heart Association, the National PTA, and other organizations. They are working together to eliminate harmful food marketing, particularly marketing aimed at people most vulnerable to obesity. The FMW is now urging Nickelodeon to stop marketing junk food to kids. To find out how you can be part of this action, visit the FMW website.

 

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New Electronic Birth Certificate ‘Round the Corner

December 26th, 2012

Our Vital Records shop does a lot more than manage the State’s birth and death certificate system (which we’ve been doing since 1885).  We’re also an integral part of the Nation’s Vital Statistics System, which serves as the backbone of national data sharing in public health. The data collected under the National Vital Statistics System works in partnership with the National Center for Health Statistics to produce critical information on public health topics like teenage births and birth rates, prenatal care and birth weight, risk factors for adverse pregnancy outcomes, infant mortality rates, leading causes of death, and life expectancy.  All these data are retrieved from the nation’s network of Vital Records shops like ours. 

There have been two birth certificate standards that the states are currently following – the 1989 and the 2003 standard. We’ve been one of the states that had been following the 1989 standard- but not anymore.  Beginning the first week in January, we’ll be turning the key on the new 2003 Standard.  The new Electronic Birth Registration System that we’ll be using will collect a lot more public health surveillance data.  It’s also an electronic system- which will make things much faster and efficient.  The new system will have impacts all throughout our Strategic Plan.  Here are a couple examples: 

  • A1 – Reduce Obesity – The former 1989 standard had zero data on the mother’s height and weight- meaning we couldn’t calculate the mom’s BMI.  Starting next week, we’ll be able to collect this data- which will give us better surveillance- and in turn, help us identify more targeted public health interventions- helping us to make progress in reducing critical risk factors for poor maternal and child health outcomes.
  • A2 – Reduce Tobacco Use and Substance Abuse –  The old system only captured generic measures about maternal smoking during pregnancy.  The new system will have specific cigarette smoking data before and during pregnancy- providing rich data for prevention activities- helping us to improve birth outcomes. 

Other important data elements include information on breastfeeding, whether mother received food during pregnancy from the WIC program (helping us to better evaluate our WIC program), critical medical data elements like congenital anomalies, and fertility treatments (Assisted Reproductive Technology)…  all of which provide newer opportunities for prevention.  The public health applications that the new system will provide are too long to list in a short blog like this… but they’re substantial- believe me.  We’re even going to be able to incorporate the data we’ll be collecting in the new system into our new Midwife rules. 

From a customer service perspective, the new system has improved security for fraud prevention and will provide speedier transactions for printing birth certificates at the county level.  Thanks to all the IT and vital records team that put in the endless hours to make this new application possible.

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Energize Our Borders

October 9th, 2012

I just got back from this year’s (30th annual) United States-Mexico Border Governor’s Conference in Albuquerque- called “Energize Our Borders”.  It was an opportunity to further strengthen the ties of friendship, security, and economic prosperity among the 10 states that comprise our United States-Mexico border region.  The Conference is made up of 7 worktables including Agriculture and Livestock; Competitiveness; Sustainable Development; Education; Logistics and International Crossings; Health and Emergency Management; and Border Security. 

As part of my job, I’m your delegate to the Health and Emergency Management Worktable. I worked with my counterpart and good friend, Dr. Bernardo Campillo, the Secretario de SaludPublica, for Sonora (along with delegates from the other 8 states) this week on action items for our 3 joint recommendations: 

  • Strengthen our relationship with the United States-Mexico Border Health Commission in order to better target the prevention of obesity among children and adolescents and to leverage their knowledge and experience in identifying best practices and promote them in the region.
  • Explore methods for program outreach and development related to reducing substance abuse through prevention and treatment programs and improving knowledge on healthy living; reducing vehicular childhood injuries; and highlighting opportunities to promote Medical Tourism.
  • Work with our federal authorities to establish a framework to support cross-border emergency mutual aid, and provide for the cooperation of states, counties and cities during emergencies and natural disasters.

We’ll execute the joint recommendations over the next year using specific action items.  For example: Arizona and Sonora have been focusing on reducing vehicular childhood injuries by exploring how we could use the Safe Kids model bi-nationally, since Safe Kids Mexico now exists and is actively looking at how to develop their state programs. Thursday I gave a presentation about how we use Safe Kids here in Arizona and perhaps how the work that Arizona and Sonora is doing could be used as a model for the other states along the border.

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Menu Labeling & the ACA

October 4th, 2012

You might have noticed that more and more restaurants and fast food places are starting to put calorie and other nutrition information on their menus.  That’s not a coincidence or accident- they’re getting ready for the upcoming menu nutrition labeling requirements in the Affordable Care Act.  Section 4205 of the new law requires restaurants with 20 or more locations to post calorie content information for standard menu items directly on the menu and menu boards.  Vending machine operators with 20 or more machines are also required to disclose calorie content for certain items. 

This kind of upcoming nutrition clarity is a real opportunity for public health change.  Not only will the new labels give the public key information to help them make better decisions about what they buy for themselves and their families- it’ll give pause to restaurants before they label their menus- giving them an opportunity to change ingredients to lower calorie counts.  It may even spur a trend away from “super-sizes” and toward more appropriate and reasonable serving sizes.  With 32% of the calories consumed in the US tied to eating outside the home- this is an important opportunity.  

But it’ll only help if people know what to look for and how to make informed decisions with the new info.  That’s where the Arizona and national public health systems come in.  We’ll have an opportunity over the next couple of years to take advantage of this new information and maximize its utility.  A great way to get ready to use the information that is appearing on restaurant menus is to know more about what and how much you need to eat to be at your best. Check out the USDA SuperTracker to get your personalized nutrition and physical activity plan, track your foods and physical activities to see how they stack up, and  get tips to help you make healthier choices. 

For many of us, making sure that we enjoy our food, but eat less is a good first step.  Avoiding over-sized portions is another one. Check out our SNAP-Ed Champions for Change – Arizona Nutrition Network website for tips on healthy eating and active living, great videos, fun games, easy-to-make recipes, and more.

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September: Childhood Obesity Awareness Month

September 5th, 2012

Protecting the health and wellbeing of our children is critical to the future of Arizona. September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month. Arizona ranks 15th in the nation in childhood obesity with almost 18% of Arizona children (10 to 17) being obese. Obesity puts our children at early risk for conditions we normally associate with adulthood – Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and even stroke.

Obesity has other consequences that can hinder these kids academically and socially. This September we have an opportunity to build awareness about the issue across several Arizona cities, communities and organizations.  Our strategic plan identifies “Promoting Nutrition and Physical Activity to Reduce Obesity” as one a winnable battle.  We have started several programs to help achieve that – things like integrating physical activity into our everyday lives, making healthy foods available everywhere, activating employers and healthcare providers, strengthening schools and preschools as the heart of health, and marketing what matters for a healthy life.  

Adults have an opportunity to help young people get a healthy start in life.  We work hard to protect our children from danger – if we think of obesity as a threat like a drug dealer, we can easily imagine our reaction. We have the power to change the future – we can remove the threat  by removing obstacles to healthy living and creating more opportunities to be healthy.  My counterpart at the Department of Economic Security, Director Clarence Carter, speaks about the mission we need to take on to change the course for our children in his blog.  

We have to work together to change the course of obesity in our state.  Our future depends on it.

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First Lady Recognizes Empower

May 23rd, 2012

The First Lady’s Let’s Move! Child Care initiative recognized our Empower program for exceptional work to promote young children’s health and prevent childhood obesity in the early care and education setting last week.  We were selected for recognition for carrying out exceptional work to promote and implement the goals of Let’s Move! Child Care, including using creative strategies, engaging families in obesity prevention efforts, and overcoming challenges to get children moving and encourage healthy eating in the early care and education setting. We were one of three honorees selected for recognition in the State Honoree category.  

In a signed letter from the First Lady, Mrs. Obama thanked ADHS “for the work done each day to help our Nation’s children grow up healthier and able to pursue their dreams.”  For more information about the Empower program visit: http://www.azdhs.gov/empowerpack/

 

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Weight of the Nation – Free HBO

May 14th, 2012

Update: We were incorrect in the earlier posting about free access to HBO. In fact, if you are not an HBO subscriber, you can watch the documentary online for free here: http://theweightofthenation.hbo.com/

We don’t shy away from tough battles in public health.  Through the last century, we’ve tackled all types of diseases, worked with public infrastructure to provide healthy water, fought to reduce teen pregnancies, but there’s one battle we haven’t won.  Some folks may remember it as the Battle of the Bulge – it hasn’t gone away and it is a “growing” concern.

Nationwide and in Arizona, more than two out of three adults are overweight or obese. Matter of fact, we’re 15th in the country for childhood obesity. 

The fight has new life today with new partners jumping in to help.  You can watch the Weight of the Nation special for free on HBO tonight and tomorrow at 8 pm.  The series of documentaries look at the consequences, choices, challenges and children in crisis.  The Institutes of Medicine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and Kaiser Permanente joined HBO in making the series.

We’ve created a special website to show what is available to help you if you’re looking to make a change – either for yourself or in your community.  One of the things we want to do is share stories that work.  Pin your story to our Pinterest page or fill out a survey.

This is an ongoing effort in Arizona . If you don’t get the chance to watch HBO tonight, you can watch it online or come to ADHS this summer.  We’re going to host a viewing with opportunities to talk about how to change the direction of the obesity problem.  I’ll keep you posted.

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