“Healthy Homework: No escape from healthy lifestyle effort” |
| Healthy Homework: No escape from healthy lifestyle effort Posted: 05 Feb 2011 01:06 AM PST Some might call it the "nanny state." Others will welcome government intervention in what we eat. And some will ignore common-sense remedies that will keep them looking and feeling better. Whatever the reaction, there's no avoiding a push by the federal government and state and local leaders to help make Americans take better care of themselves. All schoolchildren, for example, will soon be offered healthier and more nutritious food options in schools. They'll also be taught to make healthy food choices. Those improvements are part of a new federal law. In early December, President Barack Obama signed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 into law. The act authorizes $4.5 billion in funding for federal school meal and child nutrition programs over 10 years. It increases access to healthy food for low-income children. "At a very basic level, this act is about doing what's right for our children," Obama said the day he signed the bill at Harriet Tubman Elementary School in Washington, D.C. "Right now, across the country, too many kids don't have access to school meals. And often, the food that's being offered isn't as healthy or as nutritious as it should be. That's part of the reason why one in three children in America today are either overweight or obese." Obama cited the fact that doctors are beginning to see such conditions as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes in children. Those conditions once were seen only in adults. "This bill is about reversing that trend and giving our kids the healthy futures that they deserve," he said. The act will reimburse schools an additional 6 cents for every lunch. That's the first increase in more than 30 years. And about 115,000 more children will be eligible to enroll in the school meal program. Under the act, the Department of Agriculture has the authority to set nutritional standards. Communities will get help to establish local farm-to-school networks and to create school gardens. School districts will be audited to improve compliance with nutritional standards, among other changes. Schools in California William Dunlavy, director of Nutrition Services at Merced Union High School District, said California has been ahead of the curve when it comes to serving healthier meals in schools. He said schools in the state might not see many changes as a result of the new law. Terri Soares, registered dietitian and nutrition serv-ices director for the Merced City School District, said it's a slow process, but that schools are making a difference. "It takes a while to change behaviors," she said. Parents and caregivers need to support and encourage their children to eat healthy at home as well, Soares said, and to be active. "We need to get our kids off the couch," she said. Schools like Le Grand High School may be on the right track. The development of a community garden is in the planning stages as part of the Building Healthy Communities initiative. Principal Javier Martinez said the plan is to have students and the community involved in the garden to better educate them about nutrition. "We want to get the parents involved in this project as well," he said. Local efforts The Merced Lao Family Community Inc. recently received a $19,579 grant that it plans to use to start the Southeast Asian Healthy Living Project. The program is meant to teach children from newborns to 18 about healthy eating habits, the importance of physical activity and the long-term consequences of being overweight. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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