A new book, title “The Adventures of Captain Heart, has just been published.

A pediatrician, Eugene Lipov M.D., wrote this clever book with the help of his six year old son to help kids, ages 3 -7 years old, learn about a healthy heart.

The book features a heart that is an superhero.The story portrays the Superhero, Captain Heart (who looked like a heart with legs), who helps a young boy and his grandfather become strong again by eating right and exercising.

You may be thinking, three year old kids are too young to be learning about how to keep a heart healthy. Well think again.

Studies show that by the time children start kindergarten, 40% will have one or more risk factors for heart disease (obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes.). In addition, a study using ultrasound imaging and presented earlier this year at a meeting of the American Heart Association, suggested that the carotid arteries in the necks of teenagers and children as young as 10 had fatty buildup and signs of other cardiovascular disease similar to that of an average 45-year-old!

Resources:

Tips on promoting a healthy heart for your family

Make moving fun for kids this Monday

Ask kids what they like, then invite their friends. The more fun they have, the longer they will stick with it.

Mondays are a great day to renew Family Health vows. Every Monday, you will find some healthy tip to help your family start the week off on a Healthy Note!

Thanks to Healthy Monday organization for sharing their Monday tips.

Watch this new video to learn about Nourish Interactive’s family nutrition website. Visit us for nutrition tools for parents and kids nutrition games

The National Association of School Nurses (NASN) has developed a one day course to train nurses in the assessment for childhood obesity and to provide them with tools for school nurses to use to assist students, families and the school community to address obesity.

The name of this program is S.C.O.P.E. which stands for “School Nurse Childhood Obesity Prevention Education.”

As a nurse, I know that School Nurses have been spread too thin to be able to do the type of community and outreach programs that are necessary to help families. I am glad to hear that the NASN is taking an active role in helping School Nurses take a leadership role in addressing this issue through the school system.

Check with your child’s school to find it if their School Nurse is participating in this very important program.
Share your thoughts and ideas for effective childhood obesity prevention strategies.

Resources from Nourish Interactive:

Find out your child’s BMI score- online bmi calculator

Learn more about children’s BMI score

Nutrition education tools and resources for schools

Back to school time can signify hectic schedules, homework and lots of eating on-the-go, but it doesn’t mean your family can afford to slack off on their physical fitness or healthy lifestyle. Jango Mango, official mango ambassador for the National Mango Board (and overall health nut), shares his tips to help keep your family in tip-top shape for back-to-school and all year long.

1. A fresh start: A new school year is a landmark that can bring new traditions, resolutions and decisions. All you have to do is make them. Make a list of goals for you and your family to get ahead of the game. Some great ideas include a central chalkboard in the house to track which chore each family member is responsible for, or get a calendar marking down family nights to ensure you get together at least once a week.

2. Stick to the pyramid: Mangos are an excellent source of vitamins A, C and good source of fiber. Energize your children with the healthy diet they need by avoiding junk food and offering nutritious options such as some Mango Oat Breakfast Bars to start your day off right or Sweet and Savory Mango Roll Ups for a fun after-school snack.

3. Meals at the ready: Need to get dinner on the table quick? There are quick and healthier alternatives to takeout that take the same amount of time to prepare. Try this Mango and Bacon Barbecue Pizza for starters which can be prepared in 20 minutes! You can also prepare snacks and meals a few days in advance to relieve some of the pressure. Try serving some baked tortilla chips with a fresh and healthy Cinco de Mango Salsa and storing it in the fridge for when hunger strikes.

4. Find the time to get active: Things can get busy, but try to set aside time each week to get the whole family together for an active day of fun. Play soccer, hold your own family marathon or get the whole family singing and dancing the Mango Fandango.

5. Make Learning Together Fun: Learning doesn’t have to stop when the bell rings. Try quizzing your child about geography and other fun facts in unique way with the Jango Geography online game.

I grew up on many fruits and vegetables.  Mango was one of my favorites.  It is so sweet and a great substitute for candy!

This Monday get your life on track!

Write down how you spend your days, then evaluate. Prioritize your time with exercise, wholesome meals and family fun – and stay happy!

Mondays are a great day to renew Family Health vows. Every Monday, you will find some healthy tip to help your family start the week off on a Healthy Note!

Thanks to Healthy Monday organization for sharing their Monday tips.

On Labor Day, the Slow Food Organization (clever, opposite of “Fast Food”) is promoting a national “Eat In”

An Eat-In (part potluck and part sit-in) is a peaceful way for people all over the country to join together to raise awareness and send a very important message to congress.

“It’s time to provide America’s children with real food at school.”

Here is a fact from Slow Foods that might surprise you!

Under the National School Lunch Program, the USDA reimburses schools for every meal served: $2.57 for a free lunch, $2.17 for a reduced-price lunch and 24 cents for a paid lunch. Since these reimbursements must also pay for labor, equipment and overhead costs, schools are left with only $1.00 to spend on food. How can schools be expected to feed our children and protect their health with only a dollar a day? It’s time to build a strong foundation for our children’s health by raising the reimbursement rate to $3.57.

There are Eat-Ins planned in every single state. It’s not too late to organize an Eat-In and really not hard. It does not have to be big event. It can be as simple as having friends over and sharing an outdoor picnic. Register your Eat-In, take a photo of your group and mail it to timeforlunch@slowfoodusa.org.

Slow Food has a great deal of different downloadable tools to help you plan and communicate your event.

Download toolkit.

The more participants the stronger the message is to congress.

Sign up to organize an Eat-In for September 7.

Find an Eat-In near you

Sign their petition.

The annual survey taken by the University of Michigan, CS Mott Children’s hospital has just been released. This survey interviews adults about their concerns regarding children’s health in their community.

Here are the 2009 results:

• For a second year in a row, parents have listed childhood obesity as their number one concern!
• What has changed is that in this 2009 survey, Hispanic and Afro-American parents also listed childhood obesity as their number one concern.
• The survey showed that now 42% of adults believe this is a big problem

I remember when I first had the idea of creating an interactive website that would teach kids about nutrition and support parents in promoting healthy lifestyles to their kids, I was told by many people that this was not an important matter for parents. I was wasting my time etc… I knew as a nurse, this was a very important topic and I believed then and now that parents are concerned about the health of their children and childhood obesity is a growing concern.

I focus on early nutrition education because that is the long term solution. Reaching out to children at a younger age before they have formed their eating habits and food associations. I am sad that we have this problem but glad to know that parents do see the problem. Because that is the first step towards addressing it!

Here are the top 10 overall health concerns

1. Childhood obesity. Forty-two percent of U.S. adults rate childhood obesity as a big problem. In 2008, 35 percent of adults rated childhood obesity as the top overall health concern for children. In 2007, it was ranked No. 3.

2. Drug abuse. Thirty-six percent of U.S. adults rate drug abuse as a big problem for children and has held at No. 2 since 2007.

3. Smoking. Ranked No. 1 in 2007, smoking continues to hold the No. 3 position since 2008, with 32 percent of U.S. adults rating it as a big problem for kids.

4. Bullying. Holding at No. 4, 31 percent of U.S. adults rate bullying as a big problem for children.

5. Internet safety. Continuing at No. 5, 31 percent of U.S. adults consider internet safety a big problem for kids, slightly up from 27 percent in 2008.

6. Child abuse and neglect. This issue, which was ranked No. 10 in 2007, holds at No. 6 and was rated as a big problem among 29 percent of U.S. adults, up from 25 percent in 2008.

7. Alcohol abuse. Up from No. 8 in 2008, 26.5 percent of U.S. adults consider alcohol abuse a big problem. For the 2008 poll, 23 percent of adults listed alcohol abuse as a health concern for kids. In 2007, alcohol abuse was ranked fourth overall.

8. Stress. New to the list in 2009, 26 percent of U.S. adults rate stress as a big problem for children.

9. Not enough opportunities for physical activity. Up one spot from 2008, nearly 25 percent of U.S adults rate this as a big problem for kids.

10. Teen pregnancy. Falling three places from No. 7 to No. 10, 24 percent of U.S adults rated teen pregnancy as a big problem in 2009.

Read the full report.

Nourish Interactive is your free one stop resource for fun nutrition games for kids, interactive nutrition tools and tips for parents and health educators to use to promote healthy living for the whole family.

Interactive family nutrition tools- BMI calculator, food pyramid, healthy meal planners, food label reader and more!

Health, nutrition and wellness articles – “Nourish Healthy Kids” nutrition articles and tips are useful and action oriented articles covering key health and nutrition topics that affect our kids’ health and well-being. All of our articles are written by health professionals to help families learn about the fun and importance of making healthy food and fitness choices!

Printable healthy eating tip sheets for parents- healthy eating tips, daily tips calendar, healthy eating food dairy trackers, goals sheets and more!

Free nutrition- healthy food games for kids - Learn about our nutrition education games. The fun way for kids to learn about nutrition and making healthy food choices.

New research that will be published in September has more compelling data about the need for early nutrition education.

Researchers looked at the data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) ov over 12, 384 children. Their study showed that not only are kids becoming obese but they are becoming severely obese.

This is very sad and disturbing news. A new category has now been added for children whose body mass index (BMI) score is in the 99th percentile- severe obesity.

We now have 5 ratings for kids:

• underweight – less than 5 percentile
• normal weight – 5 to 84 percentile
• overweight – 85 to 94% percentile
• obese – 95 to 98 percentile
• severe obesity – 99 or greater percentile

The research found that the prevelance of severe obesity has tripled from 1976-90 when compared to kids BMI scores in 1999-2004. This represents 2.7 severely obese children here in the United States.

I can say as a nurse, this is not just about being overweight. This is not about body image. These kids are at a much greater risk for heart disease, diabetes, amputations, joint disease, to mention just a few conditions. What kind of quality of life will they have when they become severely limited in their activities not just from weight but from these diseases.- and at a much younger age.

These were the facts, the statistics that made we want to do something to be part of the solution. The long term solution is educating children while they are young to have healthy habits, eat a balanced meal filled with healthy fruits and vegetables and to be active every day.

It is so much easier to keep a healthy weight than it is to try to lose weight (I speak from experience!)

But kids are growing which makes it a little easier for them. You can start with small, easy goals for the whole family. All kids need nutrition education, not just kids who are overweight.

Resources:

Find out your child’s BMI score.

Learn more about BMI scores for kids.

Set nutrition goals for the family to improve your nutrition and eating habits.

Track your nutrition and lifestyle goals with these cute kid-friendly tracking sheets so it is fun for the kids.

With our continued concern with the economy, it got me thinking about how to avoid “wasting” money.Yeah, wasting money, throwing money away! As your kids get ready to go back to school, I am reminded of a study I read last year in September.A study funded by a cheese manufacturer (mini Babybel) found that:

• 60% of kids did not eat everything in their lunchboxes
• 21% of 7 to 8 yr olds said they never ate anything from their lunchboxes.

Now before you get completely disheartened and throw your hands in the air – here’s the kicker:

79% of kids said they would eat the food in their lunchboxes if they could help prepare it!

So as you get ready to tackle school lunches, think about involving your child and have them help in picking foods that they like and are healthy.

References:

School lunch – Wellness Policy