WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month

Dear Parents,

September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month.  Obesity in children has more than doubled and quadrupled in adolescents in the last 30 years.  In 2012, more than one in three children and adolescents were overweight or obese.  Obesity has immediate and long-term effects on health AND well-being.  One immediate effect for kids is being the recipient of bullying by their peers at school, especially if they are in middle school. When kids get bullied at school, they isolate themselves at home and at school.  They stop participating in after-school activities.  They complain about stomach aches more often than kids who are not overweight or obese and have higher rates of absenteeism.  Then their grades start dropping.  Then their self-esteem is affected.  

Driving to work every day, I pass a middle school and an elementary school.  I always notice the kids who walk to school because growing up, I walked to school.  I see many kids struggling to walk, walking slower than other kids who are not overweight.  I see kids wearing long pants and long sleeve shirts because they are trying to cover up their size, even though it is 90 degrees outside and other kids are wearing shorts and T-shirts to school.  I notice that the overweight and obese kids are walking slower than the rest of their classmates.  How can you not notice a child who is twice the size of other kids?  

What bothers me about my goal of raising awareness about the solutions to childhood obesity is that kids who are overweight or obese need better role models.  Take today, for example.  I happened to be at the local hospital and I observed that most of the health care workers were overweight or obese.  Outside the hospital, I observed health care workers smoking (instead of walking) on their break.  In the hospital cafeteria, I saw lots of highly processed, prepackaged foods, iceberg lettuce on the salad bar (yuck!) and a large display of sodas right by the cash register.  If most adults are eating foods high in added sugars and think nothing of drinking 3 sodas a day, then is it any wonder we have an obesity epidemic in this country?

If childhood obesity is such a big problem, then do we really care enough to do something about it?  If the health care workers at my local hospital are any indication, then I would say no.  If the number of overweight and obese teachers is an indication, then I would say no.  

I could go on and on, but you catch my drift.  If childhood obesity is such a big problem, then WE MUST BE THE SOLUTION.  It is up to us to lead by example.  It is up to us to teach kids how to read food labels and be nutrition detectives.  But if we are drinking three sodas a day and taking our work breaks to smoke instead of take a 10 minute walk, then what are we really teaching our children about good health habits?  

September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month.  Drink water, not soda.   Choose fruit instead of fruit juice.  Read food labels and don't buy food containing trans fats. Take a walk.  Make one change a week.  Be a better role model.  Choose to lead by example.  Dare to care.  Be the solution.

 NEXT WEEK:  Lessons from a box of Pop Tarts

In gratitude,
Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids, Inc. 

PS-If your kids are age 13 and younger, then look for the details about our 4th Annual Poster Contest on the September 3rd issue of Wellness Wednesdays.   We are SO EXCITED about tapping the voice of America's children!  

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: The Navajo Nation, The Power to Heal Diabetes, and Growing Healthy Kids

"To provide diabetes prevention/intervention by promoting healthy lifestyle changes to reduce and prevent diabetes" 

       -- Mission Statement, Navajo Nation Special Diabetes Project

Here are six questions to think about:

1. Do you live in a food desert?  
2. Do you eat differently (translate:  worse) than your grandparents?  
3. Are you overweight?  
4. Do you (or a family member) have type 2 diabetes?  
5. Do you have limited access to fresh vegetables and fruits?  
6. Are you concerned about a child or youth in your family who is at an unhealthy weight? 

Many of the kids and families I get the opportunity to work with answer �yes� to most or all of these questions.   Now, we have the chance to touch the lives - and health - of many more children. 

In recognition of National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month this month, Growing Healthy Kids is honored to announce that we have been invited  to work with children and parents in the Navaho Nation.  Diabetes among Native American youth is an often-ignored epidemic of national significance, fueled by issues of limited access to healthy foods and increased access to foods high in sugar and processed foods.  

We know that diabetes can be controlled, reversed and prevented by embracing healthier ways of eating, most of which are defined by issues of access, and by being active.  However, if you live on a reservation where a food store selling fresh vegetables is a 200 mile drive, access to healthy foods is a barrier to improved glycemic control. 

  


We are so looking forward about being able to empower, inspire, and educate children and families and look forward to each project in this new partnership.  We will set benchmarks for how we will define success.  We will share our story and our journey with you and invite you to come along the journey with us. 

America�s children deserve access to healthy foods.  ALL of our children.  If they live in a food desert, we have to create "food heavens".  We can teach our children that the way our grandparents ate and lived did not lead to obesity and diabetes.  We can all learn the benefits of being at a healthy weight.  We can - and must - grow foods using new growing methods like hydoponic and aeroponic to give families access to fresh, nutrient dense foods, wherever they live.  Whether children live in Vero Beach, Florida, inner city Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, or on the Navajo reservation in Tuba City, Arizona, ALL of America's children deserve access to healthy foods.  

Oops!  Never heard of Tuba City?   We will be there soon, as part of our work to improve the health - and lives - of America's children, one child at a time.  To learn more about the Navajo Nation Special Diabetes Project, click here.

One of my favorite parts of WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS is bringing you resources you can use � here is one we fell in love with while doing research for our new collaboration.  We know you will love it, too!  The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) is working to eliminate diabetes among Native Americans where health has been lost because diet has changed. The PCRM has created a beautiful resource full of delicious recipes and tips.  If you would like a copy of The Power to Heal Diabetes: Power Plate Resources and Recipes, please click here.    

In gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids, Inc. 

PS -- If your kids are age 13 and younger, read about our 4th Annual Poster Contest in the September 3rd issue of WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS!  Deadline for having posters postmarked is October 16th!  

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Poster Contest for Kids 2014

"Every child is an artist: The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up."  

                                                                                           -- Pablo Picasso

September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month.  This is why we have chosen this month to announce our national 4^th Annual Poster Contest for Growing Healthy Kids.  This year's theme is �My Favorite Family Foods�.   Our goal is to encourage kids to express their visions about healthy foods.  Parents, please use this theme to talk with your children about family food traditions, preparing favorite recipes as a family, or favorite foods to grow at home. 

Guidelines for the 4^th Annual Poster Contest for Growing Healthy Kids are below:

• �         The poster contest is open to all children in the U.S. who are 13 years old and younger on October 16, 2014. 
• �         Artwork must be no larger than 8-1/2� x 11�.  All media are accepted.  Chalk, charcoal and pastel entries should be sealed with a fixative spray to prevent smearing.  Combinations of media (crayons, colored pencils, chalk, pen, torn pieces of paper, pictures from magazines, markers, etc.) are acceptable.
• �         Only one entry per child. 
• �         On back of the poster please include:

o   Parent�s name, email, phone number, and address

o   Child�s name, age, and school name 

Deadline:  Posters must be received or postmarked by October 16, 2014. 

Mail posters to: Growing Healthy Kids, 762 S. US Hwy 1, #106, Vero Beach, FL. 32962. Winners will be notified by November 16, 2014. 

Each poster is judged on originality, artistic merit, and expression of the theme.  Participants agree to allow Growing Healthy Kids, Inc. to use their names and posters for educational, promotional, and publicity purposes.  Three posters will be selected by a panel of educators and artists and will be published on the Growing Healthy Kids website and in the next Growing Healthy Kids� book about good food and health.  When posters are published, only the child�s first initial, last name, city and state will be included.  No other information will be published or shared.  Certificates of Recognition will be sent to the three children whose posters are selected, along with a signed copy of NOURISH AND FLOURISH:  Kid-Tested and Approved Tips and Recipes to Prevent Diabetes.  All entries become property of Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.  

A mother and daughter at a Growing Healthy Kids program
held at Gifford Youth Activity Center in Vero Beach, Florida.

We have a generation of kids at risk for obesity-related diseases.  The board of directors and volunteers who are part of the Growing Healthy Kids movement feel strongly about unleashing the power of the youth voice to improve the health � and lives � of America�s children and their families to reverse, prevent and halt childhood obesity and obesity-related diseases.  We can learn from our children.  They can learn from us.  Kids are very observant about their world.  There are teachable moments all around us.  

Studies have shown that having dinner together as a family is one of the most important ways you can teach your children how to stay at a healthy weight.  Planning meals together, shopping together, cooking together, taking care of a kitchen herb garden, and enjoying food together as a family�these tasks are about so much more than food! So enjoy talking about this year�s theme and start creating some family food traditions of your own.  Most of all, have fun!

In gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids, Inc. 

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Depression, Diabetes, and Childhood Obesity

�No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world.�

                                                                              --Robin Williams, 1951-2014

When I started the Growing Healthy Kids organization, I had an idea about preventing a new epidemic of disease, depression, and early deaths among children due to diabetes.  I saw the childhood obesity epidemic and the alarming increases of children at unhealthy weights.  With one in three children in the U.S., overweight and obese, I knew that many of these children will develop type 2 diabetes, also referred to as �adult-onset diabetes�.  Having seen what happens to adults who are ignorant about the effect of drinking sugar filled sweet teas or sodas every day on their nervous systems (resulting in amputations of toes and feet) or their heart (4 times higher risk of having a heart attack or stroke) or their sexual health (increased incidence of impotence), I also knew that diabetes is a preventable disease.  Having worked with thousands of older adults with diabetes and having experienced firsthand how life-changing improved health literacy can be, I decided to use my ideas and my words to address parents and children and the childhood obesity epidemic in my own community and through my words, the rest of the country. 

Symptoms of diabetes include:

• Frequent urination
• Excessive thirst
• Unexplained weight loss
• Extreme hunger
• Sudden vision changes
• Tingling or numbness in hands or feet
• Feeling very tired much of the time
• Very dry skin
• Sores that are slow to heal
• More infections than usual

Once someone develops diabetes, they can have problems that can affect:

• Mood (diabetes doubles the risk of depression as a result of high, uncontrolled blood sugar)
• Vision
• Kidneys
• Cardiovascular (increased risk of heart attack and stroke)
• Nervous system (nerve damage causes peripheral neuropathy)
• Feet
• Digestion
• Oral health
• Sexual health

One of the biggest (and preventable) risk factors for developing diabetes is: 

• obesity

We can improve the health and lives of America�s children.  September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month.  In conjunction with this observance, I will be making two major announcements next week and we are counting on you to help us get out the word! 

Together, we can tap into the voice, words, and ideas of America�s children. 

In gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.

To learn more facts about diabetes from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, click here.

NATIONAL CHILDHOOD OBESITY AWARENESS MONTH AND YOUR DAILY EXERCISE

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS

"Every hour you sit at work increases your mortality eleven percent.  Think about that."

----Dr. Mehmet Oz

Up.  Just get up.  Leave the desk and take a ten minute break.  The company will not fall apart while you take a short break to get up from your desk and walk for ten minutes.  The above quote by America�s favorite doctor, Dr. Oz, really resonates with me as I observe adults who think they are productive by not leaving their desk for hours at a time. 

Did you know that a minimum of ten minutes of exercise gives you heart health benefits?  Are you getting thirty minutes a day at least five days a week?  How many days a week are your kids getting at least an hour of exercise a day?  How do you plan fitness into your day?  Deliberately or by accident?  What about your kids?  Do you schedule recess for yourself every day?   

Fitness guru Richard Simmons recommends that you should never eat lunch at your desk.  Simmons says, �Stop thinking you can eat at your desk.  You need to take 15 minutes and go just eat something.  It�s bad for digestion.  You can get diverticulitis, you can get stomach aches and you can get depressed.�   He added, �We�re not winning the war [on obesity]; we�re losing it.  There are more overweight children, more overweight teenagers�there should be more rules about food.�  Make the commitment to take walk breaks and lunch breaks away from your desk.  Your mind will thank you. 

Reversing America�s childhood obesity epidemic will happen by improving the health literacy of parents.  Here's a challenge:  Be a better role model for your own children.  Let them see you sweat! 

One of my favorite Growing Healthy Kids� T-shirt designs created by Get Shot by Ella designer Ella Chabot promotes the mantra, �Exercise Daily�.  Write these two words on the top of every day�s �To Do� list and plan movement and physical fun into your schedule.  Make it a habit.  Commit to it for 28 days. 

This WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS' column is dedicated to Baby Ellie.  She is the reason our family traveled great distances this week (we calculated over 32,000 miles - ONE WAY) to celebrate her first birthday together.  Ellie is my mother�s first great grandchild, daughter of my nephew, Robbie Heinrich, and his wife, Sara Stout Heinrich.  This child is healthy because her mother plans time to cook and prepare fresh fruits and veggies every week for her.  Sara has scheduled to make access to good food choices easy by planning around what foods are locally grown and in season.  Baby Ellie is the

Baby Ellie with her proud parents, Robbie Heinrich (my nephew), his wife, Sara,
and Stella (the dog, looking for cake crumbs),
at Ellie's first birthday party last weekend

picture of health and that is why I was so happy to deliver a GHK shirt of her own so she can be our youngest ambassador in Kentucky.  

All children deserve access to fresh fruits and vegetables.  Support your local farmers.  Eat rainbows from the garden!  

In gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich

Growing Healthy Kids

To check out the Growing Healthy Kids' store, click here.

NATIONAL CHILDHOOD OBESITY AWARENESS MONTH AND LOCAL FARMERS

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS

�We are not very good at keeping people healthy 
over the long haul.� 

                                                     -- quote from a Cleveland Clinic administrator 
                                                                                  on a talk show in 2013 

What�s your favorite summer vegetable?  One of mine is red peppers.   There are just so many delicious ways to prepare them (think roasted red pepper soup, roasted vegetables, and wild shrimp and roasted pepper quesadillas).  

With fresh peppers and tomatoes in abundance right now, making a fresh salsa is an easy way to eat fresh and eat local.  One thing we love to do in the GROWING HEALTHY KIDS movement is expose kids to farms and farmers so they learn where food really comes from and, hopefully, will learn grow a few things they like.  The folks at Florida Veggies and More recently invited GROWING HEALTHY KIDS to play at their hydroponic farm in Vero Beach, Florida as part of National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month.  

Eggplants!!

"Farmer Lisa" Brenneman gives the kids
and the volunteers a tour
of the hydroponic greenhouse.

GROWING HEALTHY KIDS with YOUTH GUIDANCE at
Florida Veggies and More this month as part of
National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month.

�Farmer Lisa� Brenneman gave a farm tour to children involved with Youth Guidance Mentoring and Activities Program and adult mentors, then we all met in the farm store kitchen for cooking lessons using fresh-picked veggies.  Not a drop of salsa was left at the end of our fabulous morning!  Thanks, Farmer Lisa, for sending everyone home with a pepper plant of their own! 

An Easy Growing Healthy Kids Menu

Summer Salsa

Mango Salsa

Whole grain cheese quesadillas*

  

SUMMER SALSA

COMBINE in a bowl:

• 1 medium tomato, cut into �-inch cubes
• 1/4 cup finely diced red onion
• dash sea salt
• 1 Tablespoon lime juice
• 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (optional)
• 2 Tablespoons (or more) fresh cilantro, chopped fine
• 1/2 jalape�o pepper, finely diced (with or without seeds, depending on desired hotness-it is hotter with the seeds) (PARENTS:  Substitute 3 Tablespoons of chopped green pepper for the kids' version.)

       

TRANSFER to a serving bowl.  Let rest for about 1 hour, covered and unrefrigerated, for best flavor. 

USE gloves when working with jalape�o peppers. 

NOTE FROM NANCY:   This is a fun, easy recipe to make for Tuesday Taco night.  Serve with black bean and cheese nachos, enchiladas, quesadillas, or just whole grain chips.  It also makes a delicious topping on a Sunday morning veggie omelet. 

To make mango salsa, use less tomatoes, dice up a ripe 

mango, and add about � cup of diced red pepper. Eating good foods is easy when you know how to prepare a few basic recipes.  For these and more basic recipes every kid should learn to make, click here to order your copy of NOURISH AND FLOURISH.

Parents, the responsibility for our children's health is most importantly ours.  Hospitals, drug companies, and health insurance companies do not have an interest in keeping people well.  With all the profits being made from disease and obesity, we can each make the decision to be as healthy as possible.  One thing we can all do is plan our meals around the fresh and locally grown vegetables where you live.  SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL FARMERS! 

In gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich

Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.

*For demonstration purposes, La Tortilla Factory whole grain tortillas (12 grams of dietary fiber per tortilla) were used in the preparation of the quesadillas. 

NATIONAL CHILDHOOD OBESITY AWARENESS MONTH

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS

"ONLY TOGETHER CAN WE REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE."

                                         

 -- Blake Mallon, Project 10 Kids

This week Growing Healthy Kids, Inc. kicks off a new nutrition education after-school program.   Remember last week�s column about superfoods?  We will be featuring those foods and others as we create a new generation of NUTRITION DETECTIVES.  For the next 6 weeks, we will be sharing highlights from the program.  If you have ideas for what you would want your own kids to learn, let us know!  

September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month.  One in three kids in America is overweight or obese.  Everywhere I look, I see kids of all ages at risk for obesity-related diseases like diabetes and sleep apnea.  Childhood obesity is not the kids� problem � it is our problem.  As parents, as teachers, as adults who run after-school programs, as business owners who offer health care benefits for dependents, we all have a responsibility to improve our own health literacy and awareness about what foods to put on our own plate. 

What's YOUR favorite veggie?

Stuffed portabella mushrooms (with whole grain couscous, spinach and yellow peppers)
 from the GROWING HEALTHY KIDS' Recipe Collection

This month make a personal commitment to start looking at your own shopping cart and make at least half of your food purchases vegetables and fruits. As you and your family plan your dinner menus, plan for at least half of your plates to be filled with vegetables and fruits.  Make the commitment to eat more of the good foods (see last week�s column: "Ten Foods to Eat More of") and less of the bad foods (like white flour, Pop Tarts, and sodas).  If every parent in America�s makes this simple commitment, then it is possible that we will not need to have a National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month. 

In gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich

Growing Healthy Kids, Inc. 

NATIONAL CHILDHOOD OBESITY AWARENESS MONTH: GROWING HEALTHY KIDS ANNOUNCES NEW BOOK FOR PARENTS

The President of the United States has issued a proclamation declaring September National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month.  

Here are facts every parent should know: 

• �         obesity rates have soared among all age groups, increasing more than fourfold among children ages 6 to 11;  
• �         31.8 percent or 23 million children and teenagers ages 2 to 19 are obese or overweight, a statistic that health and medical experts consider an epidemic; 
• �         the financial implications of childhood obesity pose a financial threat to our economy and health care system, carrying up to $14 billion per year in direct health care costs, with people in the United States spending about 9 percent of their total medical costs on obesity-related illnesses; 
•           obese young people have an 80-percent chance of being obese adults and are more likely than children of normal weight to become overweight or obese adults, and therefore more at risk for associated adult health problems including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, stroke, several types of cancer, and osteoarthritis; 
• �         due in part to the childhood obesity epidemic, 1 in 3 children (and nearly 1 in 2 minority children) born in the year 2000 will develop type 2 diabetes at some point in their lifetime if current trends continue;   
• �         some consequences of childhood and adolescent obesity are psychosocial and can hinder academic and social functioning and persist into adulthood; 
• �         participating in physical activity is important for children and teens as it can have beneficial effects not only on body weight, but also on blood pressure and bone strength; 
• �         proper nutrition is important for children before birth and through their lifespan as nutrition has beneficial effects for health and body weight, and is important in the prevention of chronic diseases; 
• �         childhood obesity is preventable, yet does not appear to be declining; and
• �         public, community-based, and private sector organizations and individuals throughout the United States are working to decrease childhood obesity rates in the United States through a range of efforts including educational presentations, media campaigns, websites, policies, healthier food options,  and greater opportunities for physical activity.

Growing Healthy Kids, Inc. has been working for the past four years to halt, reverse, and prevent childhood obesity.  We have taught thousands of children and adults in educational programs and healthy cooking workshops.  We have documented success stories as we have watched kids learn to make choices that put them on the path to a healthier life instead of one filled with the painful consequences of obesity-related diseases. 

THEREFORE, in support of National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, Growing Healthy Kids proudly  announces the release of Nourish and Flourish: Kid-Tested Tips and Recipes to Prevent Diabetes featuring the ideas that get kids screaming for more vegetables and whole grains on their plates. 

Written by Nancy Heinrich, an epidemiologist who founded the Growing Healthy Kids movement to prevent obesity-related diseases like diabetes in America�s children, this book teaches parents how to make simple changes that move kids away from the bad foods high in sugar, salt, and fat.  According to Ms. Heinrich, �When you engage kids in the garden or the produce market and then �play� with them in the kitchen to create a fun recipe together, they make better choices.�  Nourish and Flourish is filled with the same tips Ms. Heinrich uses in the "Growing Healthy Kids in the Kitchen" educational programs.  Included in the book are shopping lists for busy parents to make it easy for the whole family to eat healthy.  Best of all, many of the recipes make delicious, healthy, and economical school lunches for the kids AND  work lunches for moms and dads. 

If you are concerned that your kids are eating too much sugar, then you�ll get answers in a brand new book called Nourish and Flourish.  Reading this book will give you a clear and concise approach to put your kids on a path to healthier eating. 

Nourish and Flourish is available at www.amazon. com and at the Growing Healthy Kids Variety Store, 3300 43^rd Avenue, #4, Vero Beach, Florida, 32960.

To order bulk copies for your school or parent group or to book the author to speak to your organization, please send an email to growinghealthykidsnow@gmail.com.