Local Government Actions to Prevent Childhood Obesity
Local Government Actions to Prevent Childhood Obesity

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2010-01-10

Total Pages: 107

ISBN-13: 0309139279

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The prevalence of childhood obesity is so high in the United States that it may reduce the life expectancy of today's generation of children. While parents and other adult caregivers play a fundamental role in teaching children about healthy behaviors, even the most positive efforts can be undermined by local environments that are poorly suited to supporting healthy behaviors. For example, many communities lack ready sources of healthy food choices, such as supermarkets and grocery stores. Or they may not provide safe places for children to walk or play. In such communities, even the most motivated child or adolescent may find it difficult to act in healthy ways. Local governments-with jurisdiction over many aspects of land use, food marketing, community planning, transportation, health and nutrition programs, and other community issues-are ideally positioned to promote behaviors that will help children and adolescents reach and maintain healthy weights. Local Government Actions to Prevent Childhood Obesity presents a number of recommendations that touch on the vital role of government actions on all levels-federal, state, and local-in childhood obesity prevention. The book offers healthy eating and physical activity strategies for local governments to consider, making it an excellent resource for mayors, managers, commissioners, council members, county board members, and administrators.

Preventing Childhood Obesity
Preventing Childhood Obesity

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2005-01-31

Total Pages: 435

ISBN-13: 0309133408

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Children's health has made tremendous strides over the past century. In general, life expectancy has increased by more than thirty years since 1900 and much of this improvement is due to the reduction of infant and early childhood mortality. Given this trajectory toward a healthier childhood, we begin the 21st-century with a shocking developmentâ€"an epidemic of obesity in children and youth. The increased number of obese children throughout the U.S. during the past 25 years has led policymakers to rank it as one of the most critical public health threats of the 21st-century. Preventing Childhood Obesity provides a broad-based examination of the nature, extent, and consequences of obesity in U.S. children and youth, including the social, environmental, medical, and dietary factors responsible for its increased prevalence. The book also offers a prevention-oriented action plan that identifies the most promising array of short-term and longer-term interventions, as well as recommendations for the roles and responsibilities of numerous stakeholders in various sectors of society to reduce its future occurrence. Preventing Childhood Obesity explores the underlying causes of this serious health problem and the actions needed to initiate, support, and sustain the societal and lifestyle changes that can reverse the trend among our children and youth.

NSW Schools Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey (SPANS) 2010
NSW Schools Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey (SPANS) 2010

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 386

ISBN-13: 9781741876222

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"The SPANS 2010 provides a comprehensive snapshot of the weight status and related behaviours of school students across NSW... The report provides valuable information for guiding policies and programs to reduce childhood obesity and promote childrens health. The information can be used directly to identify issues of concern and priorities for action."--p. 13.

Bridging the Evidence Gap in Obesity Prevention
Bridging the Evidence Gap in Obesity Prevention

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2010-12-24

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 0309149894

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To battle the obesity epidemic in America, health care professionals and policymakers need relevant, useful data on the effectiveness of obesity prevention policies and programs. Bridging the Evidence Gap in Obesity Prevention identifies a new approach to decision making and research on obesity prevention to use a systems perspective to gain a broader understanding of the context of obesity and the many factors that influence it.

Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Policies
Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Policies

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2011-10-31

Total Pages: 202

ISBN-13: 0309210283

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Childhood obesity is a serious health problem that has adverse and long-lasting consequences for individuals, families, and communities. The magnitude of the problem has increased dramatically during the last three decades and, despite some indications of a plateau in this growth, the numbers remain stubbornly high. Efforts to prevent childhood obesity to date have focused largely on school-aged children, with relatively little attention to children under age 5. However, there is a growing awareness that efforts to prevent childhood obesity must begin before children ever enter the school system. Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Policies reviews factors related to overweight and obese children from birth to age 5, with a focus on nutrition, physical activity, and sedentary behavior, and recommends policies that can alter children's environments to promote the maintenance of healthy weight. Because the first years of life are important to health and well-being throughout the life span, preventing obesity in infants and young children can contribute to reversing the epidemic of obesity in children and adults. The book recommends that health care providers make parents aware of their child's excess weight early. It also suggests that parents and child care providers keep children active throughout the day, provide them with healthy diets, limit screen time, and ensure children get adequate sleep. In addition to providing comprehensive solutions to tackle the problem of obesity in infants and young children, Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Policies identifies potential actions that could be taken to implement those recommendations. The recommendations can inform the decisions of state and local child care regulators, child care providers, health care providers, directors of federal and local child care and nutrition programs, and government officials at all levels.

Understanding and Tackling Obesity
Understanding and Tackling Obesity

Author: Ruth MacConville

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-10-07

Total Pages: 211

ISBN-13: 1000154009

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From an early age children are bombarded by the media with messages promoting foods high in saturated fats, sugars and salt. One of the greatest changes for children in the last 50 years is the decrease in exercise and the increase in 'screen' time. This programme is not about dieting or weight control, instead it has been designed to be realistic and non-discriminatory, aiming to enable children from an early age to recognise and resist unhealthy pressures, maintain body-esteem and know how to make skilled choices that will ensure their health and wellbeing. 'When we shift the focus from fat and weight to healthy choices leading to nutritional health and fitness we sacrifice nothing and gain an approach that enhances the wellbeing of all.' (Kater, 2005). The 12 sessions cover topics including: what to eat; how to understand food labels; media messages; get moving; and TV turnoff. There are full facilitator notes with all the necessary resources to run an interactive programme that will engage children. Supporting the class activities there are 'take home' activities that will keep parents aware of what is being covered in the programme as well as a weekly log, where children record trying new foods and physical activities. The book contains background information about the increase in obesity, the effect of media messages as well as the philosophy and approach taken in the programme. The package includes a CD-ROM which has all the copiable resources and a PowerPoint for staff training.

The Surgeon General's Vision for a Healthy and Fit Nation, 2010
The Surgeon General's Vision for a Healthy and Fit Nation, 2010

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 2010

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

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In the 2001 Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity, former Surgeon General David Satcher, MD, PhD, warned of the negative effects of the increasing weight of American citizens and outlined a public health response to reverse the trend. The Surgeon General plans to strengthen and expand this blueprint for action created by her predecessor. Although the country has made some strides since 2001, the prevalence of obesity, obesity-related diseases, and premature death remains too high.

Obesity Prevention
Obesity Prevention

Author: Laurette Dube

Publisher: Academic Press

Published: 2010-06-25

Total Pages: 832

ISBN-13: 0080922090

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Over the years, approaches to obesity prevention and treatment have gone from focusing on genetic and other biological factors to exploring a diversity of diets and individual behavior modification interventions anchored primarily in the power of the mind, to the recent shift focusing on societal interventions to design "temptation-proof" physical, social, and economic environments. In spite of repeated calls to action, including those of the World Health Organization (WHO), the pandemic continues to progress. WHO recently projected that if the current lifestyle trend in young and adult populations around the world persist, by 2012 in countries like the USA, health care costs may amount to as much as 17.7% of the GDP. Most importantly, in large part due to the problems of obesity, those children may be the first generation ever to have a shorter life expectancy than that of their parents. Obesity Prevention presents the most current research and proposals for addressing the pandemic. Past studies have focused primarly on either genetic or behavioral causes for obesity, however today's research indicates that a strongly integrated program is the best prospect for success in overcoming obesity. Furthermore, focus on the role of society in establishing an affordable, accessible and sustainable program for implementing these lifestyle changes is vital, particularly for those in economically challenged situations, who are ultimately at the highest risk for obesity. Using studies from both neuroscience and behavioral science to present a comprehensive overview of the challenges and possible solutions, The brain-to-society approach to obesity prevention focuses on what is needed in order to sustain a healthy, pleasurable and affordable lifestyle. - Explores the "brain-to-society" approach to obesity prevention, focusing on an integrative approach to addressing the obesity pandemic - Presents both the nueroscientific and the behavioral factors that impact eating habits - Identifies the challenges and suggests solutions for altering attitudes toward food on both an individual and a societal level

Progress in Preventing Childhood Obesity
Progress in Preventing Childhood Obesity

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2007-03-22

Total Pages: 495

ISBN-13: 0309102081

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The remarkable increase in the prevalence of obesity among children and youth in the United States over a relatively short timespan represents one of the defining public health challenges of the 21st century. The country is beginning to recognize childhood obesity as a major public health epidemic that will incur substantial costs to the nation. However, the current level of investment by the public and private sectors still does not match the extent of the problem. There is a substantial underinvestment of resources to adequately address the scope of this obesity crisis. At this early phase in addressing the epidemic, actions have begun on a number of levels to improve the dietary patterns and to increase the physical activity levels of young people. Schools, corporations, youth-related organizations, families, communities, foundations, and government agencies are working to implement a variety of policy changes, new programs, and other interventions. These efforts, however, generally remain fragmented and small in scale. Moreover, the lack of systematic monitoring and evaluation of interventions have hindered the development of an evidence base to identify, apply, and disseminate lessons learned and to support promising efforts to prevent childhood obesity. Progress in Preventing Childhood Obesity: How Do We Measure Up? examines the progress made by obesity prevention initiatives in the United States from 2004 to 2006. This book emphasizes a call to action for key stakeholders and sectors to commit to and demonstrate leadership in childhood obesity prevention, evaluates all policies and programs, monitors their progress, and encourages stakeholders to widely disseminate promising practices. This book will be of interest to federal, state, and local government agencies; educators and schools; public health and health care professionals; private-sector companies and industry trade groups; media; parents; and those involved in implementing community-based programs and consumer advocacy.