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Lead the Way to Better Health
The Alliance for Affordable Services Says Choose Fruits, Vegetables and Physical Activity
The Alliance for Affordable Services is urging parents to “Lead the Way: Choose Fruits, Vegetables, and Physical Activity” during National 5 a Day Month in September. Parents can help reverse the trends in childhood obesity, high blood pressure, and type II diabetes by leading the way at home, at their children’s schools, and when eating out.
“It’s vital for parents, as the most influential role model in children’s lives, to lead by example,” said William Callaghan, President of the Alliance for Affordable Services. “Too many of our children are fighting diet-related illnesses. Parents need to lead the way to helping children develop healthy eating and physical activity habits that will stick with them throughout life.”
All Americans should eat 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day for better health and get at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity most days of the week.
Reversing Troubling Child Health Trends: Start At Home
Obesity rates have doubled in children and tripled in adolescents over the last two decades, with one in seven young people now obese and one in three now overweight.1
“Lifestyle habits begin at home at a very early age. If parents lead healthier lifestyles, their kids are more likely to do the same,” says Callaghan. “Our children and teens increasingly are suffering from health problems due to illnesses that normally happen later in life, like obesity, type II diabetes, and pre-hypertension. As role models, it’s our duty to make sure our children don’t continue down this path.”
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, poor diet and physical activity are among the leading causes of preventable death in the United States.2 Healthy lifestyles — staying active and eating a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables — can help reverse this trend. Yet most Americans — adults and children alike — don’t eat the recommended 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. It’s important for parents to lead the way to a healthy future for children by eating healthy foods themselves. Studies show that parents who encourage their child to eat fruits and vegetables actually eat more fruits and vegetables themselves.3
At home, parents can:
- Engage kids in the grocery shopping, from putting their fruit and vegetable favorites on the list to bagging their choices in the grocery store’s produce section.
- Keep a fresh fruit bowl on the table or counter, and keep easy-to-grab-and-eat vegetables in the refrigerator.
- Serve two vegetables with dinner.
Making a Difference in Schools
The majority of children eat lunch made at school. In 2003, the National Lunch Program served over 4 billion lunches to children around the United States.4 Parents and guardians should know what their children are eating at school. Recent programs in schools show that when fruits and vegetables are added to the food choices throughout the day — including salad bars at lunch and snacks in the classroom — children and teens will eat them, thus get closer to eating the amount of fruits and vegetables needed for good health.5
Parents have the power to make sure there is an abundance of appealing fruit and vegetable choices offered at schools, in cafeterias, in the classroom, and in vending machines and school stores. For example, parents can:
- Visit the school at lunchtime to see what’s offered as part of the lunch program and find out what’s available in vending machines, school stores, and as part of fundraisers.
- Make their healthful desires known to their teachers, or help children write a letter to do this themselves.
- Bring fresh fruit treats for birthday and other parties at school –what kid wouldn’t love a big slice of watermelon for someone’s birthday, or a cup of fresh, juicy berries?
The Alliance supports The Childhood Obesity Reduction Act which addresses the fast-growing problem of childhood obesity. This important legislation promotes better nutritional choices and more exercise for students in America's elementary and middle schools.
Contact your legislators and let them know this legislation is vital to the health of our nation’s children.
National 5 A Day Month in September is the perfect time of year for the whole family to learn more about the importance of eating fruits and vegetables, and work together to meet the 5 to 9 a Day recommendations. For more information, visit the National Cancer Institute’s 5 A Day Web site at www.5aday.gov.
About the Alliance
The Alliance for Affordable Services is a not-for-profit association dedicated to attacking soaring health care costs through wellness programs, information on wise medical practices, legislative advocacy and incentives for members to control their own medical costs. The association uses the power of the group to negotiate significant savings on a variety of benefits.
For more information on the Alliance, please contact call 1-800-733-2242. Or, visit the Alliance Web site at www.AffordableServices.org.
Sources
1 Ogden C, Flegal K, Carroll M, Johnson C. “Prevalence and Trends in Overweight Among U.S.
Children and Adolescents,” 1999-2000. Journal of the American Medical Association 2002, vol. 288, no.14, pp.1728-1732.
2 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “The Burden of Chronic Diseases and Their Risk
Factors: National and State Perspectives,” 2004. http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/burdenbook2002/preface.htm
3 Porter Novelli (2003). [Styles Database].
4 United States Department of Agriculture, “Food and Nutrition Service, National School Lunch Program: Total Lunches Served as of May 25, 2004.” http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/slmeals.htm.
5 4State Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Program in Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, and Ohio.
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