We all know that healthier school meals improve kids' diets. But did you know kids' like them? The first national surveys of school leaders show that the majority of students like the new healthier lunches schools are offering after USDA’s improved nutrition standards went into effect in fall 2012. This study is done by Bridging the Gap, a nationally recognized research program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation dedicated to improving the understanding of how policies and environmental factors affect diet, physical activity and obesity among youth, as well as youth tobacco use. In elementary school the study finds that there hasn't been a significant impact on participation in the school lunch program. Sixty‐five percent of public elementary schools reported no overall ...
Children with a greater number of healthy food outlets near their homes had a reduced likelihood of being overweight or obese, finds an Australian study published in American Journal of Health Promotion According to results from the study, children who had access to at least one healthy food outlet within about half a mile of their home had a 38 percent decreased risk of being overweight or obese compared to those who did not. Read more about the ...
Latino communities need safe and walkable streets to stay active. In order to make the case for these type of projects, Smart Growth America and the National Complete Streets Coalition released a May 2014 report entitled Dangerous by Design. The report calls for safer street designs, better information on street conditions, walking rates, and crash data. Case studies in this report provide examples of best practices in redesigning and improving streets. To learn more about state policies to improve pedestrian safety and to access resources for transportation officials view the full report ...
Policy solutions aimed at the prevention and management of type II diabetes are often similar to those involved with obesity prevention. This report prepared by the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation of Harvard Law School provides useful information related policy for both obesity and diabetes prevention. Access the report ...
Partnership opportunities exist at all levels of collecting data including state agencies, local jurisdictions, universities, and others. Check out this report from the Safe Routes to School National Partnership to learn more about collecting data effectively and improving modeling. Access the Improving Modeling and Data Collection for Active Transportation Report ...
Are children in the US getting enough physical activity? According to the 2014 National Report Card on Physical Activity---a report put together by the National Physical Activity Plan Alliance---levels of physical activity for children could be improved. Findings from the report indicated that only 13% of children nationwide used active transportation and only 8% of 12-15 year olds participated in a minimum of 60 minutes of physical activity a day. According to a blog post from the Safe Routes National Partnership report cards like these can be used to inform policy makers, schools, and other stakeholders about the great need to improve the state of physical activity programming in the country. Read the Executive Summary here. View the full report ...
According to this report, in schools with a Safe Routes to School program, 32.4% of children walked to school compared to only 20.2% in schools without a Safe Routes to School program. Budget cuts to transportation as well as increased childhood obesity rates, a need to decrease traffic, and a desire to improve community safety, are all reasons why transportation departments should work collaboratively with Safe Routes to School partners. Learn more about how both sectors can work together in the Safe Routes National Partnership's Buses, Boots, & Bicycles ...
Together communities & parents can make a real difference in the health of their children. That's why in 2005, the National Institutes of Health launched the We Can (Ways to Enhance Children’s Activity & Nutrition) curriculum, to enhance children's activity and nutrition. The curriculum includes a toolkit for community action as well as a parent guide to guide families in eating right and staying active. Other evidence based resources available on the website include: Media-Smart Youth: Eat, Think, and Be Active!® – A Curriculum for Youth
EatPlayGrow™ – A Curriculum for Families with Young Children, and Caregivers of Children
I Can Do It, You Can Do It! – A curriculum for youth and adults with disabilities
CATCH® Kids Club – A Curriculum for ...
Creating environments that are safe and conducive to physical activity is important for encouraging Latino Youth to be active. In this research article, researchers Cynthia Perry, Brian Saelens, and Beti Thompson found that a higher quality of parks and amenities were associated with greater participation in after school programming among Latinos.
Learn more about what researchers found in the following article: Rural Latino Youth Park Use: Characteristics, Park Amenities, and Physical ...
