2006 Press Releases

As New Nutritional Guidelines are Introduced for Schools,
Saint Barnabas Offers Advice to Combat Childhood Obesity

Livingston, N.J -- Parents trying to help their kids eat and live healthy often find it is no easy task. The temptation caused by snacks, sodas and fast food, often available in schools, make it difficult for children to eat right.

Luckily, some help for parents came recently when five companies agreed to follow a new set of nutritional guidelines and replace current offerings in school vending machines with healthier products under an agreement brokered by former president Bill Clinton and the American Heart Association.

“Often parents who do a good job of serving healthy foods at home are not aware of the high contents of fat, sugar and sodium their children are consuming when they purchase food at school,” said Debra Gill, Ph.D., the program director for the Healthy LIFE® Pediatric Weight Management Program at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, N.J.

Approximately 20 percent of American students are reported to be are overweight and childhood obesity can lead to a variety of other risk factors, including diabetes, hypertension, elevated cholesterol and feelings of depression and anxiety. Type 2 diabetes, related to being overweight, is the fastest growing childhood disease in the United States.

The companies, PepsiCo, Mars Inc, Kraft Foods, Campbell Soup and Dannon, have agreed to the measure as the latest move in the drive to address nutrition and health for school children in the face of growing levels of childhood obesity. It follows a move earlier this year by Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Cadbury Schweppes to stop selling non-diet soft drinks in schools.

While a lunch policy forbidding the sale of candy, soda, fatty foods and high sugar snacks during school hours has been in effect in New Jersey since September, Dr. Gill hopes these new nutritional guidelines will influence other companies to join the cause and help to reverse the national rise in obesity among children.

“Parents can help their children now by encouraging them to make better choices which can have a huge impact on their health and quality of life in the future,” explains Dr. Gill.

The Healthy LIFE® Pediatric Weight Management Program offers the following tips for parents in maintaining good nutritional and health practices:

• Share a common goal of staying active. Involve the family in nature walks or other physical pursuits.
• Promote healthy eating by offering nutritious snacks (vegetables and fruits, low-fat dairy foods and whole grains.)
• Pack healthy school lunches with lean meats, fruits and vegetables and whole grains. Or, to save calories, try “light” high fiber breads (you can even find white bread with added fiber).
• Model healthy food choices for your child and speak positively about the inclusion of healthy foods.
• Promote physical activity, including unstructured play at home, and sports activities.
• When eating out, consider the portion size to be the equivalent of two meals. Either share the meal or eat half the meal, and then take the other half home to mix with vegetables for a second dinner the next night.
• Limit television and video time to a maximum of an hour a day or require kids to be moving while they watch in order to earn more viewing time.

The Healthy LIFE® Pediatric Weight Management helps children reach a healthy weight and teaches them how to make healthier choices without giving up satisfaction and enjoyment. To learn more, interested families are invited to attend a free information session on Monday, December 4, 2006, or Monday, January 8, 2007, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Saint Barnabas Ambulatory Care Center, 200 South Orange Avenue in Livingston. To register or receive more information about Healthy LIFE groups, please contact Sean Nealy, program coordinator, at 973-322-7496 or snealy@sbhcs.com. For program details, visit www.healthylifehealthyweight.com.

Date: October 16, 2006

[ top ]