Jun
04
2011
Hello my fans, breaking news: MyPlate has replaced MyPyramid as the new food educational icon for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The round plate shape is in and the pyramid structure is out. The new MyPlate message is the following:
A. Fruits and veggies should now make up half of your daily calorie intake.
B. Grains make up over one quarter and should be mostly whole grains.
C. Proteins make up less than a quarter of the calories for the day and include a recommendation for everyone (except vegetarians) to eat at least 8 ounces of cooked seafood per week. Less for younger children based on age.
D. Dairy should be either 2 or three cups depending on age and ONLY low fat or fat free.
E. Reduce your sodium intake.
F. Increase water intake and reduce and avoid sugary drinks.
The USDA spent approximately 2 million dollars to develop the new icon which includes promotional monies for the first year of its use. Yes, its simple and appears easier to understand than the pyramid. There is no mention of servings or portions? But I guess that depends on the size of your plate! The largest percentage of the plate goes to the plant foods which without a doubt are the healthiest foods you can consume. Unfortunately, most of us are not eating enough fruits and veggies. What are you waiting for? Low fat and ...
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May
25
2011
The 2011 American Fitness Index (AFI) report was released this week by the American College of Sports Medicine. Meant as a report of the Health and Community Fitness Status of the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the United States, the AFI was developed in 2008 as a measure of the fitness of various cities and communities across the United States, using “ a composite of preventive health behaviors, levels of chronic disease conditions, health care access, as well as community resources and polices that support physical activity, “and allows officials, residents and potential residents to see the health statistics in their community. This can help identify ways to improve the health and “quality of life and well-being” of the residents of that particular community. In addition to the fitness components of the community, violent crime statistics are also shown for each community. The index uses the 50 largest metropolitan areas of the United States as determined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (from data supplied by the U.S. Census). High AFI scores indicates “strong community fitness,” and are analogous to an individual’s strong personal commitment to physical fitness. Low scores can be interpreted as the reverse.
So let’s go to the results and see where your city’s fitness ranks:
2011 Rank/ City/ 2010 Rank
1 Minneapolis, MN -3
2 Washington, DC - 1
3 Boston, MA - 2
4 Portland, OR - 5
5 Denver, CO - 6
6 San ...
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May
07
2011
• National Physical Fitness and Sports Month (May 1-31)
• Mother’s Day (May 8th)
• National Physical Education and Sport Week (May 1-7)
• National Women's Health Week (May 8-14)
• Bike-to-Work Week (May 16-20)
• National Employee Health and Fitness Day (May 18)
• National Senior Health Fitness Day (May 25th)
• National Salad Month* (May)
• National Tap Dance Day (May 25th)
• Memorial Day (May 30th)
• United Nations: World No Tobacco Day (May 31st)
My friends, for all of you salad lovers, this is the month to show your support. If you are not a consumer of plant foods, this is the time to give them a try. Salads are an amazingly healthy food item that offers many protective health benefits. And it’s also the month to get out and show your exercise support.
Remember, regular exercise and eating healthy are the best ways to remain physically fit and protect yourself from many medical problems.
Stay fit and healthy The Nerdel Way.
Links:
a. Salad Adventures* 101 and 102 at www.nerdel.com/blog
b. Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans: www.health.gov/PAGuidelines/
c. Take the Million PALA Challenge: nerdel.com/blog
d. President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports Tool Kit: www.fitness.gov/resources/toolkit/index.html
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Mar
28
2011
As you all know, my pal Nerdel and I are big supporters of the Presidents Challenge and First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move programs. The intent of both of these fantastic programs is to get all Americans, young and old, into better shape. Both programs encourage you to eat healthier meals and snacks at school, at home, at work and whenever you go out to eat! And both programs emphasize the need to perform some type of physical fitness activity each and every day. The Presidents Challenge program has many individual activity categories based on age and lifestyle and you can earn many cool awards and medals by registering your fitness performance.
Here’s a little history: On September 14th, 2010, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius along with the co-Chair of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition-Dominique Dawes and Let’s Move Executive Director Robin Schepper, launched the Million PALA (President's Active Lifestyle Award) Challenge. The goal of the Million PALA Challenge is to get 1,000,000 youth and adults, from all over the United States, to sign up and participate in the Presidential Active Lifestyle Award (PALA) over the year. The ending date is slowly approaching-September 2011.
How does the Million PALA Challenge work? “The Presidential Active Lifestyle Award, or PALA, can be earned by taking part in 60 minutes of physical activity for kids ...
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Jul
19
2010
Let’s congratulate our bipartisan representatives in the United States Congress for passing the legislation: Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act (H.R. 5504) on July 14th, 2010. We are all aware that millions of kids come to school each and every morning hungry. According to Share Our Strength (Strength.org), over 12 million kids go to sleep each night with food insecurity. And we also know that the only chance at a healthy and nutritious meal (breakfast and or lunch) for these children is at school. There have been multiple studies published that demonstrate the importance and benefit of an adequate breakfast on the learning and skills of children.
What will this legislation do? Here are the highlights:
Improve Access to School Meal Programs
Increase the number of eligible children enrolled in the school lunch programs by using Medicaid/SCHIP data to directly certify children who meet income requirements without requiring individual applications and requiring states to establish and execute a plan to increase rates of direct certification.
Provide enhanced universal meal access for eligible children in high poverty communities by eliminating paper applications and using census data to determine school wide income eligibility.
Increase children’s access to healthy school breakfasts by providing competitive grants to school districts to start up or improve their program.
Improve Access to Out of School Meal Programs
Ensure fewer children go hungry year round by providing meals ...
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Jul
18
2010
First Lady Michelle Obama has made it her mission to tackle the issues of childhood obesity. She developed the Let’s Move campaign with the focus to encourage kids all over the United States (and the world) to get active and eat healthy:
“Through the Let’s Move! campaign—a comprehensive, collaborative, and community-oriented initiative that addresses all of the various factors that lead to childhood obesity—we are engaging every sector of society that impacts the health of children to provide schools, families and communities the simple tools they need to help kids be more active, eat better, and get healthy.”
As we all are aware, childhood (and adult) obesity is at epidemic proportions. According to the recent statistics, our nation is getting fatter and less fit. We are headed in the wrong direction. It is very difficult for individuals to lose the added weight once they have gained it. The new Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 (see Graehm Gray’s blog: DGA Parts One and Two in The Nerdel News) coming out soon will explain in detail the latest accumulated research based information on what we should be eating. However, a plan must be formed to try and prevent ...
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Jun
12
2010
Like many of you out there, I bought the Wii (Nintendo) video game for my daughter when it came out. The tennis was cool and the boxing was an interesting challenge. I liked having the ability of physical movement and the responses that were reflected in the game. My daughter liked building the avatars and playing the music and dance games. My initial opinion, prior to playing the game, was that I didn’t think that a video game could allow me to get enough exercise and be physical enough to equal a sport or going into the gym. After all, I was use to Pac-man and old fashion pinball where there was some excitement, a little gyrating but no real physicality. But after playing all the Wii games included in the base package including baseball and bowling, I was amazed at the work out that I was getting. So as usual, I decided to do a bit of research to see if there were any actual studies that confirmed my actual findings. Drs. Mellecker and McManus of the Institute of Human Performance-University of Hong Kong, performed research on activity and video gaming in kids and reported in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, that, “active gaming media results in meaningful increases in energy expenditure and ...
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May
25
2010
It’s that time a year, my friends, where we all find out if we live in a “fit” or “non fit” city. The 2010 American Fitness Index (AFI), sponsored by The American College Of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the Wellpoint Foundation is now officially out and we all can see the areas of the country that are considered fit and those that are, well, at the other end of the spectrum-“least fit.”
Developed in 2007, this AFI Report is a measure of the fitness of various cities and communities across the United States, using “ a composite of preventive health behaviors, levels of chronic disease conditions, health care access, as well as community resources and polices that support physical activity, “and allows officials, residents and potential residents to see the health statistics in their community. This can help identify ways to improve the health and “quality of life and well-being” of the residents of that particular community. In addition to the fitness components of the community, violent crime statistics are also shown for each community. The index uses the 50 largest metropolitan areas of the United States as determined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (from data supplied by the U.S. Census).
Regular physical activity is important to your health by decreasing risks of heart disease, stroke, obesity, and depression and helps improve muscles and joints. Exercise is fundamental ...
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May
19
2010
First Lady Michelle Obama, in a press conference with members of the Food and Beverage Industry, announced that the Partnership for a Healthier America has signed an agreement with The Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation (HWCF) whose members are pledging to take actions aimed at reducing 1.5 trillion product calories by the end of 2015. As an interim step to this goal, HWCF will seek to reduce calories by 1 trillion in 2012.
“Solving the obesity epidemic requires far more than anything government can do alone and today’s announcement represents an important step forward to providing Americans with healthier choices so that they can choose to lead healthier lives,” said Mrs. Obama, who also serves as honorary chair of the Partnership. “This is precisely the kind of private sector commitment we need. I want to thank the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation for stepping up to the plate and I hope this encourages others to do the same.”
“On behalf of the Partnership, I am pleased to acknowledge this major first step by the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation. Pledges like this one – with targeted and achievable results that are meaningful and measurable – will help us reach our goal of curbing childhood obesity within a generation,” said Dr. James R. Gavin III, chairman of the Partnership’s board of directors.
So how will these companies do it? Here is their plan:
growing and introducing lower-calorie options
changing ...
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May
17
2010
The White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity issued a report to the President on childhood obesity on May 13th, 2010 entitled: Solving The Problem Of Childhood Obesity Within A Generation. It is a summary of recommendations on how to approach the epidemic and focuses on four “priority” areas: 1. Empowering parents and caregivers; 2. Providing healthy foods in schools; 3. Improving access to healthy, affordable foods; and 4. Increasing physical activity. The goal for the Task Force is “returning to a childhood obesity rate of just 5% by 2030.” Can this be achieved? I am not so certain. Of course additional indicators such as measuring the number of children eating a healthy diet, making sure that children eat less sugar in their diet, increasing fruits and vegetables and increasing physical activity will be extremely important for the success of this plan.
The report indicates that: A. one in every three children (31.7%) ages 2-19 is overweight or obese, B. that obesity is estimated to cause 112,000 deaths per year in the United States, C. one third of all children born in the year 2000 are expected to develop diabetes and D. even more starling that the current generation may be on track to have a shorter lifespan than their parents.
Additional points from the report are the following:
Each year obese adults incur an estimated $1429 more in medical expenses than ...
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