Tweet
Helping parents make healthy family choices
Parents play a key role in making healthy choices for their children because the earliest decisions regarding food and physical activity occur in the home. But in today’s busy world, it isn’t always easy. Parents and other caregivers need a community of support. So Let’s Move to offer parents the simple tools, support and information they need to make healthier choices for their family. Children learn from the choices they see adults make. If children see parents enjoying nutritious foods and physical activity, they’re more likely to do the same.
Let’s Move is building communities by bringing together families, schools, private industry and government to make healthy living easier. With greater understanding and opportunities for good nutrition and physical activity, parents can take simple steps so busy families can live healthier lives.
- Empowering Consumers: By the end of this year, the Food and Drug Administration will have collected research, conducted dialogue with the industry, consumers and experts, and completed guidance for retailers and manufacturers to adopt new nutritionally sound and consumer friendly front-of-package labeling. This will put us on a path towards 65 million parents in America having easy access to the information needed to make healthy choices for their children. Many are already answering FDA’s call – including the nation’s beverage industry who are taking steps to provide clearly visible information about calories on the front of their products, as well as on vending machines and soda fountains.
- A prescription for healthier living: The American Academy of Pediatrics, in collaboration with a broader medical community, will educate doctors and nurses across the country about obesity, ensure they regularly monitor your child’s Body Mass Index, provide counseling for healthy eating early on, and even write a prescription for parents laying out the simple things they can do to increase healthy eating and active play.
- Next Generation Food Pyramid: To better help the public make healthier food and physical activity choices, the US Department of Agriculture plans to revamp the famous food pyramid symbol and online interactive tools. MyPyramid.gov is one of the most popular websites in the federal government and a 2.0 version of the Web site will offer consumers a host of tools to put the Dietary Guidelines into practice.
- Empowering Change: The USDA has created the first-ever Food Atlas, an interactive database that maps components of healthy food environments down to the local level across the country. This information can be used by all sectors – including parents, educators, government and businesses – to empower and create change across the country. It will include tools to identify the existence of food deserts, high incidences of diabetes, and other conditions in their communities.
- Let’s Move start up tools: This spring, Let’s Move will provide parents with simple and easy to use tips and toolkits to help get them moving. Check back for Let’s Move toolkits, including your interactive family contract to set your goals, pick your activities, and track your success.
Check out the Government website http://www.letsmove.gov/
Please take a chance to read through this article and the links. If we have a chance to save the future it is with our kids.
If you have any questions about how to start an exercise program please contact me atwww.healthandexerciseprescriptions.com
Jaime Hernandez
Health and exercise prescriptions Inc.
Health And Exercise Prescriptions ® 