Topics: Child Obesity, Nutrition, Physical Activity, Wellness
This week I read a great article about addressing the US childhood obesity epidemic. In the article, author Len Saunders states: “we need to understand that there is not one magical formula to fix every single overweight child, since gaining weight can be environmental, emotional, physical, or inheritable.”
I couldn’t agree more. Scores of research and best practice stories show us that a multi-pronged approach that involves collaboration from multiple sectors –schools, parents, health care providers, community leaders, kids and all levels of government, is the only way we’re going to make headway on ending childhood obesity.
In the spirit of collaboration, NEA HIN continually strives to work with local, state, and national partners to create healthy and safe school environments for kids and adults. One example is our “Competitive Foods Project”, in which we are working with NEA state affiliates and members to advocate for strong state nutrition standards for snack foods and beverages that are sold in school vending machines, cafeteria à la carte lines, school stores and fundraisers. To learn about how you can make changes in your school, download our “Bag the Junk” policy brief. For more information about our project, visit: https://www.neahin.org/bagthejunk/