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Countdown to Good Health: 5-4-3-2-1 Go
By Andrea Bossenmeyer Who do you think has a greater influence as a role model: a parent, teacher or young adults? The Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children (CLOCC), believes its young adults, and they are taking advantage of that fact. They have started a program using about 24 high school students to teach nutrition classes to elementary age children. The classes are being held at various after-school programs and day care centers. The students are teaching students the 5-4-3-2-1 principle, which advocates five servings of fruits and vegetables, four glasses of water, three servings of low-fat dairy products, two hours or less of screen time and one hour or more of exercise daily. It isn’t a surprise to see organizations like this popping up all over the country. We all are very familiar with the term “childhood obesity” and “the obesity epidemic”. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 16% of all children and teens in the United States are overweight. And millions more children are at risk for overweight. Other reports suggest that the prevalence of childhood obesity is even higher.
Peaceful Playgrounds provides the physical activity element needed for weight loss. Chicago schools have demonstrated their concerned regarding how to get kids active, as well as, how to best teach good nutrition habits. Balancing caloric output (physical activity) with caloric input (nutrition) is a strategy being tested in over 75 schools in the area concerned with the childhood obesity prevention project. The Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children CLOCC has presentations to download, fact sheets about serving sizes, water intake, flyers for promoting healthy concepts with parents, and a variety of website resources. Let me introduce you to some of the gems I’ve found: I love their chart on water intake. This is one of the most clear guides for children that I’ve run across.
Unlike many other organizations that are concerned about childhood obesity, CLOCC addresses not only the way nutrition effects your body physically but also emotionally or mentally. Consortium to Lower Obesity - Water Intake for Children Fact Sheet
Here’s a little
excerpt from their
free Water Intake for Children brochure:
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The 2003 CLOCC Annual Report showed that
Chicago’s kindergarten-aged children are overweight at more than twice
the national rate, which is why it’s so great this organization is
stepping up to the challenge. They have a common goal of protecting
Chicago children from the effects of the obesity epidemic. Its primary
focus is on children aged three to five years, their caretakers, and
those who work with their parents and caretakers.
