Winter 2003
| Michigan Action for Healthy Kids” Reaches One-Year Milestone October marks the first anniversary of the formation of Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK), a nationwide grassroots organization dedicated to promoting healthy school environments. Announced by Dr. David Satcher at the Healthy Schools Summit just one year ago this month, AFHK carries on the work drafted at the Summit, making strides in combating the obesity epidemic one school at a time. The Michigan Action for Healthy Kids (MAFHK) team is one of 51 state teams that are part of the national AFHK initiative, a collaboration of 39 national education, health and nutrition organizations and government agencies as well as a combined membership of nearly 2000 individuals. The initiative is chaired by former U.S Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher, whose 2001 report, The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity, brought nationwide attention to the staggering health and economic consequences of the nation’s childhood overweight epidemic. In October 2002, Dr. Satcher chaired the Healthy Schools Summit—along with First Lady Laura Bush—which launched the AFHK initiative. During its first impressive year, the MAFHK team has made important strides in creating healthier school environments for the state’s children. Among the MAFHK team achievements are: A Quality Physical Education policy was adopted by the State Board of Education at their Sept. 25th meeting. A Healthy Food and Beverage policy is in the final draft stages. The policy will be ready for State Board of Education review this fall. A PSA to encourage healthier food choices and more activity among teens is in development. A media campaign with the PSA is scheduled for January 2004 “I am proud of the work Action for Healthy Kids has done over the course of this year. In such a short time, AFHK has made its mark as the pre-eminent grassroots children’s organization devoted solely to improving the healthful environments of our schools,” said Dr. David Satcher. “While much is left to be done in the fight to keep our kids healthy, I am greatly encouraged by the local activity of the AFHK state teams, taking action in many different ways to keep our children fit and ready to learn.” AFHK aims to take on the serious problem of overweight and obesity—along with malnutrition and sedentary lifestyles—which adversely affect our children at home and at school. Obesity rates have doubled in children and tripled in adolescents over the last two decades. Now at epidemic proportions in the United States, overweight and obesity represent a serious and growing health and economic issue. The medical costs to treat obese children are 30% higher than those for children of normal weight. Action for Healthy Kids is addressing a key facet of the problem—the nutrition and activity levels in schools. |
Although Governor Granholm was not able to attend the September MAFHK coalition meeting, she sent these comments: “As Governor of the State of Michigan, it is a great honor and privilege to welcome you to the Michigan Action for Healthy Kids Fall Coalition Meeting. There is an ancient proverb that says, ‘Those who believe it cannot be done should get out of the way of those who are doing it.’ With the creation of the Healthy Kids Coalition and the implementation of your goals, you will ensure that hundreds of thousands of children in the State of Michigan lead healthy and productive lives. You truly should be proud to count yourselves among those who are ‘getting it done’ for our children both statewide and globally. Again, welcome. Please accept my gratitude for your efforts and my best wishes for your continued success.
Michigan Action For Healthy Kids Coalition was honored to have Michigan’s first Surgeon General, Dr. Kimberlydawn Wisdom provide a keynote address at its fall kick-off meeting on September 19th at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center in East Lansing.
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Milk Mustache Mania Sweeps Schools
Central High School in Grand Rapids recently hosted an exciting student promotion to introduce their new milk vending machine. Amy Klinkoski, Food and Nutrition Supervisor, won the machine at an educational health conference sponsored by United Dairy Industry of Michigan, Michigan Department of Community Health and Michigan Department of Education earlier this year.
Since the milk vending machine is one of the first in the Grand Rapids Public School District, UDIM thought it fitting to kick-off the machine’s first day of operation in style with milk mustache photos, customized t-shirts and milk sampling. The event took place during the lunch hours and the feedback from teachers, administrators and over 1,000 students was very positive. The Grand Rapids Press and WZZM-TV ran stories on dairy’s vending machine debut in the Grand Rapids Public School District.
“These fun flavors and grab-n-go containers make milk delicious, nutritious and read-to-go. Conducting an exciting event where students get to be a milk mustache celebrity builds a positive image for dairy among students,” stated Jessica Thompson, Coordinator of Public and Industry Relations at UDIM.
UDIM’s current milk vending machine offer expires December 31, 2003. Since 2001 over 230 machines have been placed in Michigan schools through UDIM programs. For more information on the milk vending machine program, please call 1-800-241-MILK (6455) or visit
www.udim.org.
Another event focusing on mustachioed students took place at the Columbia Middle School in early October as a follow-up to UDIM’s summer NASCAR program featuring the dairy industry’s sponsorship of NASCAR two-time Winston Cup Champion driver Terry Labonte. In select markets during the 2003 NASCAR season for every pit stop Terry Labonte and his #5 crew completed in less than 17 seconds, donations were made by local dairy units to a school of their choice. Due to it’s strong support of UDIM’s cafeteria promotions and close proximity to Michigan International Speedway (MIS), Brooklyn-Columbia School District's Food Service Program was selected to receive the donation.
At the June 15th NASCAR race at MIS the #5 crew completed a total of five pit stops in less than 17 seconds resulting in a $500 donation. Therefore the UDIM crew made a pit stop at Columbia Middle School to present Superintendent Brent Beamish and Sharon Tompkins, food service director, with a donation check. To liven up the lunch hour students could have their milk mustache photo taken and grab free milk from the school's milk vending machine. Several bottles had hidden stickers, which could be redeemed for a t-shirt with the Columbia Middle School Eagle mascot and the got milk? slogan. The students added to the excitement by creating got milk? themed posters that were judged by Superintendent Beamish. Winners received assorted got milk? prizes.
“We know that every student who drinks milk, packed with bone-building calcium and eight other essential nutrients is a winner,” Jessica Thompson exclaimed. “I was thrilled to be part of this check presentation event and to have reached 75 million loyal NASCAR fans nationwide with the message to eat 3 servings of dairy every day throughout the racing season.”
Teenage Girls Should Not Avoid Dairy When Dieting
Many teenage girls often mistakenly forgo dairy products due to concerns that these foods may be “fattening.” Yet, a new long-term study published in the International Journal of Obesity shows that teenage girls can maintain a healthy weight and include dairy products in their diets. No evidence was found that dairy food consumption is associated with higher body mass index or an increase in percentage of body fat during adolescence. The researchers say that this study, which followed 178 normal weight preadolescent girls between 8 and 12 years of age until they were four years past menarche, is the first in children to analyze the relationship between dairy food intake and body weight or fatness over time.
Dairy food consumption was measured at entry and exit and annually during the course of the study. Results were reported as daily servings of dairy foods, percentage of daily calories from dairy foods, and daily calcium intake from dairy foods. In addition, the percentage of calories contributed by both low-fat and full-fat dairy foods was assessed.
No significant relationship was found between:
l the number of daily servings of dairy foods, the percent daily calories, or the calcium from dairy foods and body mass index.
l daily servings of dairy foods or percentage of daily calories from dairy foods and percent body fat.
l percent of calories from low-fat or regular dairy foods and body mass index or percent body fat.
The findings reinforce the fact that adolescent girls should keep dairy in their diets. They also dispel the myth that milk and other dairy foods may be fattening. Dispelling this myth is particularly important given the health benefits of calcium-rich dairy products, especially during adolescence, which is the window of opportunity for maximizing peak bone mass. Research has shown that consuming the calcium required during adolescence positively affects bone mass and may help reduce the risk for osteoporosis in later years. Dairy foods are the primary source of calcium for children and adolescents. Nearly nine out of 10 teenage girls do not consume recommended dietary calcium intakes, largely because of their low dairy intake. The daily recommended dietary intake for calcium for girls aged 12 to 18 years is 1,300 mg—the equivalent of four servings of milk, cheese, or yogurt daily.
Recognizing emerging research demonstrating that calcium—and dairy calcium even more so—lowers body weight or fat, the researchers call for more studies to examine the role of calcium/dairy in body weight regulation.
For more information on the benefits of dairy foods in weight management, visit www.3aday.org for tips and quick and easy recipe ideas and www.nationaldairycouncil.org for the Healthy Weight Education Kit.
