Nutrition Progam in Arizona

This is a universal problem across America, and from what I hear from my daughter in Sharjah, it's as bad there. The no nutrition food that young people are eating is out of control, and the amounts amount to greed. Where has the word limits gone?

Food Good Nutrition
Program Stresses Good Nutrition at Childcare Centers
Janie Magruder
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 13, 2005 12:00 AM

Never mind taking candy from a baby, as the old saying goes, Arizona doesn't want its young citizens to have it in the first place.A state Department of Health Services pilot program to improve nutrition at child-care centers in six cities is under way, part of the state's 6-month-old obesity plan.

Child-care workers in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, Tucson, Flagstaff and Chino Valley are being trained to model healthful eating habits for the babies and preschoolers in their care; parents are being educated, too.Waiting until kids get to elementary school is too late, said Lisa DeMarie, nutrition coordinator in the Office of Chronic Disease Prevention and Nutrition Services.

Habits are formed even earlier," she said, citing studies that have found babies as young as 7 months drinking soda in their bottles and one-third of preschoolers with TV sets in their bedrooms.

Strategies to deal with childhood and adult obesity are part of the Arizona Nutrition and Physical Activity State Plan, which was released in February in response to a national obesity epidemic.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, one in three children ages 6 to 19, about 17.4 million, is overweight, and 30 percent of adults, or 60 million, are, too. In early 2004, Gov. Janet Napolitano directed the Department of Health Services to tackle an obesity problem that's even worse in Arizona.

Nearly six in 10 adults here are overweight or obese, placing them at risk for diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer and early death. Arizona's plan has no mandates nor funding, just recommendations for changes in schools, communities, workplaces and health care.

In addition to Arizona Project MUNCH (Model for Understanding Childcare Health), the following has happened since the plan's release in February:
• High school students in Nogales, Douglas, Yuma and Sells created visual art that encourages good nutrition, physical activity and other healthful habits. Some of the art will be used in marketing campaigns aimed at teens.
• The Phoenix Mercury's Diana Taurasi was featured on 2,000 growth charts distributed this summer to Mercury fans and low-income clients at Arizona Women, Infants, & Children offices. The poster's message: "Eat Smart. Get Active. Be Healthy."

• Plans are under way for a marketing campaign on portion control.

Twenty years ago, a typical blueberry muffin weighed 1 1/2 ounces and contained 210 calories, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; today, it weighs 5 ounces and has more than 500 calories.

Independent of the plan, a task force studying mandatory physical education in Arizona schools met for the first time last week. It will make recommendations to the Legislature.

In addition, a health clinic in south Phoenix is studying ways to improve the nutrition and activity of its young patients, 25 percent of whom are overweight.

Mountain Park Health Center serves mostly Hispanic families who have no medical insurance or are covered by the state's health-care program for indigents.

A task force of school representatives, health insurance providers and health officials started meeting in March.

Priorities: requiring daily physical education in south Phoenix schools, putting information on childhood obesity in area pediatricians' offices, educating parents about the new USDA Food Guide Pyramid and encouraging community gardening.