As we begin again to consider health care reform in this nation, the issue of childhood obesity should not be ignored.
Healthcare Topic: Women & Children
Wednesday, May 5, 2009
Thursday, May 5, 2009
While there is certainly no magic bullet, constructing a system that keeps in mind the needs of families and children will prove crucial to the integrity of the system as a whole. Improvement will certainly require simultaneous efforts on a number of fronts, but building a system around the needs of our children will create health care that embodies our values, delivers effectively, and eventually lowers cost.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Obesity is increasingly becoming an epidemic in industrialized nations, particularly in the U.S. where one out of every three adults is obese.
Tuesday, April 4, 2010
Eight months pregnant, Elvira, 28, was poised, articulate and confident through a two-hour prenatal class. Then she formed a circle with 10 other mothers-to-be, caught a skein of bright pink yarn a nurse tossed to her, and burst into tears of gratitude.
Monday, May 5, 2010
WIC participation saves taxpayer dollars in the babies’ early years and contributes to the prevention of several chronic diseases in both the mom and the child later in life. WIC is also taking on a very important role in fighting an epidemic that poses one of the greatest new threats to childhood health: obesity.
Tuesday, November 11, 2010
The health of a society should be measured by the health of its play. The play of a healthy society should be rich and varied: imaginative, dramatic, physical, cooperative, solitary.
Tuesday, April 4, 2011
Text4baby? No, babies in utero are not that tech-savvy, not even in 2011, not yet at least. But a program that sends free health and wellness cellphone text messages to women during pregnancy and the first year of the baby’s life has been getting attention.
Thursday, April 4, 2011
For individuals fortunate enough to have access to a car, what is it that makes us pack up our things, load the kids or perhaps the family dog and head out across town instead of heading to a local playground we could reach on foot?
Thursday, May 5, 2011
I often start off my play-related trainings with a visioning exercise. I ask the audience to close their eyes and remember their own play memories–the sights and sounds they experienced, how they interacted with their peers, and where they were when they played. At the close of the activity the group participates in a sharing of memories.
Thursday, June 6, 2011
Like many nonprofits, KaBOOM! exists to solve a problem—the play deficit. Our children are playing less than any previous generation, and this lack of play is causing them profound physical, intellectual, social, and emotional harm.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
From my window I can hear the sounds of children at play. Their giggles and chants echo what childhood should be—a carefree time to explore, play, and challenge oneself. Only, despite the appearance this boisterous group provides, this is not the case for many children. In fact for many children play has become an issue of social justice.
Monday, July 7, 2011
Treating skinned knees and stomachaches is part of the drill at any school nurse’s office or school-based health center. But for many kids, health-care providers at these sites do much more than treat everyday aches and pains: They give checkups and vaccinations, make sure kids take their insulin shots and antidepressants on time, and teach them how to manage chronic conditions such as asthma.
Thursday, August 8, 2011
Service learning presents an amazing opportunity to include children and youth in efforts to deal with the public health crises that are obesity and the play deficit.
Thursday, September 9, 2011
Creativity is not something that should be thought of as a privilege of youth. It is something that we each can tap into each day, regardless of age.
Thursday, October 10, 2011
If we can look past our fears that rough and tumble play breeds aggression, we can focus on its merits.
Thursday, November 11, 2011
The use of open-ended play materials is as old as play itself... having seen the rich experiences that develop as children engage in play with open-ended materials it is hard not to advocate for their increased use.
Monday, January 1, 2012
“It's the heart afraid of breaking that never learns to dance. It's the dream afraid of waking that never takes the chance. It's the one who won't be taken, who cannot seem to give, and the soul afraid of dyin' that never learns to live.” -Amanda McBroom, The Rose
Thursday, February 2, 2012
By Michelle Andrews, Kaiser Health News
Thursday, February 2, 2012
With the passage of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, the United States Department of Agriculture will be revising the nutrition guidelines for the Child and Adult Care Food Program for the first time in decades. This represents an important time to align the program with the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans and to address the epidemic of childhood obesity that has developed over the past several decades. CACFP is a federal nutrition assistance program administered by the Food and Nutrition Service of the USDA.
Tuesday, March 3, 2012
The Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) provides federal grants to states for supplemental foods, health care referrals and nutrition education for low-income, pregnant and postpartum women, infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional-risk. Based on recommendations from the Institute of Medicine, the foods available to participants in the WIC program underwent a significant overhaul in 2009 to better align nutrient intake among WIC participants with the latest dietary guidelines.
Thursday, June 6, 2012
For more than 40 years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has served as America’s nutrition safety net. In fiscal year 2011, SNAP served nearly 45 million people, about one in seven Americans nationwide. SNAP promotes optimal health and the well-being of low-income individuals through improved nutrition and nutrition education.