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Project Action Page
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How It Works: This page outlines the projects that HW Kids members are working on, and is a dynamic map of proposed actions. If you would like to add to your project or any project that you are interested in, just click on the "ADD YOUR IDEAS" link at the bottom of each box. This page will allow members to share ideas for their projects in between meetings, and with other members who are not able to attend meetings.
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Map of this page:
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| Media Awareness / Media Smart Kids Need to develop a tool and a target group: school children, high school athletes (gatorade) Educate children to recognize fact vs fiction in media advertising (In schools?) (via a media campaign?) Point out the tactics of Big Tobacco/Big Food. Use tactics that were effective against tobacco, such as legislation to remove advertizing from TV, link to children's health, educating the public.
If you bake with sugar, you're "Cooking with Pooh"! |
Education and Public
Awareness Develop a speaker roster with topics (Dr Voakes: fructose talk) (5-2-1-0) Continue to have a table at the Expectant Parents Fair (Dr Voakes did this again this year for the 3rd time, 4-17-11) We could also do other health fairs. Not many people realize that healthy nutrition means being sugar free. We should name the campaign something with the word "sugar-free" in it. Sugar-free Kids Campaign? Sugar-free Communities? Sugar-free Healthy Bodies? I could start a web page for Campaign for Sugar-free Kids? Promote newer obesity prevention guidelines such as the Colorado Guideline Target groups: civic groups, chamber of commerce?, schools, PTA groups, medical groups, fitness trainers, doctors or other health professionals, local Board of Health. Include diversity of culture in target populations. Appeal to business groups and Chamber of Commerce, "healthy weight citizens are good for business", healthy work force attracts smart businesses. San Antonio was recently turned down by a major industry as a site for expansion of their business because the children of San Antonio had BMI's over the national average: this is the future work force of any industry, and smart companies are going to be looking at this sort of statistic. Make videos for You-Tube? There are probably lots of these on nutrition and exercise, but few or none on fructose. Dr Voakes did an interview with Kristen Dixon, a student from WKU media dept, and this will be put on YouTube. Ideas for reaching parents: write articles for BG Parent Magazine, including sugar intake, reducing TV and screen time, outdoor exercise, home gardening, etc This would be a good project for the Spring. Dr Voakes has contacted Dr Drew Bremer (Vandy endocrinologist) who has a special interest in childhood obesity and fructose effects. He gave a talk to the Warren County Medical Society in August, 2011. Dr Bremer is a very dynamic speaker, and would be great for the fall educational project. He has agreed to speak at the Medical Center in November. Dr Voakes could ask to be interviewed on Drive Time at WKCT and talk about fructose and metabolic syndrome. |
| Legislation / Advocacy Partner with statewide groups, such as AAP-KY, Partnership for a Fit KY, Healthy for Life (UofL) Need better guidelines from the AAP and FAAP about restricting sugar intake in kids. The AHA has already released very strict limits for sugar intake in adults. Target areas: soda tax? Calories, saturated fat and sugar information on the menus? Work for menu labels for food chains and schools, listing calories and sugar content. Make the next step in school health laws: eliminate sugar drinks from school campuses. New state guidelines for activity in day care setting (see AAP) Try to influence WIC and food stamps to eliminate high sugar foods... Food stamps could issue veggie coupons for FARMERS MARKETS like they do in Massachesetts: |
Kids Try-Athlon Thoughts from our post-Try meeting: We could use a corporate sponsor, much better advertising, appeal more to the average child rather than the highly motivated ones, call it a "run/walk try-athlon". Continue to coordinate with the adult triathlon. Need more volunteers around the course. The increased distance this year seemed to go well. Get schools more involved. Some children had a "life-changing" experience, Leah Ashwill will put together some testimonials for the web page. The 2011 Try was a huge success with over 100 kids participating!! |
| Web Page / Web Page Promotion New ideas for the web page? How to promote the website? New page about "anti-obese" bias (discrimination against overweight people)? New page of "the basics" that can explain in simple terms the fructose concept and other strategies for obesity prevention. We should try to include the name of our webpage in any media events. Dr Voakes has put the website on the little fridge magnets that Dr Voakes will be giving out (again) at the Expectant Parents Fair twice a year. New project: write up a summary of sugar content in common foods, which to avoid etc. Post on the web page. This is now done, and is at the front page menu on the left, called "How to be Sugar Free". We could add more about the Campaign to Be Sugar Free on that page. The YouTube segments should direct many more viewers to the web page. |
Super-Size Me Experiment;
Fat Head Anyone interested? Dr Voakes would like to revisit the documentary "Supersize Me" and do it again without the massive sugar intake. He feels that the results would be vastly different. Title could be Super-Size Me Revisited. This could be a great YouTube documentary. We are now applying for a Media Sciences intern to do the filming. Dr Voakes is meeting with Shannon Crone on April 27. NEW DIRECTION!!!! I discovered that the "SuperSize Me Revisited" experiment has already been done! Yay! It's called Fat Head. It was written and performed by comedian Tom Naughton, with the help of several fairly respectable researchers. He ate fast food and nothing else for 28 days, but avoided sugar and excess potatoes (no super-sized fries or sugar drinks), and he lost 12 pounds. He was around BMI of 27 to start with ended close to 25. His lipid panel improved, and he felt better. This is exactly what I expected would happen to me, except for the weight loss (since he was overweight. This is basically a high fat / low carb diet). I have put a link to Fat Head on this web page, with a disclaimer at the beginning. Shannon Crone at WKU has come on board as a student intern to produce the video! We are now working on a series of videos aimed at elementary students, called the Caveman Diet for Kids. These should be published to YouTube by the end of the year. More later.... |
| Schools Anyone interested in reviving the health report card? We discussed this at the November meeting, and felt that a preliminary study and survey would be helpful in getting this implemented. Possible parameters to include: BMI, sleep (by report), use of candy in the classroom, diet habits, but not too much on the time-consuming end (such as physical fitness testing). Would Donita Kelly be interested? Schools are organized by site-based councils. Supt Joe Tinius has regular contact with reps from these councils, usually the principal. We could communicate with schools via Joe Tinius. This might be a way to educate teachers and others in the schools about important issues such as nutrition and exercise. Safe Routes to Schools... What about starting up a school nutrition review team, and make visits to several schools, and give each school a grade based on objective criteria (quality of nutrition knowledge in the curriculum, sugar, fat and fiber content in the school lunches, availability of sugar drinks at school, including chocolate milk! and juice, etc) The scores could be announced publicly: the paper would eat this up! Some schools do not allow sugar foods to be brought into the school. It would be good to involve our school-based members... School gardens: this is a project promoted by the KY First Lady Jane Beshear. Kids learn how to grow gardens, so they can teach their parents! I see that Natcher has a project like this. "Pack a Sack" program: City Schools are giving out easy-to-fix meals to kids on Fridays for getting better nutrition to needy families on the weekend. We could help with reviewing the quality of these foods...they need a list of healthier choices, such as low sugar items, high fiber, low saturated fats... Could we get County Schools involved too? Deborah Willams is looking into changing the chocolate and strawberry milk in all city schools to a fructose-free brand (TruMoo). This would be a huge step in reducing sugar intake!!!! |
PEP Grant for Housing
Authority Sandhya Bhoyar, the Health Promotion Specialist of the Housing Authority is applying for a PEP grant to involve school children in physical activities and in learning about healthy nutrition. Parents are encouraged to be involved. Schools will need to change some policies to reduce sugar intake in schools which is HUGE! BMI's will be recorded for all kids, and effect of the intervention will be measured.
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| New Medical Information Dr Voakes will post new info from the medical literature on the web page. Maybe some of the other health professionals in the Coalition could also post by forwarding the info to this box. Also medical tidbits and tips on weight loss etc could be forwarded to the Facebook page. This is an area we could promote breastfeeding (Kentucky is among the worst states in the nation with only 12% of mothers breastfeeding!!), tobacco-free and sugar-free kids from birth, AAP guidelines for prevention of obesity, and the new AAP guidelines for physical activity in day cares.
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Activity in Child Care Setting New AAP guidelines. We could get these out to the day cares in this area. Put them on the web page (done by Dr Voakes), and maybe work toward getting these incorporated into state guidelines.
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| Face Book Chris Ingram has offered to maintain our FaceBook page. We could link to Healthy for Life at U of L, and many other FaceBook groups.
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Wellness Center Referrals Pads for doctors offices, talk it up at doctors' meetings We should work together with the Wellness Center, and have them include our website on the Rx pads, as well as 5-2-1-0.
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| Promote
Exercise (CrossFit Kids) Dr Kries suggested that we work with Erin Richter at Crossfit, to establish a treatment program for overweight kids. This would teach them how to continue doing exercises at home. They would also be trained to follow the AAP guidelines of 5-2-1-0 (5 servings of fruits and veggies, 2 hours or less TV time, 1 hour of exercise, and zero sugar per day). Dr Kries and Dr Voakes worked with Erin to put on a 1-week camp for kids ages 4-13 in June. Dr Bryant is also involved. Parents were targeted primarily, and the kids will have fun for a few hour-long sessions per day. Healthy nutrition will also be emphasized.
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New Project?
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