An initiative to curb childhood obesity will begin in the Argentine neighborhood of Kansas City, Kansas, and the Ivanhoe neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri.
KC Healthy Kids has been awarded a $360,000 grant as part of the Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities effort from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The money will be used to help improve access to affordable, healthy food and find new opportunities for physical activity for children in both neighborhoods.
"This grant will help empower our community to prevent childhood obesity," said Gretchen Kunkel, president of KC Healthy Kids. "Kansas City has the capacity to make changes today that will improve
the lives of our children well into adulthood. All of us will benefit
from a healthier, more active community."
Kansas City was one of 41 sites selected out of 500 proposals nationwide. To improve access to healthy and/or fresh food, the program will look at promoting those choices through community gardens, corner stores and grocery stores. At the same time, the group plans to encourage policies that can bring physical improvements to the Argentine and Ivanhoe neighborhoods via sidewalks or walking trails.
KC Healthy Kids will work with the Argentine Neighborhood Development Association, Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council, Weighing In Collaborative, Mid America Regional Council and the Greater Kansas City Food Policy Coalition to reach out to the two communities.
Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities launched in 2008 as a key piece in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's $500 million pledge to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic by 2015. Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities is a $33 million initiative with 50 communities in the United States and Puerto Rico.
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I saw a news report about a program that brings fitness into to the classroom and I think is a really good idea. Kids are just not getting the exercise they need anymore and not eating right
The campaign reinvents recess by pairing dance instructors with schools to increase students� activity through creative movement. Until recently, the program was only implemented in Connecticut schools but is now available to schools across the country.
As part of the launch of the program, a nationwide video contest has been announced for children and young teens in grades 2 through 8 across the United States in addressing childhood obesity. I found this information on their site, www.recessrocks.com.
This is great news. I am a recovering food addict and I learned my habits from my family who used food like a drug to comfort and entertain themselves.
The first thing we did at grandma's house after the gross kissing stuff was over (I hated kissing my Grandfather who was normally drunk and had a nasty wet kiss for me) was dig into the candy jar for Hersheys kisses.
Our family revolved around what we were going to eat.
I learned young that the things we liked was candy, ice cream, pizza, fried chicken, taco bell and other fast food places.
We rarely ate a healthy meal except when we went on welfare and mom cooked 1 meat, 1 veggie and normally some type of starch. We normally had excessive sugar in the house: Hoho's Twinkies, Cupcakes, pies all 10 for a dollar at Safeway.
Breakfast was sugar cereal and milk, snack was a fugcicle, lunch was pizza and then the afternoon snack was 4 candy bars followed by what ever else we could get our hands on until dinner and more sweets.
This early pattern set up food cravings that led me to 345 lbs and misery.
Today i've lost over 100 lbs thanks to re training by lifeskills411.org, Personal Health Design, The You Are a CEO program and Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous.
We must teach our children the right things to do and rid them of the false messages advertisers give.
I dont watch tv any more.
When I do all I want to do is eat and the commercials reinforce the desires.
I am not 100% healed but I am on my way.
I want to see kids eat better and this is really a great start.
It will take awareness, effort and money to change our nation of fatties. LOL
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