From HTR News?..
Nutritional improvements made in the foods served at schools could help reverse the nation?s childhood obesity epidemic, and the first evidence of that is in places that have implemented changes early.
Childhood obesity rates have declined slightly in several cities and states that are tackling the issue including Mississippi, California, New York City, Philadelphia, El Paso and Anchorage, according to two groups that are tracking the trend.
?We?ve had 30 years of increasing rates of obesity, but we might be seeing the turning point for this epidemic,? says pediatrician James Marks, a senior vice president for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which issued a summary report on the topic. One of the foundation?s goals is to reverse childhood obesity in this country.
The gains are pretty small in some communities, but if nothing else they reverse long-building trends of higher obesity rates among kids.
Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy for the Center for Science in the Public Interest,a Washington D.C.-based consumer group, which did its own analysis of the changes, says, ?We are seeing decreases in obesity in places where they are making a concerted effort to address the problem, mostly in schools. They?re not just crossing their fingers and hoping the problem goes away.?
A 2010 law directed the U.S. Department of Agriculture to update the national nutrition standards for all food served in schools. The standards are designed to improve the health of about 53 million children who attend primary and secondary schools. Kids consume about 30 to 50 percent of their daily calories while at school.
The changes that went into effect this year mean students are being offered healthier options and slightly fewer calories at lunch, Wootan says.
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Source: http://www.lensaunders.com/wp/?p=6117
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