Prevention

The goal: 
To provide and maintain childhood obesity prevention methods that will combat the childhood obesity epidemic.

What is health promotion?
"the process of enabling people to increase control over their health and its determinants, and thereby improve their health" (WHO, 2005)

The Community

  1. Pay special attention to youth from families of lower socioeconomic status and from families where parents are less involved.
  2. Improve access to recreational activities when specific activities and resources are not distributed evenly throughout the townships in a given county.
  3. Address the transportation difficulties that are common in rural areas.
  4. Improve financial assistance to parents of children who may want to participate in organized sports but cannot afford it.
  5. Provide physical activity options that extend beyond organized sports.
  6. Improve efforts at reaching youth and families who do not enjoy seeking physical activity, with more community activities aimed at non-athletes.
  7. Increase access to nutritious foods and decrease access to unhealthful and fast foods.
  8. Offer programs that involve the family, mentoring methods, or coaching methods to increase children's sense of accountability for their participation in fitness activities.

    (Hawley, Beckman, Bishop, 2006)



The Education System

  1. Designate a school health coordinator and maintain an active school health council.
  2. Assess the school's health policies and programs and develop a plan for improvement.
  3. Strengthen the school's nutrition and physical activity policies.
  4. Implement a high-quality health promotion program for school staff.
  5. Implement a high-quality course of study in health education.
  6. Implement a high-quality course of study in physical education.
  7. Increase opportunities for students to engage in physical activity.
  8. Implement a quality school meals program.
  9. Ensure that students have appealing, healthy choices in foods and beverages offered outside of the school meals program.

    (Welcher, McKenna, Lee, Dietz, 2004)

The Home Environment

  1. Start small. Gradual changes are easiest to incorporate into the daily routine and to maintain long term.
  2. Set goals. Set realistic, measurable goals for each family member, and then determine family goals.
  3. Recognize triggers. Be prepared for situations that may tempt you to fall back to your old habits.
  4. Celebrate success. Frequent rewards can help keep your family motivated.
  5. Keep it positive. Focus on healthy lifestyle changes, rather than appearance or a number on the scale.
  6. Be flexible. It'll take time to get used to your healthier habits.
  7. Surround your family with healthy foods. Stock your kitchen with fruits, vegetables, whole-grain foods and other healthy choices.
  8. Eat in. Reduce the number of meals your family eats in fast-food and other restaurants.
  9. Build physical activity into the daily routine. Organize family outings that involve physical activity, such as walking to the library or taking a family bike ride.
  10. Limit household screen time. Set reasonable rules for TV and computer time, such as one to two hours a day for each family.

    (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2008)

Tools for Success:

Did you know? 
Up to $500 can be claimed for each child up to 16 years of age for physical activity and sport programs.  Children's Fitness Tax:  http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/whtsnw/fitness-eng.html





Images Retrieved from:1, 2, 3 & 4

 

 

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