Thursday, February 5, 2009

Houston Conference: Promoting Healthy Kids - Less diabetes and obesity


This is an upcoming conference that is very important. Just look around and see how many kids are overweight these days (don't look at yourselves, you might get depressed). I went to a store a few days ago (an outlet for an upscale retailer) and the biggest size for women was a 14. I thought to myself, most women over 30 won't fit into these clothes.

This is serious stuff. I have mentioned before in the blog that my colleague, and MD/PhD (from Harvard no less) that works at a lab in Cambridge UK told me that this generation will have a shorter lifespan than their parents. WHY? McDonalds, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Transfats -- that equal to diabetes, heart disease and an number of other problems.

If you go to the conference, try to talk the sponsors into diversifying into the production of soy milk (cow's milk is a big culprit when it comes to many diseases, believe it or not - later I'll post some scientific studies that prove this)


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Great Ideas Sought for Healthy Kids, Healthy Schools Summit





District asking for input to improve nutrition and physical-activity opportunities for HISD students
February 03, 2009
Healthy Kids Healthy
Schools Summit

Date: February 20 and 21, 2009

Time: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday; 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Saturday

Location: Houston Club, 811 Rusk Ave., 77002

Detail: a meeting of hundreds of district stakeholders designed to generate ideas on how to improve nutrition and physical-activity opportunities for all HISD students



Questions: For more information, contact Summit Co-Chair Rose Haggerty at 713-556-6823 or rhaggert@houstonisd.org.

The Houston Independent School District, in partnership with almost two dozen other organizations, will be hosting its first ever Healthy Kids, Healthy Schools Summit (HKHS) on February 20 and 21, 2009.

Subtitled “Leveraging the Power of Our Community,” this invitation-only event is designed to gather ideas and feedback from the community about how to best improve nutrition and physical-activity opportunities for every child in HISD.

How can I help?

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TEACHERS (of middle- and high-school health and P.E. classes) are asked to encourage their students to participate by contributing to the online idea exchange.
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STUDENTS are asked to share their experiences through the “Your Voices” section of the HKHS Web site through February 20. See flyer here (PDF ) for details.
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COMMUNITY MEMBERS are asked to contribute their best thinking here about what could make HISD schools the healthiest in the nation.

“We know there is a strong positive link between nutrition, physical activity, and academic success,” said Superintendent of Schools Abelardo Saavedra. “This summit is a ground-breaking opportunity for HISD to serve as a national model for leveraging the creativity, passion, and power of the total community in accelerating improvements in nutrition, physical education, and physical activity. This initiative provides the potential for a win-win-win scenario—for our students, schools, and the community.”

The Healthy Kids, Healthy Schools Summit is being generously underwritten by the National Dairy Council and Dairy MAX. Other partners are: Action for Healthy Kids, Baylor College of Medicine, CAN DO Houston, Children’s Defense Fund, City of Houston, Familias Latinas, Families Under Urban and Social Attack, Greater Houston Partnership, Harris County Public Health & Environmental Services, H-E-B Grocery, Houston Style Magazine, Houston Texans, Houston Wellness Association, Oliver Foundation, Steps to a Healthier Houston-Harris County Consortium, Texas Action for Healthy Kids, Texas Department of Agriculture, The Methodist Hospital, University of Texas Health Science Center, and YMCA of Greater Houston.


link to photo

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