News Release
HHS SECRETARY LEAVITT, NIH DIRECTOR TELL PARENTS: TOGETHER, ‘WE
CAN!’ PREVENT CHILDHOOD OBESITY
Federal Government, National Organizations, Local Communities
Join Together to Help Parents Improve Children’s Health Outlook
Washington, DC — HHS Secretary Mike
Leavitt today announced the launch of We Can!, Ways
to Enhance Children’s Activity & Nutrition, a national education
program from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to help
prevent overweight and obesity among youth ages 8-13. We
Can! provides resources and community-based programs for
parents, caregivers, and youth that focus on behaviors to
encourage healthy eating, increase physical activity, and
reduce sedentary time.
“Overweight in children is clearly a public health crisis.
Sixteen percent of children in the United States are carrying
around excess weight that’s 9 million children who are at
increased risk for chronic illnesses such as heart disease,
diabetes, and asthma,” Secretary Leavitt said today at the
Environmental Solutions to Obesity in America’s Youth conference
organized by the NIH’s National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences.
“We need to act now to prevent obesity in our children,” said
NIH Director Elias Zerhouni, M.D. “Obesity is a high priority
of the NIH. This year, we will spend about $440 million on
a wide range of research on this important problem.”
The science-based We Can! program helps parents teach
their children to:
- Eat a sufficient amount of a variety of fruits and vegetables
per day
- Choose small portions at home and at restaurants
- Eat fewer high-fat foods and energy-dense foods that are
low in nutrient value such as French fries, bacon, and doughnuts
- Substitute water or fat-free or low-fat milk for sweetened
beverages such as sodas
- Engage in at least 60 minutes of moderate physical activity
on most, preferably all, days of the week
- Reduce recreational screen time to no more than two hours
per day
There is new evidence that teaching children and their parents
to make lifestyle changes like the ones proposed in We
Can! can have an impact. A study published online today
in the journal Pediatrics shows that children ages 8 to 10
who were enrolled in a behaviorally oriented nutrition education
program with their parents and were taught to follow a diet
low in saturated fat and dietary cholesterol reported switching
from calorie-dense and high-fat foods to foods that were lower
in saturated fat, total fat, and dietary cholesterol. The
children in the intervention adopted significantly better
dietary habits over several years compared to their peers
who received only general nutritional information. The results
are from an ancillary study of the Dietary Intervention Study
in Children (DISC), supported by the National Heart, Lung,
and Blood Institute of the NIH.
“DISC demonstrates that children and their families can learn
to enjoy healthy foods and to be selective about their food
choices habits that will hopefully stay with them throughout
their lives,” said NHLBI Director Elizabeth G. Nabel, M.D. “The
study also showed that children and their families need the
right tools to help them make positive lifestyle changes.”
The new We Can! tools include a parents’ handbook
available in Spanish or English as well as a six-lesson curriculum
offered through community-based sites. Tested curricula for
children are also available for community organizations. In
addition, a new online resource provides parents, caregivers,
communities, national partners, and media up-to-date health
information and tips on maintaining a healthy weight for families.
U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H., FACS,
also spoke at the Environmental Solutions to Obesity Conference
about the benefits of healthy eating and physical activity
throughout life, beginning in childhood. Dr. Carmona noted
that the 2005 agenda for the Office of the Surgeon General
is “The Year of the Healthy Child.” Dr. Carmona said, “As
parents, we must lead by example. As a father, I work hard
to teach my children about the importance of physical activity
and healthy eating by not only talking with them but also
setting the example for them. In fact, my kids and I often
work out together. The behaviors that children learn from
us now will last a lifetime. We must encourage our children
to enjoy healthy foods and to be physically active for at
least 60 minutes a day — not only through sports, but also
by doing simple things like taking the stairs, riding their
bikes, and just getting out and playing.”
Founding partners for We Can! include Action for Healthy
Kids, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Association
for State and Territorial Public Health Nutrition Directors,
Black Entertainment Television (BET) Foundation, the International
Food Information Council Foundation, North American Association
for the Study of Obesity, Parents’ Action for Children, the
President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, and Univision.
Supporting organizations include the American College of Sports
Medicine, the Produce for Better Health Foundation, and the
University of Michigan Health System.
More than 35 communities across the nation have already committed
to implement We Can! programs with parents and children.
Thirteen intensive community sites have been selected to receive
training and to participate in thorough evaluations of the We
Can! program:
- State of Alabama, Coalition led by the Department of Public
Health
- Tamarac, Fla., City Parks and Recreation Department
- Roswell/Athens, Ga., Roswell Recreation and Parks Department
and Athens-Clarke County Leisure Services
- Gary, Ind., Youth Services Bureau/Parks Recreation
- South Bend, Ind., City Parks and Recreation Department
- Montgomery County, Md., County Recreation Department
- Boston, Mass., Boston Public Health Commission
- Pittsfield, Mass., Operation Better Start, Berkshire Health
Systems
- Springfield, Mo., Springfield-Greene County Park Board
- Las Vegas/Henderson, Nev., University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Department of Nutrition Sciences and Cities of Las Vegas
and Henderson
- Benton County, Ore., Benton County Health Department
- Lane County, Ore., Lane Coalition for Healthy Active Youth
- Temple, Texas, The Children's Hospital at Scott & White
More than 22 other community sites have committed to use
and distribute We Can! program materials. NIH has designed We
Can! so that local civic groups, parent groups, churches
and others can adapt and use the program materials from the We
Can! Web site.
We Can! was developed by the NHLBI and is being promoted
in collaboration with three other NIH Institutes — the National
Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development,
and the National Cancer Institute — as well as several national
private sector organizations.
More information on We Can! is available at http://wecan.nhlbi.nih.gov.
To request a free We Can! parent handbook in English
or Spanish, call toll-free 866-35-WE CAN (866-359-3226).
To arrange an interview with Dr. Nabel, contact the NHLBI
Communications Office at (301) 496-4236 or email nhlbi_news@nhlbi.nih.gov.
To interview Dr. Zerhouni, contact the NIH Office of Communications
and Public Liaison at (301) 496-5787. To interview Dr. Carmona,
contact the HHS Press Office at (202) 690-6343.
RESOURCES
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute is part
of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Federal
Government’s primary agency for biomedical and behavioral
research. NIH is a component of the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services. NHLBI press releases and other materials
including information about heart disease, obesity, and
related health issues are online at www.nhlbi.nih.gov.
NOTE TO MEDIA: See companion release “New
NHLBI-Sponsored Study Shows Programs Can Teach Children to
Eat Healthier” at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/new/press/05-06-01b.htm.
For broadcast media: A bites/b-roll package including sound
bites from Surgeon General Carmona (English and Spanish),
NIH Director Zerhouni, and NHLBI Director Nabel and footage
of families, foods, and We Can! resources will be fed:
Wednesday, June 1, 10:00 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.
Satellite Name: IA-6 (formerly Telstar 6) C-Band
Transponder: 24H Ch. 24
Audio: 6.2 & 6.8
Downlink Frequency: 4180 MHz
For general questions regarding the newsfeed, contact Maureen
at 800-766-1711, ext. 239 or mparenta@dwjtv.com.
For interviews, contact the NHLBI Communications Office at
301-496-4236.
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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press
materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news. |