Healthy

Heart Healthy Mind

October 2015 Newsletter

Childhood Food
Consumption Patterns:
A Cause for Concern
Dear Parents and Guardians,
These next few months our class will be introducing our
Healthy Heart Healthy Mind segment. The lessons will
include content on obesity, nutrition, and the links
between a healthy heart and a healthy mind.
I wanted to share some important highlights from our first
lesson below. The article, with link below, can help raise
Sed porttitor imperdiet odio. Sed ut leo.
awareness of how p roper nutrition can help combat
childhood obesity.

Childhood obesity is currently at its highest: recent

statistics show that 16% of children b etween the ages
of 6 and 11 are overweight, and that an additional
14.3% are at risk of becoming overweight.

The proportion of foods that children consumed from

restaurants and fast food outlets increased by nearly
300% between 1977 and 1996.

These are important statistics to be aware of, because

childhood obesity is a key indicator for obesity in
adulthood.
St-Onge, Marie-Pierre, Kathleen Keller, and Steven Heymsfield. "Changes in Childhood Food
Consumption Patterns: A Cause for Concern in Light of Increasing Body Weights." T he
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2003): n. pag. Web

Does a Healthy Mind Equal a Healthy Heart? - Saumil Oza,

MD." Saumil Oza MD. N.p., 10 Nov. 2014. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.

How you can help!

Monitoring your childs daily

eating habits closely is a great
way to make sure they are
maintaining a proper diet.

Planning healthy snacks and
meals at the beginning of
each week can help prevent
the urge to eat out at fast
food when things get busy
during the week.

"Smiles for Kids Blog." Smiles for Kids B log. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.

Part 1

Healthy Heart Healthy Mind

October 2015 Newsletter

Best Breakfast: A
Nutritional Way to Start
Your Day
Dear Parents and Guardians,
As a follow up to our lessons on childhood obesity, weve
narrowed our focus to starting the day out right with a
balanced breakfast.
Eating breakfast is negatively correlated with risk of
obesity, body mass index, and weight gain and positively
Sed porttitor imperdiet odio. Sed ut leo.
associated with the likelihood of having h ealthy body
weight

Eating breakfast is beneficially linked to cognitive

performance, particularly among nutritionally at-risk
students.

Does a Healthy Mind Equal a Healthy Heart? - Saumil Oza,

MD." Saumil Oza MD. N.p., 10 Nov. 2014. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.

How you can help!

A recent review of the breakfast-skipping literature yields

estimates that 1234 percent of children skip breakfast on
a given day.

Estimates vary greatly depending on how breakfast is

defined, yet there is wide agreement that, by any
measure, the extent of breakfast-skipping increased in
recent decades.

Breakfast is highly regarded as the most important meal of

the day. Many districts have a breakfast p rogram available for
students, because its critical that they get their morning meal
even if its difficult to provide at home.
Bartfeld, Judith, and Jeong-Hee R yu. "The School Breakfast Program and Breakfast-
Skipping among Wisconsin Elementary School Children." Social Service Review 85.4
(2011): n. pag. JSTOR [JSTOR]. Web.

Part
2
2

WebMD recommends 5
grams of fiber and 5 grams of
protein in every breakfast.
Dont hesitate to let school
cover your breakfast plans.
Children who eat breakfast at
school see an increase in
attendance, class
participation, academic test
scores, and are less likely to
be tardy.

"Breakfast-eaters Do Better at School." Breakfast-eaters Do

Better at School. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.

Healthy Heart Healthy Mind

November 2015 Newsletter

Important Info About

Your Childs Mid-day Meal
Dear Parents and Guardians,
In continuing our topics on nutrition in schools, I thought it
would be important to cover information about the National
School Lunch Program. This is a topic many of your students
were interested in, and weve been doing a daily tracker in
class to monitor what theyve been having for lunch.

Sed porttitor imperdiet odio. Sed ut leo.

Federal school lunches must provide approximately one-

third of the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for
key nutrients; school breakfasts offer one-fourth of the
RDA.
Children who eat school lunches and breakfasts have
higher mean intakes of micronutrients, both at mealtime
and over twenty-four hours, than those who do not.
Participation in the program declines drastically with age
There is also a decline as competing options to school
meals become available. IE Off-Campus lunch, vending,
snack lines, fundraiser foods, etc.

Breakfast is a critical meal to start the day off on the right
track, but a larger portion of the d ays calories come from
lunch, which makes it just as important to watch what
children are consuming.

Does a Healthy Mind Equal a Healthy Heart? - Saumil Oza,

MD." Saumil Oza MD. N.p., 10 Nov. 2014. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.

Story, Mary, Karen Kaphingst, and Simone French. "The Role of Schools in Obesity
Prevention." Th Future of Children 16.1 (2006): n. pag. JSTOR [JSTOR]. Web.

Part
3
3

How you can help!

Have routine conversations

about what was served and
consumed at lunch.
As students get older, try to
encourage them to take
advantage of the schools
lunch line program, and if they
do use a competing option
make sure that they are still
choosing healthy well-rounded
meals.

Healthy Heart Healthy Mind

November 2015 Newsletter

Refuel Right, and Always

Win!
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Our focuses in the next lesson are about adding proper exercise
to a healthy diet, as well as how to properly refuel after playing
hard. Sports are a great way to combat obesity and d isease, and
they also provide a large list of additional benefits.
With exercise, the expansion of the b odys fat cells is
reduced, decreasing the likelihood of obesity.
Sed porttitor imperdiet odio. Sed ut leo.
Preventing the addition of excess fat cells in childhood is
critical. Staying active and eating healthy are two of the
best habits to form to help prevent this.
Studies show that diet and exercise not only h ave an
immediate impact on a childs health, but also have long
term impacts on health and disease prevention throughout
adolescence and adulthood.

Replenishing after activities is critical. The chart to the right

shows some of the benefits of chocolate milk compared to
other beverage options, and it is available daily with school
lunch.

Antonio, Jose, and Jeffrey` Stout. "Fit Kids for Life." Google B ooks. N.p., n.d. Web. 15
Nov. 2015.

How you can help!

Participate and encourage:

Children are impressionable, so if
they see mom and dad staying
active and eating healthy they will
too.
Take fruits and vegetables to
sporting events for a quick snack
afterword. This will prevent the
urge to eat fast food, and hold
them over until there is time for a
healthy meal.

Part
4
4

Does a Healthy Mind Equal a Healthy Heart? - Saumil Oza,

MD." Saumil Oza MD. N.p., 10 Nov. 2014. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
"Chocolate and Flavored Milk." Wisconsin Dairy. N.p., n.d. Web.

Healthy Heart Healthy Mind

December 2015 Newsletter

Healthy Heart Healthy

Mind- Wrap Up
Dear Parents and Guardians,
As we finish up our lessons on the benefits of proper nutrition,
we turn our attention from the positive effects eating healthy
has on the body, to the positive effects it has on the mind and
in the classroom.

Better health and nutrition have been positively associated

with gains in schooling in many areas:

Sed porttitor imperdiet odio. Sed ut leo.

Better performance on test scores
Less absenteeism
Enrollment at younger ages
Less grade repetition
More grades completed
I hope you and your student have enjoyed these
lessons, and have taken away a few tips that can
help us all achieve a healthier diet and lifestyle!
Behrman, Jere. "The Impact of Health and Nutrition on Education."
The World B ank Research Observer 11.1 (n.d.): n. pag. Web.

How you can help!

If your child is working on homework

or studying for a test, give them b rain
food. A healthy snack will go a long
way nutritionally and can help
improve focus
Try to make sure that each of these
lessons is incorporated to your childs
daily routine to prevent obesity and
to promote academic success: Better
Breakfast, Mid day Meal, Refuel and
Win

Part
5
5

Does a Healthy Mind Equal a Healthy Heart? - Saumil Oza, MD."

Saumil Oza MD. N.p., 10 Nov. 2014. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.

"Infographics." Milk Means More. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.