My ADA

Give Children Information They Need to Make Healthy Food Choices – Now and for Life

FOR RELEASE JANUARY 17, 2005

Media contact: Jennifer Starkey, Julia Dombrowski
800/877-1600, ext. 4802, 4769
media@eatright.org

CHICAGO – The number of overweight children keeps rising. The National Academy of Sciences recently said “current food and beverage marketing puts children’s long-term health at risk.” With dietary preferences and eating patterns developing early in life, the food and nutrition experts of the American Dietetic Association say all children need access both to high-quality foods and to education on making the best possible food choices.

“Far too many of America’s children are overfed but undernourished, are declining in physical activity and have limited health knowledge,” said registered dietitian and ADA spokesperson Andrea Giancoli.
“Along with the home, what better place to reach children with the nutrition messages and services they need than in the central location of children’s lives – their school?”

Congress agrees. The federal Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 requires every school district in the country to implement a wellness policy, beginning with the 2006-07 academic year. By this coming fall, all schools must put goals in place for nutrition education, physical activity and nutrition guidelines for foods served at the school. The law outlines the process for districts to reach these goals but allows for flexibility so that each district can meet their own needs.

“School wellness policies will address integrating nutrition education and physical activity into other classes or school activities,” Giancoli said. “The goal is to develop a program that shows how healthy eating and physical activity can fit into all aspects of life, from childhood through old age.”

ADA believes all school wellness policies must:

Include nutrition guidelines for all foods available on the school campus during the school day.
Include goals for nutrition education, physical activity and other school-based activities designed to promote student wellness.
Establish a plan for measuring success.
Involve parents, students and representatives of the school food authority, school board, administrators and public in development of the policy.

“These new local wellness policies increase the need for trained food and nutrition professionals in schools,” Giancoli said. “Nutrition program directors in local school districts should be credentialed as registered dietitians, dietetic technicians, registered or School Nutrition Association nutrition and school food specialists.

“With food and nutrition professionals in the right places, the results can be better-fed children who learn to choose healthy options,” Giancoli said. “Better choices lead to healthy bodies and healthy lives.”

###