Over the past three decades,
childhood obesity rates in the United
States have tripled. Today, more than 23
million children and teens are overweight or obese, which places them at
increased risk for serious diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer and
stroke. If this trend continues, for the first time in history, children
will have shorter and less healthy lives than their parents.
In January of 2012, for the first
time in 15 years, the USDA issued new guidelines for school lunches. These new guidelines increase offerings of
fruits, vegetables and whole grain-rich foods. AASDN not only applauds these
efforts but supports them through development of colorful, interactive tools
aimed at educating, inspiring and motivating children to make healthy eating
choices.
Pease Join Us!
Childhood obesity is a tragedy and we at AASDN are working hard to develop solutions aimed at helping to reduce childhood obesity that threaten the lives of our children. Just as with all tragedies, we as a nation must come together to educate ourselves and our children on the steps necessary to protect ourselves. We all must become involved – parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, teachers, coaches – all of us.
Childhood obesity is a tragedy and we at AASDN are working hard to develop solutions aimed at helping to reduce childhood obesity that threaten the lives of our children. Just as with all tragedies, we as a nation must come together to educate ourselves and our children on the steps necessary to protect ourselves. We all must become involved – parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, teachers, coaches – all of us.
We need
your help! Making healthy eating choices
can be easy, interactive and fun.
AASDN Tools
AASDN has developed colorful, interactive
and easy to use tools designed for schools, parents, teachers and the public
aimed at making healthy eating choices fun and easy. Some tools are “free” and
others are inexpensive.
National School Lunch Awareness Initiative (NSLAI)- AASDN National School Lunch Awareness Initiative (NSLAI). The goal of the AASDN National School Lunch Awareness Initiative (NSLAI) is to inspire and motivate children to “try” new foods and make healthy eating choices through the use of the AASDN Placemats™. On November 2nd, 2012 almost 3000 children across the country participated in the “Shoot for 20 Stars Day” utilizing the AASDN “Shoot for 20 Stars Day” Placemat. This first Initiative produced data indicating that the participating children consumed more fruits, vegetables and whole grains through the use of this placemat. Participation in a “Shoot for 20 Stars Day” is free (small charge for placemats). See “NSLAI” below for more details.
- AASDN Placemats. AASDN has developed three colorful, laminated, interactive food tracking placemats to meet the needs of all educational settings. These placemats incorporate a star-associated food rating system which provides a simple yet effective tool for educating, inspiring and motivating children to make healthy eating choices. Foods are rated according to their nutritional value: 5 stars (Gold) – best choices, 4 stars (Green) - good choices, 3 stars (Blue) – Ok choices, 2 stars (Red) – less healthy choices, and 0 stars (Grey) – avoid these choices. See “Placemats” for more information on the different types of laminated, interactive food tracking placemats designed to meet the needs of all educational settings.
- Multi-Part Educational Series - "Strategies for Prevention of Childhood Obesity". This multi-part series focuses on aspects of childhood obesity. The specific goal of this series is to consolidate the plethora of information concerning childhood obesity and provide solutions /strategies that can be implemented at the family and school level. This series includes determining children’s caloric needs and sample menu plans based on caloric needs. This multi-part educational series is FREE. Continuing education units are also available for professionals wishing to receive contact hours. Clickhere for more details.
- NO: Book One of the 8th Day Series. During a 6 month sabbatical, Dr. Pentz(founder of AASDN) and co-author, Doug Dwyer, published a young adult novel with a purpose. No – Book oneof the 8th Day Mystery Series deals with the timeliest of issues – obesity and health related diseases in young children. This first novel of the 8th Day series inspires and motivates young readers to make healthy school lunch choices.
In direct response to the 2012
NSLAI AASDN is pleased to announce a collaborative research project with The
University of South Florida. The purpose of the project is to determine
the impact of the AASDN School Lunch placemat on the fruit and vegetable
intake of 2nd grade school age children attending the Villages, FL Charter
School. Click on USF
Research for more details.
The Initiative
consists of 2 learning objectives and the estimated time to instruct children
on initiative details is approximately 15 to 20 minutes. The
suggested audience includes elementary school children ranging from 9 to 12
years old but the simplicity of the placemat allows for k-6th grade
children to participate.
The first objective is to inspire and motivate children to make healthy
eating choices. The title of the
Placemat™ serves as a discussion point with the goal of educating children
on the importance of making healthy choices and that responsibility rests with
them. To achieve this objective,
teachers/parents/volunteers are asked to distribute the Placemat™ and
begin a discussion on why the title - My
Health is My Responsibility – might be important. The discussion should
remain positive and simple. Again, the
message remains that making healthy choices is important for my health and “My
Health is My Responsibility”!
Upon completion, the children
should be able to answer the following questions:
1. What does the title on the
placemat mean? It means that I am
responsible for trying to make healthier choices when eating lunch; I should
try to eat more 5 star and 4 star foods.
2. Why is this important? Making healthier choices will give me more
energy to play, to learn, and to keep me healthy. It’s my body and it’s my
health!
The second objective is to have the
children understand the AASDN Placemat food rating system.
Star-Associated Food Rating System
The AASDN star-associated food
rating system is implemented utilizing colorful and interactive placemats.
The AASDN Placemats™ incorporate a “star”
associated food rating system on the front side of the placemats. Foods are
rated according to their nutritional value: 5 stars (Gold) – best choices, 4
stars (Green) - good choices, 3 stars (Blue) – Ok choices, 2 stars (Red) – less
healthy choices, and 0 stars (Grey) – avoid these choices.
See “Details” for examples of how
the star-associated food rating system works.
