Obesity is Our Concern

04/15/2013

When the well is dry, we know the worth of water.
Benjamin Franklin

In his article, "Making a Difference in Early Childhood Obesity," which is included in the Exchange Essential "Nutrition and Childhood Obesity," Dan Huber points out that early childhood programs can play a pivotal role in curbing childhood obesity and its lifelong impacts:

"As with so much in early childhood, teachers of young children are in an ideal position to make a significant difference. Young children adopt healthy habits more easily and are able to apply these habits over a longer period of time than older children. This has profound implications for early childhood educators. The positive influences conveyed to children, subtle and overt, are played out in the thousands of life choices children make as they travel through adolescence and into adulthood. Caring adults can build awareness and teach the decision-making skills needed to identify healthy diet and activity options.

"When children understand and appreciate the importance of good nutrition and an active lifestyle, they have a kind of protection or immunity against the challenging environments at the root of the current crisis. Most experts agree that the widespread availability and promotion of unhealthy food options combined with reduced opportunities for physical activity has created a set of conditions that threatens children’s health. Early childhood programs can give children protection against this threat by making modifications to program practices and teaching methods using innovative and newly available tools."

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