Walking to school can help youth get fit

Children in California are gaining more weight than ever before, which can be detrimental to their health as they move into adulthood. According to the California Department of Health Services, during the last two decades, the prevalence of overweight children in California has doubled. Today, more than onethird of 9 to 11-year-old children and one-fifth of middle and high school students are overweight or at risk of being overweight.

What's to blame for this epidemic of overweight children? Youth today are eating too many high-fat, high-sugar foods and are spending more time indoors in front of televisions and computers and less time being physically active. That can have serious consequences for future generations of Californians since weight problems that develop during childhood can lead to a host of serious health conditions such as cancer, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

As alarming as this trend may be, simple steps can be taken to help combat obesity and its related health concerns. Parents can decrease their child's risk of experiencing these health problems by encouraging healthy eating habits and 60 minutes of daily physical activity.

In addition, more and more schools are getting involved. Locally, the Los Angeles Unified School District Nutrition Network, a program led by the district's Health Education Programs, supports healthy eating and physical activity for low-income, pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade students. Through a variety of fun, interactive and educational classroom activities, the network encourages children to eat more fruits and vegetables and be physically active for 60 minutes each day for better health.

This year alone, nearly 380,000 students and more than 25,000 school community members benefited from Nutrition Network's innovative programming.

Through these efforts, the Nutrition Network is helping change the way students think about food and exercise by helping these young people better engage their taste buds, minds and bodies.

On Wed., Oct. 4 the Nutrition Network, along with local businesses and political leaders, will join schools from around the world to celebrate International Walk to School Day. Last year alone, more than 3 million people in 38 countries walked to school as part of this program, which is designed to promote health, safety, physical activity and concern for the environment.

In Los Angeles, hundreds of students, parents, teachers and community leaders will participate in organized walks around several local schools.

Through these events, the network and its partners hope to demonstrate to parents and their children that choosing to walk to school rather than drive is a superb way to get physically active. It can help cut down on pollution and traffic congestion, reduce the amount of money spent on gas, and it can give families the chance to spend time together. Additionally, the event is designed to highlight ways to keep children safer while walking and will draw attention to the need to create more secure and more "walkable" routes to school.

At the conclusion of the event, the Nutrition Network will help give walkers a healthy start to their day by providing a sampling of a nutritious school breakfast, including fresh fruits.

Walking to school is just one simple and healthy activity that can be incorporated into a family's daily routine. Here are more easy tips to help childre get moving and get healthy:

+Instead of driving, walk to get groceries. If a car is a must, choose a parking space far from the store's front entrance.

+Encourage children to explore the outdoors. Dozens of hiking trails throughout Los Angeles County make for fun and healthy family outings.

+Cleaning can be exercise for the entire family to enjoy-spice it up with lively music.

+Turn playtime into exercise by riding bikes, jumping rope or playing catch.

+Take advantage of warm weather to wash the family car. Chasing a child with a hose or scrubbing bubbles is part of the fun, and it burns lots of calories.

In addition to increasing activity levels, the Nutrition Network recommends that families stock their cupboards with fun snack items that children of all ages will enjoy. They recommend small bagels or mini-muffins made with added fresh, canned and dried

fruits; nonor low-fat fruited yogurts; fresh vegetables pre-cut to serve with low-fat dressing or salsa; and whole grain English muffins for fun, do-it-yourself mini-pizzas.

Children can personalize their mini-pizza by adding their favorite toppings, such as mozzarella cheese, mushrooms, zucchini, pineapple and other fresh fruits and veggies.