Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Initiative
Early childhood obesity has become an epidemic that our community can no longer ignore.With this in mind, FIRST 5 convened The Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Collaborative in June 2007, Co-Chaired by Dr. Dan Delgado, Director of the Pediatric Healthy Lifestyle Center at Valley Medical Center. The Collaborative is comprised of local decision-makers involved in the following communities: government, health care, children’s services, child care, and non-profits. A Policy Workgroup was also formed out of the Collaborative, which is chaired by Santa Clara County Supervisor Ken Yeager.
After one year of community input and research, the Collaborative produced an Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Strategic Plan. The proposed goals and strategies in the plan provide a focus for the work of the Collaborative over the next 5 years, ensuring that the importance of early childhood obesity prevention is at the forefront for the whole community.
The following are a list of accomplishments for 2009-2010:
Improving Access to Affordable, Healthy Food
Through the Collaborative, FIRST 5 developed a partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank to fund and operate the Produce Mobile at two FIRST 5 Family Resource Centers. Fresh, free produce is provided to families monthly with 4,160 families and children benefiting from the food received.
Increasing Breastfeeding
Research shows that breastfeeding is proven to prevent overweight, obesity and Type 2 diabetes in children. FIRST 5 provided funding for two major county projects with the aim of increasing breastfeeding rates among culturally-diverse, low-income women:
Improving Feeding and Eating Practices for Young Children
FIRST 5 funded Choices for Children to deliver “Five Keys to Raising Happy, Healthy Eaters” workshops to parents and teen mothers, as well as train childcare and preschool providers on best-practice feeding information. Santa Clara Family Health Plan also partnered with FIRST 5 to offer “Five Keys” classes to parents referred by their pediatrician. Over 627 parents and 43 providers were served.
In Collaboration with the Bay Area Nutrition and Physical Activity Collaborative (BANPAC) the Obesity Prevention Collaborative participated in Soda Free Summer/Rethink Your Drink. FIRST 5 trained 264 community based organizations, parents and children on how to “be sugar savvy” and recognize the hidden sugar being consumed in drinks. Educational materials were distributed to encourage families to be “soda free” for the summer and to have children select water as their drink of choice through promotion via the “Drink Water, Said the Otter” storybook. Materials reached over 10,450 parents and children.
FIRST 5 partnered with Silicon Valley Reads, celebrity Chef LaLa and Kaiser Permanente to offer “Yummy For Your Tummy and Carrot Soup Story Time” events, where parents and children were educated about healthy eating, learned how to cook a healthy meal, and discovered the joy of reading stories with health messages. Over 170 parents and children were served.
Increasing Opportunities for Physical Activity
Through a partnership with the Santa Clara Valley Health and Hospital System Pediatric Healthy Lifestyle Center and Turning Wheels For Kids, 70 children receiving treatment for being overweight were provided with bicycles and tips to increase their exercise.
Reducing Television Watching/Screen Time and Marketing of Unhealthy Food to Children
In partnership with Wild Zones, FIRST 5 implemented a family event in April, called “Kids Get Off the Couch Day” in celebration of National TV/Screen-time Turn-Off Week. The event emphasized the importance of engaging young children in alternative activities, such as playing outside in nature, instead of watching TV or playing video games. The event was a success with over 400 children and parents playing in the mud and sand pits, building forts and fairy houses, and exploring nature in a safe environment.
Facilitating Effective Treatment Strategies for Overweight Children in Clinical Settings
FIRST 5 promoted trainings to healthcare providers on childhood obesity prevention messages and best practices during residency training and continuing medical education.
FIRST 5 Early Childhood Policy Workgroup
Santa Clara County Supervisor Ken Yeager chairs the FIRST 5 Early Childhood Policy Workgroup. To date the workgroup’s policy efforts have focused on supporting local, state and federal policies that: mandate that health care service plans and insurers include coverage for lactation consultations with IBCLCs and for the rental of breast pumps; nutrition standards for the beverages served in childcare; increase reimbursement rates for free, reduced price, and paid meals and snacks served under the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). FIRST 5 was also pleased to collaborate with a variety of organizations that all worked hard to support Santa Clara County’s Healthy Eating/Toy ordinance that stipulates that toys given out at fast-food restaurants may only accompany healthy meals.
FIRST 5 Obesity Prevention Marketing Campaign
Included in implementing the six goals of the Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Strategic Plan is a marketing campaign that provides parents with helpful information they can utilize to promote healthy lifestyles within their own family.
FIRST 5 has created The Super Healthies whose mission is to promote health and nutrition to families! The Super Healthies are a cast of young heroes who are committed to promoting healthy eating and physical activity: Veg Master, Fruitalicious, Dairy Girl, Protein Power and their mascot Grain-A-Roo.
To date, the Obesity Prevention Marketing Campaign has included:
- Through the “Breastfeeding at Birth Initiative” at SCVHHS Valley Medical Center, 115 nursing staff were trained on providing breastfeeding support to all new mothers. This impacted 3,821 babies this year.
- The “Lactation Promotion Collaboration”, through the Santa Clara County Public Health Department, continued to provide the Breastfeeding peer counseling program to WIC clinics in North and South county; operated the Breastfeeding Support Line; and supported strategic plan development for the county’s Breastfeeding Task Force to address gaps in services. These services impacted 892 new mothers.
- Production of Rethink Your Child’s Drink Tip Sheets for parents encouraging them to serve water or milk to young children and limit juice consumption, as juice contains a lot of sugar that children do not need. The Tip Sheet was distributed as a targeted piece of the “Soda Free Summer Campaign” that ran Bay-Area wide.
- Promotion of the new “Yummy for Your Tummy” recipe booklet by Chef LaLa, developed by FIRST 5 California.
- A Super Healthies placemat – featuring the Super Healthies characters stating healthy feeding messages for parents and children.
- Ads on buses and in mall kiosks promoting the Soda Free Summer Campaign.
Childhood Obesity Prevention Podcast
ReThink Your Drink Podcast
If you have any questions about the Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Initiative and Collaborative, feel free to contact Tyson Jue at tyson@first5kids.org or 408.260.3768.
