The Healthier US School Challenge (HUSSC) was established to recognize schools that are creating healthier school environments through their promotion of good nutrition and physical activity.

In February 2010, First Lady Michelle Obama introduced Let’s Move!, incorporating the HealthierUS School Challenge into her campaign to raise a healthier generation of kids.

You can download the HealthierUS School Challenge kit here.

A new study from the University of Nebraska indicates that banning junk food or foods of "Limited Nutritional Value"in ala cart lines which compete with school lunch hour meals resulted in an 18 percent reduction in overweight or obese students.

The findings, which appears online in the Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, are from a three-year research project on child obesity that was funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.…

By Andrea Bossenmeyer


There are numerous scientists testing the effects of BPA in our food supply, and how it affects our bodies. The early research is suggesting that 92% of food from metal cans is contaminated with an estrogen-like chemical called BPA, or bisphenol A.

BPA has been linked to changes in prostate cells and increased aggression in animals.
The National Toxicology Program has said it has “some concern” that BPA alters development of…

Click here or go to the Lets' Move website for the full report.

Information from White House.gov

On May 11 the Childhood Obesity Task Force released their plan for reducing childhood obesity in a generation.

The following are a summary of some 70 recommendations that can be found here.

* Getting children a healthy start on life, with good prenatal care for their parents; support for breastfeeding; adherence to limits on “screen time”; and qu…

Mission: Readiness is a nonprofit organization of retired senior military leaders. Their latest concern is over what they call, "The latest national security threat: obesity."

Being overweight or obese has become the leading medical reason recruits are rejected for military service. In fact in the last fifteen years, the proportion of potential recruits who failed their physical exams because of weight issues has increased nearly 70 …

by Andrea Bossenmeyer

Everyone blames major junk food companies for advertising to kids, and contributing to childhood obesity...So why then don't we see advertising for broccoli? Green beans? Apples?

This article gives us a brief glimpse into the possibilities...

"the primary takeaway is that companies that sell, say, a certain cereal or fast food can brand their products to give them a market advantage. A single broccoli grower has a lo…

by Andrea Bossenmeyer

Jamie Oliver also known as the Naked Chef has found purpose and meaning in his life above and beyond his chef skills. Mr. Oliver is campaigning for kids with a new project called the Food Revolution. He is working on bringing awareness about food back into the lives of every person. He has been filming a TV series in Virginia about food – how families eat, what kids get at school and why, the diet of processed food and snack…

Contributed by Andrea Bossenmeyer



Fooducate is a great blog I follow. This morning they shared a brief history of how food became processed. I think it's a great share.



What you need to know:

Food processing is a set of methods and techniques used to transform raw food ingredients into consumable food. Food processing can be as simple as cutting up some vegetables to prepare a salad, or as complex as manufacturing a Twinkie in multiple processi…

Americans may be facing difficult choices at chain restaurants in the future. The health bill President Barack Obama signed into law Tuesday requires that restaurant chains post calorie counts for all the food items they sell. The law covers any chain with at least 20 outlets, amounting to more than 200,000 restaurants nationwide.

Adults may be learning the new lingo that kids have faced in making food choices for some time now as a result of …

Mandated PE Policies Ignored in CA


Source: Dick Jones Communications from American Medical Network

Obesity boot camps are not the answer to the nation’s waistline problem, says Deborah J. Wray, associate professor in the department of kinesiology at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth.

“Many programs have developed out of a desire to take advantage of the money that can be made from the obesity epidemic,” she writes in the March 2010 issue…

Great 5 minute trailer on kids and commercials. Important questions.

Pepsi announced plans Tuesday to stop selling its sugary drinks in schools around the world by 2012.

Pepsi will sell water, fat-free or low-fat milk, and sugar-free juice.

For secondary students, low-calorie soft drinks like Diet Pepsi will be added to the mix.

Coca Cola announced earlier this month it would stop selling its products in primary schools, unless parents or school authorities requested it sell them.



Previous blog posts:

Nutrition in…

First Lady Michelle Obama suggested that taking small steps like exercising a little more or skipping a cookie ("little things") added up over time and make a big difference in weight gain. However, Tara Parker Pope journalist for the NYT suggests otherwise in her article "In the obesity epidemic, What's one cookie." Numerous scientific studies show that small caloric changes have almost no long-term effect on weight.…

TV food personality and healthy food advocate, Jamie Oliver, gives a TED Talk after winning this year's TED Prize which allows him to communicate a wish.

Jamie’s one wish to change the world is to teach every kid about food. View the 20 minute video and watch his passionate TED Prize talk about how we are slowly killing ourselves and our children with the foods we (don’t) eat.




Check out our other blogs on school nutrition:
Schools role in the …

By Andrea Bossenmeyer



Recently I watched the movie “Food Inc.” which is a movie about food production in the United States and its impact on our health. I was enlightened to learn about how the meat industry feeds our animals. According to the movie, the way the meat industry feeds cattle has a direct effect on our health.

Today, let’s just talk about beef. Cattle naturally graze on grass. However, that is not what most of the cattle farms are fe…

A few brave principals across the nation are bringing a long standing school tradition to an end. They are advocating Recess Before Lunch. Recent research shows the number of schools implementing Recess before Lunch is rapidly growing.

Kids eat more, waste less food, return to class calmer, behave better and as a result, instruction time is increased. Sounds great but implementing Recess Before Lunch can be tricky.

Attend this free webinar where w…

Gov. Schwarzenegger announced actions to fight obesity and promote healthy living on Wed at the CA Obesity Summit in Los Angeles.

“My top priorities include the health and well-being of our children and all Californians, and reducing obesity will help improve both,” said Governor Schwarzenegger.

“At the 2010 Summit on Health, Nutrition and Obesity, the link between fitness and educational success, the importance of making sure kids have healthy …

Peaceful Playgrounds February 2010 Grants Newsletter has been released.
Articles include: Schools Role in the Childhood Obesity Crisis

Grant information

CVS Caremark Community Grants
Coca-Cola Foundation Grants
Peaceful Pathways. Reducing Exposure to Violence
Shade Structure Program
ING Unsung Heros Grants
Finish Line Youth Foundation Grants

Alarming new study indicates that children burdened with overweight and obesity were twice as likely to die before 55 compared to their thinnest counterparts. Most effected were the children with the pre-diabetes diagnosis.

The study, published Thursday in The New England Journal of Medicine, analyzed data gathered from Pima and Tohono O’odham Indians, whose rates of obesity and Type 2 diabetes soared decades before weight problems became widesp…

The Obama administration will begin a drive this week to expel Pepsi, French fries and Snickers bars from the nation’s schools in hopes of reducing the number of children who add pounds during their school years, according to the New York Times.

In legislation, soon to be introduced, candy and sugary beverages would be banned and many schools would be required to offer more nutritious fare. The announcement is expected to come today, President&#…