Health Resources

The Best Me

The Best Me provides elementary school students with important information about being active and eating healthy foods. A few health facts are listed below to demonstrate why we are addressing these issues.

Health Facts

Obesity

  • Obesity is second only to smoking as the leading cause of preventable deaths in the U.S. It contributes to around 400,000 deaths a year. (Kelly Brownell, Phd and Kathleen Battle Horgen, Phd, Food Fight. McGraw Hill, 2004.)


  • American children may be the first generation in modern history to live shorter lives than their parents did. (Kelly Brownell, Phd and Kathleen Battle Horgen, Phd, Food Fight. McGraw Hill, 2004.)


  • Over the past three decades, the childhood obesity rate has more than doubled for preschool children aged 2 to 5 years and adolescents aged 12 to 19 years, and it has more than tripled for children aged 6 to 11 years. (Jeffrey P. Koplan, Catharyn T. Liverman, and Vivica I. Kraak, Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance. Washington DC: National Academies Press, 2005. iom.edu Kaiser Permanente is not responsible for the content or policies of external Internet sites. )


  • Psychological problems associated with childhood obesity include negative self-esteem, withdrawal from interaction with peers, depression, anxiety, and the feeling of chronic rejection. (Richard Deckelbaum and Christine L. Williams, Obesity Research, Vol. 9, Suppl. 4, November 2001. obesityresearch.org Kaiser Permanente is not responsible for the content or policies of external Internet sites.)


  • Academic performance has been linked to weight in some studies, with the finding that obese students perform less well academically than average-weight students. (Childhood Obesity, a Growing Epidemic, by America’s Promise, 2003.)

Eating Habits

  • Consumption of fast food by children has increased five-fold since 1970. Each day about one-third of American children eat fast food.  (Bonar Menninger, and Tom Ulrich, "Childhood Obesity," New York Times Supplement, January 2006. kp.org/childhoodobesity)


  • In the last 20 years, children's consumption of soft drinks has doubled, while their milk consumption has decreased 40%. (Bonar Menninger, and Tom Ulrich, "Childhood Obesity," New York Times Supplement, January 2006. kp.org/childhoodobesity)

Inactivity

  • Children now spend an average of five and a half hours a day using electronic media, more time than they spend doing anything else, besides sleeping. Even preschoolers spend as much time with screen media as they do playing outside. (Bonar Menninger, and Tom Ulrich, "Childhood Obesity," New York Times Supplement, January 2006. kp.org/childhoodobesity)

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Resources on the Web

To learn more about the topics addressed in The Best Me, try visiting the websites listed below.

Kaiser Permanente: kp.org

Farmers Markets in the U.S.: apps.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/ Kaiser Permanente is not responsible for the content or policies of external Internet sites.
Current listing of farmers markets throughout the United States, provided by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service.

Champions for Change: barrn.org/d_programs_cfc.htm Kaiser Permanente is not responsible for the content or policies of external Internet sites.
tel: 408-792-5118
Programs aimed at increasing fruit and vegetable consumption and physical activity among low-income communities.

The SPARK Programs: sparkpe.org Kaiser Permanente is not responsible for the content or policies of external Internet sites.
tel: 1-800-SPARK-PE
School physical education programs developed by the National Institutes of Health.

Bay Area Regional Nutrition Network (BARNN): barrn.org Kaiser Permanente is not responsible for the content or policies of external Internet sites.
tel: 408-792-5118
BARNN coordinates nutrition and physical activity related services to Food Stamp eligible families to increase efficiency of delivery.

Center for Science in the Public Interest: cspinet.org Kaiser Permanente is not responsible for the content or policies of external Internet sites.
Nutrition website for children.

California Project LEAN: californiaprojectlean.org Kaiser Permanente is not responsible for the content or policies of external Internet sites.
tel: 916-552-9907
Works with state and local activity and nutrition leaders to conduct programs with California communities and schools.

California Healthy Kids Resource Center: californiahealthykids.org Kaiser Permanente is not responsible for the content or policies of external Internet sites.
tel: 1-888-318-8188
Website has a wide range of health information, education, and trainings for schools and parents. Resource Center maintains a comprehensive collection of health education materials available for loan to educators throughout the state.

United States Department of Agriculture:  MyPyramid: mypyramid.gov Kaiser Permanente is not responsible for the content or policies of external Internet sites.
The main website of the MyPyramid food guidance system; also includes additional information on nutrition and physical activity.

CANFIT: canfit.org Kaiser Permanente is not responsible for the content or policies of external Internet sites.
tel: 510-644-1533  
A nonprofit organization that engages communities and provides nutrition and physical activity workshops for organizations, consultants, youth service providers, and young people.

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Our Research and Reading List

  • Chew On This by Eric Schlosser and Charles Wilson
  • Food Fight by Kelly D. Brownell, PhD – Director of the Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders
  • How We Eat by Leon Rappoport
  • Lunch Lessons by Ann Cooper and Lisa M. Holmes
  • The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
  • Food Politics and What to Eat by Marion Nestle
  • Diabesity by Francine R. Kaufman MD
  • Wellness Foods A to Z by Sheldon Margen, MD - University of California, Berkeley
  • Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
  • Guide to your Child's Nutrition by American Academy of Pediatrics
  • Fat Land by Greg Critser

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updated December, 2010