Press Releases: National
September 25, 2007
Kaiser Permanente Launches New Tool to Fight Childhood Obesity
Scholastic to distribute bilingual educational materials to nation's schools
OAKLAND, Calif. – Kaiser Permanente today announced the launch of "The Incredible Adventures of the Amazing Food Detective," a first of its kind, free, online video game in English and Spanish that teaches children to eat healthier foods, get more active and manage how they spend their time in front of the computer and television.
Based on a popular character from Kaiser Permanente's Educational Theatre Program, the Amazing Food Detective takes children through activities that show how to choose healthy foods and get more active. Children playing the game follow the routines of eight culturally diverse children whose activities or conditions would benefit from healthy food and exercise choices. The game, aimed at children ages 9-10 and available to everyone at www.kp.org/amazingfooddetective, complements Kaiser Permanente's nationally recognized childhood obesity clinical strategy.
"The Amazing Food Detective game is part of Kaiser Permanente's continuing efforts to address the epidemic of childhood obesity," said Ray Baxter, senior vice president for Community Benefit at Kaiser Permanente. "The game builds on our Healthy Eating Active Living approach to obesity and chronic health conditions. HEAL takes childhood health beyond the doctor's office by surrounding kids with healthy messages and opportunities to make healthier choices at every touch point of their lives: schools, families, communities, online, grocery stores and beyond."
The rate of childhood obesity in the United States has tripled in the last 15 years. About 9 million children in the United States are overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Research shows that nearly 7 million of those children will grow up to be overweight or obese adults.
Kaiser Permanente has joined forces with Scholastic, the global children's publishing, education and media company, to distribute supplementary educational materials that meet national standards along with CDs of the game to more than 5,000 public schools nationwide this month. The materials include a teaching guide with engaging lessons and activities as well as a colorful wall poster with a full month of healthy ideas for the classroom. Family fun pages reinforce the healthy choice messages being taught in the classroom and include healthy tips and resources for families and a family profile chart to help families set health goals for themselves and their children.
"Helping children learn and grow includes helping them have a healthy foundation for learning," stated Shelley White, editorial director of Scholastic. "This innovative program from Kaiser Permanente not only supports the building of this healthy foundation but it also delivers it to children in an engaging and exciting way."
Kaiser Permanente makes $20 million in grants each year to help drive policy changes that encourage healthy eating and active living in the communities it serves. Among the changes Kaiser Permanente has supported are creating 38 farmers’ markets at or near Kaiser Permanente facilities in six states; offering healthier food choices in school cafeterias and student stores; removing from school vending machines less-than healthy choices such as sodas; helping establish safe walking and biking routes to and from school and work; urging neighborhood markets and corner stores to offer and prominently display more fresh produce; and staging thousands of performances about healthy living by the Educational Theatre Program in schools around the U.S. ETP performances reached 539,344 kindergarten through 12th-grade students in 1,883 schools in 2006, and 13 million students since it began in 1985.
Designed by Kaiser Permanente health professionals, Amazing Food Detective includes an array of features that get kids moving and away from the computer, such as an automatic shut-off function after 20 minutes that reminds kids to get active, printable scavenger hunts that teach kids how to interpret food labels, experiments to show kids how to measure sugar in soda drinks, healthy kid-friendly recipes, muscle-building exercises, and family activities that encourage better eating habits.
To learn more about fighting childhood obesity, go to: www.kp.org/amazingfooddetective.
About Scholastic, Inc.
TScholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL) is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books and a leader in educational technology. Scholastic creates quality educational and entertaining materials and products for use in school and at home, including children's books, magazines, technology-based products, teacher materials, television programming, film, videos and toys. The Company distributes its products and services through a variety of channels, including proprietary school-based book clubs, school-based book fairs, and school-based and direct-to-home continuity programs; retail stores, schools, libraries and television networks; and the Company's internet site, http://www.scholastic.com/.
About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America’s leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve 8.6 million members in nine states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: www.kp.org/newscenter.
