While children may be too young for the Medifast diet and meal plan, they can learn from adults to properly manage their weight through healthy meal choices. Medifast can be a solution for not just weight loss, but understanding the balance of nutrition in a healthy diet.
Here's an interesting report on how schools in Kentucky are taking action to improve the diets and health of students. This is where we need to start taking massive action because it will not only help the health of the kids, but their future as well. Story ---
Dec 22, 2008 (The Daily News - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- More than 1.7 million lunches were served in Warren County schools last year. A recent report card compiled by the district's food services department shows that those lunches, in addition to the more than 600,000 breakfasts served last year, are on target in providing less than 30 percent of calories from fat and less than 10 percent of calories from saturated fat.
Gina Howard, director of food service and nutrition for the district, said the report card is compiled annually and returned to the state to show how schools are emphasizing not only good nutrition, but physical activity.
In the report, 54 percent of elementary schools are meeting the Center for Disease Control's target of providing 150 minutes of physical activity per week.
Howard said while that number is the same as last year's report, the schools not meeting the goal are in the 149-minute a week category, and are "just shy" of meeting the goal.
Some schools, such as Oakland and Natcher elementaries, have even started before and after school clubs for running and walking to encourage physical fitness, Howard said.
The report card breaks down the target number of calories, fats and nutrients verses the actual average served over the course of a week in the school's lunch menus.
According to the graphs in the 2009 report, Warren County aims to serve 664 calories a week, but is seeing a slight difference with 696 calories. Read the full report
Bottom line: The diets and meal plans that are provided for children at most schools falls well short of the proper nutrition they need. Too much emphasis is put on the calorie count, while the quality of the food being served is ignored. The most important part of the diet is the number of fruits and vegetables that any individual consumes, especially a growing child. Proper nutrition translates into healthy cells, tissues, muscles, even the brain, not to mention the grades and behavior as well. Feed yourself and your children a diet filled with good nutrition. The best step for school lunch? - pack it yourself, and be sure no soft drinks or sugary or fatty foods be included.
The Health & Wellness Institute
If you are interested in a meal plan to assist with your weight loss and health, Medifast provides a diet that makes it easy to plan the foods and meals you will eat. Click here - Medifast - to try the Medifast diet meal plan to help you get started losing weight. Medifast is physician-developed.
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