Community Benefit Fall Report 2007 - (Page 8)

Lancaster General Healthy Weight Management Today bout 65 percent of U.S. adults are overweight or obese, according to the latest National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The number of overweight children has more than tripled since 1970 and today, more than 9 million children ages 6 to 19 are overweight. A recent Pennsylvania study showed 18 percent of eighth graders are overweight, and another 17 percent are at risk for becoming so. Obesity is increasing rates of adult onset Type II diabetes. Its incidence has risen dramatically in recent decades and is closely related to diets high in sugar, carbohydrates and fat. Lancaster General is working closely with several partners to reduce the obesity trend locally, even as obesity is on the rise nationally. The obesity epidemic did not happen overnight. The solutions are complex and in many instances, systemic, calling for a broadbase community coalition to adequately address this trend. Lancaster General plans to bring a community coalition of stakeholders together to create an action plan. Since healthy weight management is important at every age, our approach is to offer programs for people throughout the lifespan—from toddlers through seniors. Children as young as 2 and 3 years old are learning the importance of healthy eating and exercise through the preschool curriculum Color Me Healthy, which Lancaster General began offering in 2005. Since then, we have provided Color Me Healthy interactive materials, lesson plans, training sessions Progressing Toward a Healthier Tomorrow with A and a nationally distributed Color Me Healthy newsletter to 202 teachers at 85 local daycare centers and preschools. Lancaster General values the relationships we have built with these daycare centers and welcomes the opportunity to expand to other sites. For school-age children and teenagers, Lancaster General offers the comprehensive Shapedown program, which last year helped 54 young people and their families develop a lifestyle built on healthy foods and regular exercise. This year, 33 young people have participated in the program. Developed by the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine faculty, Shapedown has been selected by the American Medical Association as an exemplary health promotion program and has received the award of excellence in consumer education from the National Food and Drug Administration. For adults, our healthy weight management programs include a program called LEARN® (Lifestyle, Exercise, Attitudes, Relationships and Nutrition), the most thoroughly tested lifestylechange program available for weight management. The 12-week program addresses reading and understanding food labels, smart food shopping, dining out strategies, behavior modification to recognize and change unhealthy eating patterns, nutrition education and eating a balanced diet. LEARN assisted 42 participants in 2006 and 66 in 2007. Another valuable program is the New Beginnings Weight Management Program for Obese Women, which targets obese pregnant women with a Body teaches children about nutrition At Sunshine Corners Daycare Center in Strasburg, it is not unusual for preschoolers’ class time to include lessons on colors and healthy eating. Sunshine Corners was one of the first daycare centers to partner with Lancaster General in using Color Me Healthy, an interactive curriculum that provides preschool teachers with colorful teaching tools and lesson plans related to nutrition and exercise. “This program has expanded our children’s understanding of why it’s important to eat well and exercise,” says Linda Younger, executive director at Sunshine Corners, which has been Color Me Healthy using Color Me Healthy since 2005. “When learning is hands-on and fun, children—even very young children—retain those lessons for life.” To date, Lancaster General has provided training and the free curriculum to 202 teachers at 85 local daycare centers and preschools. Lancaster General also provides a nationally distributed Color Me Healthy newsletter for parents and guardians. “We have participated in a number of programs through Lancaster General’s Wellness Center, and we always have a positive experience,” Younger says. “Lancaster General is a real asset to our community.” 8 http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes.htm http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes.htm http://www.lancastergeneral.org/content/Shapedown.htm http://www.colormehealthy.com/ http://www.sunshinecorners.org/index.html http://www.sunshinecorners.org/index.html http://medschool.ucsf.edu/ http://medschool.ucsf.edu/ http://www.ama-assn.org/ http://www.ama-assn.org/ http://www.fda.gov/ http://www.fda.gov/ http://www.lancastergeneral.org/content/Wellness_LEARN.htm http://www.lancastergeneral.org/content/LG_Education_Wellness_Center.htm http://www.lancastergeneral.org/content/LG_Education_Wellness_Center.htm

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Community Benefit Fall Report 2007

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