December 11, 2018


JOB POSTINGS 
5-4-3-2-1 Go! Resources
fiveSMART Resources
USDA Reverses Course on School Lunch Nutrition Guidelines

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) last week rolled back school-lunch nutrition guidelines enacted during the Obama administration, a move that has been widley ill-received by child health advocates. The new regulations return chocolate-and-strawberry-flavored milk to school lunches, loosen sodium restrictions and reduce the number of whole grains to be served.

"If kids are not eating what is being served, they are not benefiting, and food is being wasted," said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. "We all have the same goals in mind -- the health and development of our young people. USDA trusts our local operators to serve healthy meals that meet local preferences and build bright futures with good nutrition."

Health organizations, including the American Heart Association (AHA) and the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), quickly condemned the nutrition rule rollback.  

"USDA's decision to weaken the standards - despite overwhelming opposition - threatens to reverse our progress toward ensuring our nation's children rec eive healthy meals at school that help them attain better long-term health and academic success." read a statement by the AHA. "If the concern truly was to provide those few schools experiencing challenges with more 'flexibility', the more responsible approach would have been for USDA to provide more technical assistance to these institutions so they could offer healthier food choices."

According to CSPI, sixty percent of Americans opposed  the administration's proposal for rolling back school nutrition and over 80,000 submitted comments to USDA , joined by more than 50 prominent health and child welfare organizations  and more than 50 prominent scientists and academics . 

School Nutrition in the News: 









Report Shows Drug Abuse and Obesity are Chicago's Top Health Concerns for Youth

Chicago adults identified drug abuse, obesity, and child abuse and neglect as the top three big health problems for children and adolescents in the city, according to results from a new survey developed by Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago and the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH). Strikingly, seven of the top 10 health problems for youth are related to mental health directly (stress, depression, suicide) or through health conditions connected to mental health (drug abuse, obesity, smoking and tobacco use, alcohol abuse).

"In this report we hear directly from Chicago residents about what they consider to be the biggest health challenges facing children and adolescents in the city," says Matthew M. Davis, MD, MAPP, Senior Vice President and Chief of Community Health Transformation at Lurie Children's. 

Dr. Davis teamed up with the CDPH Office of Epidemiology and Research to develop the Healthy Chicago Survey-Junior 2017-18 and launched "Voices of Child Health in Chicago," a research program focused on bringing the perspectives of Chicagoans to the study of child health in the city. On a regular basis, data briefs will be issued that report on survey result topics ranging from vaccination to bullying to social problems like gun violence that affect youth health. 

"Our findings will inform and focus efforts to confront the major challenges and improve the health of children and adolescents in our communities. We especially will seek to address the mental health issues that so prominently feature in the top 10 health problems identified by Chicago adults," says Dr. Davis.


"Chicago's young people have made tremendous gains - from achieving record lows in smoking and teen births to record high graduation rates. But there is still room for improvement. These new survey results will help us both better understand concerns across the City and identify ways we can further improve the health of all young people," says Julie Morita, MD, Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health.

Voices of Child Health in Chicago December 2018
Voices of Child Health: Lurie Children's Dr. Matt Davis and Dr. John Walkup discuss the "Top Ten" report 

Release provided by Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
 See the Full Report  (.PDF)
J oin our Team: CLOCC Seeks Health Educator

The Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children (CLOCC) is currently hiring for a full-time Health Educator to be based out of our office at Lurie Children's Hospital. This individual will provide training and education to CLOCC staff and partner organizations to promote the Consortium's healthy lifestyle messaging ( 5-4-3-2-1 Go®   and  five SMART®), help initiate and maintain license agreements for message use, and advance a social determinants of health perspective among CLOCC partner organizations. 

The Health Educator will be involved in various strategies to disseminate CLOCC's message and our social determinants of health approach across Chicago and throughout the CLOCC network, and will be responsible for developing, revising, and delivering trainings to staff at various city agencies (including youth participants in those agencies), community-based organizations, and other groups. This individual will also work with CLOCC's leadership to ensure all messages and activities are consistent with evidence-based strategies. 

CHILDHOOD OBESITY IN THE NEWS
FUNDING & RECOGNITION OPPORTUNITIES
  • The PeopleForBikes Community Grant Program provides funding for important and influential projects that leverage federal funding and build momentum for bicycling in communities across the U.S. These projects include bike paths and rail trails, as well as mountain bike trails, bike parks, BMX facilities, and large-scale bicycle advocacy initiatives. PeopleForBikes accepts grant applications from non-profit organizations with a focus on bicycling, active transportation, or community development, from city or county agencies or departments, and from state or federal agencies working locally. PeopleForBikes only funds projects in the United States. Grant guidelines are posted at http://peopleforbikes.org/grant-guidelines/.

    Online Letter of Interest due: January 18, 2019.     The on-line application process can be accessed at http://peopleforbikes.org/apply-now/
T he Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children (CLOCC) is a nationally recognized leader for community-based obesity prevention. We support, coordinate, and unite partners to promote healthy and active lifestyles for children and families. Our multi-sector approach emerged in Chicago and can be adapted for use anywhere.