About Healthy Kids Healthy Futures Coalition
Healthy Kids Healthy Futures Coalition is a community-based chronic disease prevention coalition targeting children in Macomb County. Through the leadership of the Macomb County Health Department, the coalition is tackling the serious issues of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes. Partners in this effort are representatives from schools, service agencies, health plans, hospitals, Macomb County Planning Department, parks and recreation departments, Girl Scouts, and Head Start.
This coalition addresses the consequences of the behaviors … overweight and obesity, poor diet, and lack of physical activity of our young people. Believing that positive interventions will improve the health status of its youngest citizens, our coalition is aptly named: Healthy Kids Healthy Futures.
The Coalition’s overarching purpose is simply to sustain or improve the current health of children and, thus, ensure their future holds the promise of a healthful life. This endeavor will be accomplished on the community level and at the individual level. Four goals were developed: parent education, environmental adaptation, community education, and specially developed programs for individual classroom instruction.
Social change is time intensive. Our community is a reflection of the global community. In a time-pressured world of frantic commutes, physically sedentary jobs, and highly processed fast food meals on the run, undoing unhealthy habits will require many varied interventions. Healthy Kids- Healthy Futures is committed to this vision.
What kind of future will your child have?
Due to the alarming rise of childhood obesity rates, today’s children may be the first generation of Americans whose life expectancy will be shorter than that of their parents. Childhood obesity has doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 20 years. It increases the chance your child will develop:
- Type 2 Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- Symptoms of early heart disease
The best way to have a healthy weight is prevention. Be sure your family practices healthy habits from the beginning.
The website features practical information and and tips to help Americans build healthier diets. It features selected messages to help consumer focus on key behaviors. Selected messages include:
- Enjoy your food, but eat less.
- Avoid oversized portions.
- Make half your plate fruits and vegetables.
- Switch to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk. (Children under two need to drink whole milk)
- Make at least half your grains whole grains.
- Compare sodium in foods like soup, bread, and frozen meals and choose foods with lower numbers.
- Drink water instead of sugary drinks.
For more tips on how to make healthy nutrition choices for your family, please visit nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/wecan/eat-right/index.htm
New 2015 - 2020 dietary guidelines are here
Today, about half of all American adults have one or more chronic diseases, often related to poor diet. The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans emphasize the importance of creating a healthy eating pattern to maintain health and reduce the risk of disease. Everything we eat and drink — the food and beverage choices we make day to day and over our lifetime — matters.
MyPlate offers messages, resources, and tools to help you make the choices that are right for you.
One-stop-shop for insights and advice about early childhood nutrition and physical activity: healthykidshealthyfuture.org
Contact us
For more information about the Healthy Kids Healthy Futures Coalition contact: Kirsten.Henry@macombgov.org
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Central Health Center 43525 Elizabeth Road, Mount Clemens, MI 48043 586-469-5235 kirsten.henry@macombgov.org |
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