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Recipes for Healthy Snacks

Healthy Snacks for Schools (pdf)

Healthy Snacks (pdf)
 

Nutritional Nuggets Newsletters

Bone up on Calcium (pdf)

Life in the Fast Lane - Nutrition & Fast Food (pdf)

Trans Fat and
 Your Health
(pdf)

  What's All the Buzz About Phytochemicals (pdf)

Protecting Our Food Supply
(pdf)

Fit Kids Success Stories

 Fit Kids Walking Programs
Ossining School District, Westchester County

Arthur S. May School, Arlington School District, Dutchess County

Dutchess County
New York State
RJ Bailey School
Orange County

Fun Sites for Kids

New Food Guide Pyramid for Kids
(USDA)

Body and Mind (BAM)

Kidnetic

Nutrition Explorations

Smart-Mouth

Tips to Keep
Kids Healthy

Healthy eating can help beat diabetes

10 Steps Towards Healthy Eating at School (pdf)

Food Guide Pyramid for Young Children (pdf)

Take the Portion Distortion Quiz!

Healthy Snack Suggestions (pdf)

Nutrient Content of Fast Foods

10 Best and Worst Children's Foods

Services from Other County Departments

Westchester Kids Website

Westchester County Parks Department

Additional Resources

 Food Guide Pyramid
(USDA)

Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion

Food and Nutrition Information Center

Press Releases 

Archived Press Releases

 
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Participate in local and national activities
that promote healthy eating and physical activity.
Download “Fit Kids Back to School Activities 2009".
   
 

Be Active This Winter

 

Winter is here but cold weather should not be a reason to hibernate or avoid exercise. Many activities can be enjoyed indoors while just beyond your front door, a variety of outdoor activities are also available. Adults and children need exercise year round – 30 minutes is recommended for adults most days of the week while children should get 60 minutes daily. Here are some suggestions for staying active this season.

Maximize Indoor Play Spaces

Use available indoor space to its maximum to make it possible for the family to stay active. Dancing, jogging in place, simple exercise routines (jumping jacks, toe touches etc), and yoga don’t require a lot of space. Set up a simple walking path or obstacle course in the house. A bean bag toss is another activity that can easily be accommodated indoors. Ask your children to select exercise videos at the library and use this as an opportunity to try new exercise routines. Limit screen and computer time to 2 hours even when staying at home.

Try Outdoor Activities

If dressed appropriately, cold weather should not be a deterrent to taking a hike, building a snowman, sledding, ice skating or enjoying the many winter outdoor activities. Warm up with some stretching exercises before going outside.

Dress in layers. The layer closest to the body should consist of synthetic fiber to “wick” sweat away from your body. Avoid cotton, which absorbs and holds moisture close to the body. The next layer is for insulation. Try clothing made of fleece, a lightweight quick drying material that provides good insulation. The top layer should be as windproof and waterproof as possible. This outermost layer can be removed first if the day gets warmer.

Keep your extremities warm. Your head, feet, and hands are highly vulnerable to the cold. Wool or polypropylene socks help insulate and wick moisture. Remember that
wearing too many layers of socks can cause boots to be too tight which reduces circulation and makes your toes feel even colder. Mittens are generally warmer than gloves because they retain heat around your fingers. In extreme cold, wear polypropylene glove liners. A lot of heat can be lost if your head is exposed. Wear a wool or fleece hat that wicks perspiration and covers your ears. Face masks covering your nose and mouth help protect your face on cold, windy days and keep the air you breath warmer.

Remember to drink plenty of water. Although it may be cold, you can still get dehydrated. Continue to drink plenty of fluids during the winter to keep hydrated and to help prevent your skin from drying. Remember to drink before and after an activity.

If it’s too cold or icy for outdoor activity, visit the mall for some brisk walking. Explore community recreation center offerings such as the YMCA or Boys & Girls Club. Reasonably priced or free classes may be available for all family members.

 

Take the APOGEE Fit Kids Challenge.

Westchester County government is joining forces with APOGEE Pilates & Wellness Centers, a new Pilates-based wellness center, to kick-off the APOGEE Fit Kids Challenge and encourage students and their parents to practice healthy activities at home and in school this spring.

Students can award themselves points for engaging in physical activity, limiting their TV and gaming time and eating healthy snacks, which are key to preventing obesity. The program engages parents in the process by asking them to sign off on their accomplishments.

View the Fit Kids Challenge Brochure
 


 

No
Junk Food Week
March 200
9

 
   View the No Junk Food Week flyer


   Download the No Junk Food Week Contract

   Healthy Snacks flyer (English/Spanish)

  Letter to Parents (English)   (Spanish)
            -Healthy snack recipes for home

            -Healthy snack recipes for schools

 

 

See what schools are doing for the 
Fit Kids Campaign:

Jan. 2010: Port Chester Middle School is participating in Michelle Paterson’s Healthy Steps program.
October 2009: Read and view pictures of Brookside School in Yorktown and the new garden.
October 2009: Mt. Kisco Elementary School (Bedford School district) participated in Walk to School Day in October.  View the Journal news article.
Congratulations to the 3 Fit Kids Schools in Westchester County that received 2009 Blue Ribbon Schools awards from the federal Education Department. Read the article.
July 2009: The Rye YMCA received will create edible gardens in 3 schools in the Rye Neck, Mamaroneck and Rye school districts.  Press release.
June 2009: Read about Milton School’s edible garden in the Rye Record.
June 2009: The Rye YMCA received $10,000 in grant funding from General Mills to create edible gardens in 3 schools Read the article in the Rye Record.
March 2009: Read about Byram Hills School District’s National Nutrition Month activities.
May 2009: Read about Osborn School and the Fit Kids Challenge.  Osborn is in the Rye City School District.
March 2009: Read about RJ Bailey School’s “Wellness Month.”  RJ Bailey is in the Greenburgh school district
March 2009: Read about the County Executive Andy Spano’s visit to Daniel Warren School, Rye Neck in the Rye Record.
February 2009: Read about “FoodPlay” at FE Bellows Elementary School in Rye Neck.
February 2009: Central School in Mamaroneck received grant funding from the Rye YMCA’s Activate America program.  Read the article in the Larchmont Gazette.
See the new Fit Kids webpage on North Park Elementary School’s website. Read about how classes earn points that are redeemed for exercise equipment. North Park Elementary School, in the Hyde Park Central School District, is a Fit Kids of Hudson Valley school in Dutchess County.
Read about Rye Neck Middle/High School’s milk taste tests.
Read about Irvington School District’s Walk to School initiative in a press release on Safe Routes to School funding and article about Walk to School Day activities
Read about Mamaroneck School District’s Walk to School Week activities.
 
FitKids Campaign 2003/2004/2005/2006 - Read what the schools did for FitKids

More than 16 percent of children are overweight - that's more than double what it was in 1980.  Not only is this unhealthy, but it can result in more serious health problems at younger ages as well as when they become adults.  Poor eating habits are established during childhood.  Along with physical inactivity, poor diet accounts for at least 365,000 deaths among US adults each year, second only to tobacco use which causes 435,000 preventable deaths.  Overweight and obesity are now recognized to be at epidemic proportions.

To try to reach kids before they turn into coach-potato adults with high-cholesterol and diabetes, Westchester County Department of Health and County Executive Spano launched the "Fit Kids" campaign in March 2003.

As part of the campaign, Westchester County Health Department and the Communications Office have developed a step-by-step guide to help schools develop programs and plan activities in their schools that encourage kids to eat healthier and exercise more.  The guide was distributed to the county's 47 school districts in the hopes that they will develop programs that are appropriate for their communities.

 The guide instructs schools on how to improve the quality of foods offered in their cafeterias and how to start a Healthy Heart Committee made up of school staff, parents or any interested adult as well as plan activities that will raise awareness among young people.  Schools can hold "No Junk Food Days," in which vending machines are turned off or filled with healthy snacks.  Another popular event is a "10,000-Step A Day" challenge, in which kids are given pedometers to chart how many miles they can walk.  

Public health activities now need to focus attention on overweight, obesity and physical inactivity among our children.  Fit Kids will enable the health department to work cooperatively with our schools and park system to this address public health issue.

To help stop childhood obesity, click here to get the Fit Kids Resource Guide 2006