GET YOUR FREE Max's Magical Delivery: Fit for Kids interactive DVD (video) targeted to children ages 5-9 and their families. The DVD offers suggestions to:

• Try to eat five fruits and vegetables a day.
• Get away from the TV and computer screens and move around.
• Find fun ways to be physically active inside and outside.

There is a separate section for parents on small, achievable steps they can take to encourage these healthy habits in their children and themselves. In response to the growing epidemic of childhood obesity in this country, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) worked in partnership with Discovery Networks, U.S., to develop the video for children and families. The AAP assisted with the development of the video and endorsed it.

Visit http://www.ahrq.gov/child/dvdobesity.htm to order this video and to find a message from Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona, M.D. (Streaming Video: Dial-up Connection, 493 KB; Broadband Connection, 3.8 MB). Order Online: Use the electronic order form to request your free copy of the DVD for children and their families. Order by Phone: Call the AHRQ Publications Clearinghouse at 1-800-358-9295 to order Max's Magical Delivery: Fit for Kids (Product No. 04-0088-DVD.

The Alliance for a Healthier Generation is a partnership between the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation. They have come together to fight one of our nation’s leading health threats – childhood obesity. Along with their co-leader Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, the Alliance will work nationally to create awareness and real solutions for the childhood obesity epidemic.

The American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Dietetic Association, National Hispanic Association, National Medical Association, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) call on schools and communities to recognize the health and educational benefits of healthy eating and the importance of making it a priority in every school. At the same time, the associations are encouraging their members to provide leadership in helping schools promote healthy eating for our Nation's children. Establishment of local policies that create a supportive nutrition environment in schools will provide students with the skills, opportunities, and encouragement they need to adopt healthy eating patterns.

Ten keys have been developed to assist each school community in writing a prescription for change. Download and print the Call to Action, below, and begin promoting healthy eating behaviors in your own school community.

• Call to Action
• Promoting Healthy Eating Behaviors: The Challenge

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Obesity and Overweight Information
The CDC's Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity is pleased to announce the launch of the new searchable Inventory of Qualitative Research in Nutrition and Physical Activity. The site provides basic information about qualitative studies that have been conducted in the fields of nutrition, physical activity, and other related fields. The inventory allows users to search for information using search fields, entering keywords, or searching the entire database. No registration or password is required. The Inventory was developed to highlight research that may not be widely known or published in peer-reviewed journals. Each entry includes information about the research topic and methods as well as a contact person that is willing to discuss the research and share any available documents. There are no reports or documents attached to the Inventory.

BAM! is brought to you by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). BAM! was created to answer kids' questions on health issues and recommend ways to make their bodies and minds healthier, stronger, and safer. BAM! also serves as an aid to teachers, providing them with interactive activities to support their health and science curriculums.

The Burden of Chronic Diseases and Their Risk Factors (National and State Perspectives) a document that provides updated information on the prevalence of selected chronic diseases and their risk factors in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

CDC State-based Programs The Nutrition and Physical Activity Program to Prevent Obesity and Other Chronic Diseases is designed to help states prevent obesity and other chronic diseases by addressing two closely related factors — poor nutrition and inadequate physical activity

• Nutrition and Overweight Report
• Physical Activity and Fitness Report

Institute of Medicine

IOM's Focus on Obesity
IOM report on Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance
IOM Progress in Preventing Childhood Obesity: Focus on Industry - Brief Summary: Institute of Medicine Regional Symposium
IOM report on Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools: Leading the Way toward Healthier Youth

Hearts N' Parks is a national, community-based program supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHBLI), and the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA). It is designed to help park and recreation agencies encourage heart-healthy lifestyles in their community.

Obesity Education Initiative is to help reduce the prevalence of overweight along with the prevalence of physical inactivity in order to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) and overall morbidity and mortality from CHD. In addition, reducing the prevalence of overweight will help reduce the prevalence and severity of sleep apnea. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) launched the Obesity Education Initiative (OEI) in January 1991.

The National Initiative for Children's Healthcare Quality (NICHQ) is an action-oriented organization dedicated solely to improving the quality of health care provided to children. Founded in 1999, NICHQ's mission is to eliminate the gap between what is and what can be in health care for all children. A national organization with its home office in Cambridge, NICHQ also works with staff and faculty across the country.

NICHQ's efforts focus on its four part improvement agenda:

• Prevention of childhood obesity
• Promoting evidence based, family centered care for children with chronic conditions
• Purging harm from children's health care
• Promoting equity in care and outcomes for all children

Led by experienced children's health care professionals, NICHQ works to improve children's health care independently and by working in collaboration with others who share this goal

Childhood Obesity - Advancing Effective Prevention and Treatment: An Overview for Health Professionals
Childhood Obesity: Harnessing the Power of Public and Private Partnership

The Science of Energy Balance: Calorie Intake and Physical Activity for Grades 7-8
Obesity Related Information
Obesity Education Initiative
Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, in cooperation with the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, released the first Federal guidelines on the identification, evaluation, and treatment of overweight and obesity. About 97 million adults in the United States are overweight or obese. Obesity and overweight substantially increase the risk of morbidity from hypertension; dyslipidemia; type 2 diabetes; coronary heart disease; stroke; gallbladder disease; osteoarthritis; sleep apnea and respiratory problems; and endometrial, breast, prostate, and colon cancers. Higher body weights are also associated with increases in all-cause mortality.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration site provides tools for consumers to use to achieve and maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle, as well as information about FDA's recently announced program to combat obesity. Special information addresses the important issue of childhood obesity. The site also serves as a gateway to information on obesity and weight loss from other government agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

Dietary Guidelines 2005
National steps to a Healthier US Summit, Prevention A Blueprint for Action
Surgeon General's Call to Action

World Health Organization (WHO) is adopting a broad-ranging approach and has begun to formulate a Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health, under a May 2002 mandate from the World Health Assembly. This population-wide, prevention-based strategy is being developed through extensive consultation and will be presented to the World Health Assembly in May 2004.

Report of the Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation on Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases (Geneva, 28 January - 1 February 2002) the Joint WHO/FAO Expert Report, Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases (WHO TRS 916), was formally launched in Rome on April 23, 2003, by WHO Director General and FAO Director General. The Expert Report contains the best currently available scientific evidence on the relationship of diet, nutrition and physical activity to chronic diseases. The Report examines cardiovascular diseases, several forms of cancer, diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis and dental disease.