Sun Newspapers - = MNSUN.com - Taking a bite out of childhood obesity

Richfield City Manager Steven = Devich=20 (left) and Richfield Parks and Recreation = Director Jim=20 Topitzhofer listen as Richfield Public Schools=20 Superintendent Barbara Devlin makes a point at a = public=20 discussion of childhood obesity Oct. 11 in = Edina. (PAUL=20 WAHL - SUN=20 = NEWSPAPERS)

Seth=20 Bixby Daugherty has spent most of his career as a chef in = some of=20 the nation's swankiest restaurants. Today, he's cooking up = ways to=20 encourage children to eat healthier meals.

Daugherty = was one=20 of two primary speakers at a gathering Oct. 11 in Edina to = review=20 efforts the cities and school districts in Edina, = Bloomington and=20 Richfield have made in the area of wellness.

Joan = Bulfer,=20 registered dietician and health promotion specialist for the = city of=20 Bloomington, was the other speaker at the event, which = attracted 50=20 participants to Edina City Hall.

Daugherty, a = graduate of the=20 Culinary Institute of America, has created an organization = called=20 Real Food Initiatives, designed to fight obesity in children = by=20 pushing them to eat fruits and vegetables rather than chips = and=20 candy bars.

"My goal is to share my gift of cooking," = Daugherty said. "I want to teach children about food as a = life=20 skill."

Daugherty, an Eden Prairie resident, said = eating=20 healthy begins in the grocery store.

"Every time we = shop, we=20 vote ... real food or processed," he said. "I don't see many = kids in=20 the store shopping for groceries."

Daugherty said he = doesn't=20 blame parents for the fact that children are getting = heavier, but=20 added it's up to everyone who influences a child's life to = be=20 proactive.

Much of Bulfer's portion of the program = was spent=20 reviewing initiatives the three cities and school districts = have=20 taken in the childhood health arena.

Attention was = focused on=20 the issue in 2004 when the federal government ordered all = districts=20 to adopt school wellness policies. Since then, districts = have been=20 scrambling to control portion size, offer more fruits and=20 vegetables, offer baked foods instead of fried and whole = wheat bread=20 instead of white bread.

Bulfer said what children eat = is only=20 half of the obesity fight.

"It's been proven that = physical=20 activity actually ups test scores," she said.

One = local study=20 revealed that half of the school-age children did not get 30 = minutes=20 of exercise five days a week.

Adding activity to = classroom=20 educational pursuits has also been implemented. In one = instance,=20 children are asked to "act out" being a letter of the = alphabet,=20 which encourages bending and stretching.

Bulfer said = city=20 parks and recreation departments are playing a larger role = in adding=20 more programs, particularly those aimed at minority=20 communities.

While the obesity situation isn't great = for=20 white students, she said it's considerably worse for = children of=20 color.

One of Daugherty's focuses is in low-income = and=20 minority communities. He spends considerable time teaching = children=20 age 8 to 18 in the inner cities in Minneapolis and St. Paul = and=20 works with their parents to teach them how to cook healthy=20 meals.

Daugherty said part of the problem is grocery = stores=20 are becoming scarce in the inner city and it's much simpler = to take=20 the kids to McDonald's and feed them for a dollar = each.

He=20 also supports community garden efforts as a method of = providing=20 fresh ingredients for home-cooked meals.

Bulfer said = she=20 believes all three cities and school districts were doing = great=20 work, but warned that this was no time to rest on their=20 laurels.

"A lot of things that are being done are = still small=20 scale and very fragmented," she said. "We have to continue = to take=20 those first steps, but then to continue moving = forward."

She=20 said a number of major advancements in society were enacted = through=20 children, including recycling in the 1970s and fire=20 prevention.

"Childhood obesity will be next," she=20 predicted.

What's being done locally to fight = childhood=20 obesity

The following are some examples of what = Bloomington,=20 Edina and Richfield schools are doing to combat childhood=20 obesity:

=95 Replacing sugar-laden soda with water, = milk and=20 other healthy drinks in school vending machines.

=95 = Reducing=20 the amount of candy in vending machines and adding healthy=20 snacks.

=95 Banning candy and birthday cakes in the=20 classroom.

=95 Eliminating fundraisers related to = foods on the=20 campuses (no candy bar sales).

=95 Encouraging = additional=20 activity by adding run clubs, dance classes and other=20 functions.

=95 Asking staff members to lead by = example when it=20 comes to healthy eating and getting active.

Childhood = obesity=20 factoids

=95 Between 1985 and 2000, average daily = caloric=20 consumption among adults rose by 12 percent or roughly 300=20 calories.

=95 In 1980, about 50 percent of high = school seniors=20 reported eating green vegetables "nearly every day or more." = By=20 2003, that figure had dropped to about 30 = percent.

=95 Children=20 eat nearly twice as many calories at restaurants as they do = during a=20 meal at home.

- Source:A National At Risk: A = Statistical=20 Sourcebook

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