Dr. David R. Gifford couldn’t get the words out without a chuckle: “Happy Apple Awards.” But the purpose of the contest with the tongue-twister name is quite serious – Rhode Island’s kids need to eat more fruit and less junk food, or else their health is going to suffer.
So Gifford, the state health director, and Farm Fresh Rhode Island, a local nonprofit, are sponsoring a competition. Schools can win awards in two categories: most local fruits and veggies purchased, and most creative uses of local produce.
And if that’s the carrot, so to speak, Gov. Donald L. Carcieri, backed by the R.I. Public Health Association, has introduced legislation with a stick – a bill to ban the sale of soft drinks in elementary and middle schools, and allow only water, milk and juice-based drinks with at least 50-percent juice and no added sweeteners.
It’s all part of a statewide and national effort to promote healthier eating and exercise among children. The trends are not good: The number of Rhode Island children and teens who are overweight or obese has been rising steadily, to 35 percent as of 2004.
Only three in six Rhode Island teens engage in at least 20 minutes’ worth of exercise at least three times per week, state figures show, and only 28 percent of kids ages 14 to 18 eat the recommended five servings of fruit or vegetables every day.
On Monday, to launch the 11th annual National Public Health Week, Gifford, Carcieri and leaders of local health organizations gathered on the State House lawn to highlight their concerns. Similar events were held across the country, all focusing on children’s health.
Along with youngsters’ eating and exercise habits, a key topic locally and nationally was the need to build “healthy communities” that encourage children to walk and play outdoors, and minimize their exposure to environmental hazards – from lead paint to car fumes.
A big part of this, Gifford and other speakers Monday said, is ensuring that our neighborhoods have plenty of parks and playgrounds, that there are sidewalks so people can walk safely, that youngsters can walk to school rather than take a bus.
Pointing to the grand staircase leading up to the State House, Gifford noted that for earlier generations, taking the stairs was a given, whereas today, elevators are the norm.
“When you see the ways our society has changed,” he said, “you can understand why we’ve become overweight and out of shape. … We need to begin teaching [our children] lifelong healthy living habits.”
Patricia Risica, a Brown University community health professor and advocacy chair for the public health association, said that by improving the “built environment,” we can “create communities where the healthy choice is an easier choice,” and make “an enormous impact” on children’s health.
“When we take the necessary steps to build communities with maintained sidewalks, bike paths and playgrounds,” she said, “when we connect Rhode Island farmers with schools and after-school programs to bring fresh produce for our children to eat – that is when we effectively address the childhood obesity epidemic in Rhode Island.”
On Wednesday, the association held a workshop at the Warwick Public Library for citizens, school leaders and town planners to focus on that particular issue. “The good news,” Risica said, “is that even though we have created these built environments, we have the power to change them.”
