Growing Together: Connecting Generations Through Gardening & Healthy Eating National Senior Citizen Day

National Senior Citizens Day 

On August 19, 1988, President Ronald Reagan issued Proclamation 5847 creating National Senior Citizens Day to be August 21.

On this day, we are encouraged to recognize and show appreciation for the value and contribution of older people to home, family and society. It is an opportunity for us to show our gratitude for what seniors have achieved in their lives and their contributions to our communities.

Things to do with Older Adults
- Spend time together.
- Show our appreciation.
- Volunteer to help.
- Enjoy a walk together.
- Go out for dinner.

If you are a senior citizen, enjoy your day. Make sure to take advantage of senior citizen discounts and specials.

The goal is to help keep older Americans healthy and fit. 

Growing Together: Connecting Generations Through Gardening & Healthy Eating

Shopping and nutrition tips
for senior citizens
from Elisa Zeid, MS, RD

Resources and References

to Help Eating Well as We Age

Resources for Seniors from Nutrition.gov

Exercise with Your Child Week

This week encourages parents and guardians to exercise with their children as part of a healthier lifestyle. Exercise enables children to improve their overall well-being, to maintain a healthier weight, and to reduce the risk of hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Children need 60 minutes of play with moderate to vigorous activity every day, but it doesn't have to be all at once. 

As a parent, you can help shape your child's attitudes and behaviors toward physical activity. Throughout their lives, encourage young people to be physically active for one hour or more each day, with activities ranging from informal, active play to organized sports. Here are some ways you can do this:

•Set a positive example by leading an active lifestyle.

•Make physical activity part of your family's daily routine by taking family walks or participating in active games together.

•Give your children equipment that encourages physical activity.

•Take young people to places where they can be active, such as parks and community centers.

•Be positive about physical activities in which your child participates and encourages them to be interested in new activities.

•Make physical activity fun, such as individual sports, and recreational activities including walking, running, skating, bicycling, swimming, and playground activities (check with your local health department regarding the safety of team sports).

•Instead of watching television, encourage your child to find fun activities such as walking, playing chase or riding bikes.

•Be safe! Always provide protective equipment such as helmets, wrist pads or knee pads and ensure that activity is age-appropriate.

Sid the Science Kid-Work Your Body

More and more children programs are encouraging
physical activities.

Exercise and the Physically Challenged
Physical activity is important for all children.
Get advice from a professional with experience in physical activity and disability. They can tell you more about the amounts and types of physical activity that are appropriate for your child's abilities.

Resources.
Kids Eat Right, Make Fitness Fun for the Whole Family

We Can

A Special Father's Day Gift to Show You Care

A Gift from the Heart for the Heart

A Special Father's Day Gift to Show You Care
"Health is the Greatest Gift and Happiness the Greatest Wealth"
1. Print the card and cut along the grey outer border.
2. Fold the card in half. It's about the size of a business card.
3. Place wallet size photos on the blank side of the card.
4. Optional Gifts to place inside:
    Lottery Ticket, Dinner at his Favorite Restaurant, a Day at the Beach,
    Voucher to Wash His Car, Family Picnic, Tickets to a Sporting Event,
    Time Together

Your father will carry around photos of loved ones with health reminders.
A perfect gift for a Special Father.

Sample Outside

Checklist to Stay Healthy

National Senior Health and Fitness Day - "Living the Best Life: Ageless and Awesome!"

"Living the Best Life: Ageless and Awesome!"

Celebrate the annual National Senior Health and Fitness Day. The goal is to help keep older Americans healthy and fit. National Senior Health and Fitness Day is the nation's largest annual health promotion event for older adults. 

Benefits of Getting Older

Global Aging

Shopping and nutrition tips
for senior citizens
from Elisa Zeid, MS, RD

Resource

Resources for Seniors from Nutrition.gov

Twas the Day After Christmas, a Dietitian's Version

Twas the Day after Christmas
by Sandra Frank, Ed.D, RD, FAND

Twas the day after Christmas, and all through the house

Nothing would fit me, not even a blouse.

The cookies I'd eaten, the eggnog I'd taste

The holiday parties had gone to my waist.

I'd remember the wonderful meals I'd prepared;

The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rare,

The wine and the pastries, the bread and the cheese

And the way I'd never said, "No thank you, please."

A Happy and Healthy New Year to you.
Remember to eat right and exercise too.

National Day of Unplugging - Alternative Activities

National Day of Unplugging. is a holiday that consists of a 24 hour period from sundown to sundown, to unplug, unwind, relax and do things other than using today’s technology, electronics, and social media.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screen time for children under 2 and less than 2 hours per day for older children. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents create an electronic-media-free environment in children’s bedrooms.
 

The Benefits of Reduced Screen Time

• Reducing screen time can help prevent childhood obesity.

• Children who spend less time watching television in the early years tend to do better in school, have a healthier diet, and are more physically active.

Hazards of Too Much Screen Time

•Adolescents with a television in their bedroom spend more time watching TV and report less physical activity, less healthy dietary habits, worse school performance, and fewer family meals.

• Children with a television in their bedroom are more likely to be overweight.

Alternative Activities During National Day of Unplugging

• Prepare a family meal together.
• Take a walk in the park.
• Join a family fitness group.
• Plant a vegetable garden or grow a fruit tree. 
• Visit the zoo.
• Plan a picnic or barbecue.
• Go to a museum.
• Take a nature hike.
• Organize a scavenger hunt.
• Learn yoga.
• Go dancing.
• Volunteer for a community or charitable organization

Screen-Free Week - Check-out the Alternative Activities

Screen-Free Week (formerly TV-Turnoff, founded 1994) is an annual event in which parents, children, teachers and others across the country turn off screen media (TV, video games, computers, cell phones, etc.) and celebrate the magic of being unplugged. Screen-Free Week is a program of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood.

Screen-Free Week

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screen time for children under 2 and less than 2 hours per day for older children. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents create an electronic-media-free environment in children’s bedrooms.
 

The Benefits of Reduced Screen Time

• Reducing screen time can help prevent childhood obesity.

• Children who spend less time watching television in the early years tend to do better in school, have a healthier diet, and are more physically active.

Hazards of Too Much Screen Time

•Adolescents with a television in their bedroom spend more time watching TV and report less physical activity, less healthy dietary habits, worse school performance, and fewer family meals.

• Children with a television in their bedroom are more likely to be overweight.

Alternative Activities During Screen-Free Week

• Prepare a family meal together
• Take a walk in the park or neighborhood
• Start a family fitness program
• Plant a vegetable garden or grow a fruit tree
• Plan a picnic or barbecue
• Take a nature hike around your neighborhood
• Organize a scavenger hunt
• Learn yoga
• Dance
• Volunteer 

Resources
1. American Heart Association, Limit Screen Time and Get Your Kids (and the WholeFamily) Moving 

2. Screen-Free Week: 50+ Fun Screen-Free Activities for Kids

Walk or Bike to School Day

Walking and bicycling to school enables children to incorporate the regular physical activity they need each day while also forming healthy habits that can last a lifetime. 

Regular physical activity helps children build strong bones, muscles, and joints, and it decreases the risk of obesity. In contrast, insufficient physical activity can contribute to chronic diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and stroke.

Resources

1. National Bike and Walk to School Day http://www.walkbiketoschool.org/

May, President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition

The President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition (PCFSN)

The Council was originally founded by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956 as the President’s Council on Youth Fitness. Since its beginning, the Council has been vital in getting Americans physically active through a range of programs, events and initiatives including the establishment of May as National Physical Fitness and Sports Month.

PCFSN was most recently known as the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. On June 10, 2010 President Barack Obama authorized in an Executive Order the name change and expanded the mission of the Council to include “nutrition”.

The Council seeks to promote good health through fitness, sports and nutrition for people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities through partnerships in national, state and local organizations, programs and initiatives. The Council plays a key role in the development of priorities, outreach and awareness efforts to improve the health and quality of life for all Americans. Among the Council's responsibilities are to encourage:

         1. Regular physical activity
         2. Participation in sports
         3. Healthy eating

The President’s Challenge

The President’s Challenge is the PCFSN signature awards and recognition program and includes the following:

* Youth Physical Fitness Test
* Adult Fitness Test
* Two School Recognition Programs
* Two Physical Activity Awards Programs
*  Presidential Active Lifestyle Award (PALA)

*  Presidential Champions Award, available to people aged 6 and older.

PCFSN utilizes and promotes efforts associated with the following guidelines:

1. Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans
2. Dietary Guidelines for Americans
3. National Physical Activity Plan

There are many national, regional, state and local programs and initiatives that aim to get Americans active and healthy. Below is a review of three programs: "Let's Move", "Kids Eat Right", and "We Can".

Let’s Move! is a comprehensive initiative, launched by the First Lady, dedicated to solving the problem of obesity within a generation, so that children born today will grow up healthier and able to pursue their dreams.

Let’s Move! is about putting children on the path to a healthy future during their earliest months and years. Giving parents helpful information and fostering environments that support healthy choices. Providing healthier foods in our schools. Ensuring that every family has access to healthy, affordable food. And, helping children become more physically active.

First Lady Michelle Obama has been active with many groups in promoting the Let's Move program.

Let's Move! Active Schools Launch
with First Lady Michelle Obama

Beyoncé in partnership with the National Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation (NABEF) created "Move Your Body" video for the Let's Move! Flash Workout. Here you will find First Lady Michelle Obama making a surprise visit to Alice Deal Middle School to join students in a Lets Move! Flash Workout. Over 600 schools across the country participated in similar workouts at the same time.

Kids Eat Right, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
Kids Eat Right supports the efforts of the White House to end the childhood obesity epidemic within a generation.

The goal of Kids Eat Right is to educate families, communities, and policy makers about the importance of quality nutrition. The Kids Eat Right campaign provides resources to help Academy members become recognized leaders in childhood obesity prevention.


We Can! (Ways to Enhance Children's Activity and Nutrition) is  a science-based national education program from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). We Can helps children ages 8-13 stay at a healthy weight. We Can! offers materials to help caregivers and families encourage children to become more active.

60 Second PSA for We Can!

The We Can! materials provide simple suggestions for easily getting more physical activity.
We Can!® Tools and Resources
We Can! Make Physical Activity Fun
We Can! Try Tips to Eat Well and Move More

Resources

1. President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition (PCFSN)
2. The President’s Challenge
3. Let's Move
4. Kids Eat Right
5. We Can

Older Americans Month May 25th: National Senior Health and Fitness Day

May is Older Americans Month

2011 Theme: "Older Americans:
Connecting the Community"

Resources and References
to Help Eating Well as We Age

Eating Well as We Age (pdf)

Resources for Seniors from Nutrition.gov

Older Americans Need To Make Every Calorie Count (pdf)

May 25, 2011
National Senior Health and Fitness Day

Celebrate the 18th annual National Senior Health and Fitness Day.100,000 older adults will participate in activities at more than 1,000 locations throughout the U.S. The goal is to help keep older Americans healthy and fit. National Senior Health and Fitness Day is the nation's largest annual health promotion event for older adults.

The Mature Fitness Awards are designed to encourage and recognize regular physical activity among adults age 50, 60, 70, and over. The program offers 25 activities with something for everyone, from beginning exercisers to long-time fitness enthusiasts. Many activities are appropriate (or can be adapted) for disabled participants. When selecting an activity, find one that you enjoy and that fits into your daily or weekly routine so you will be likely to stick with it.

Shopping and nutrition tips for senior citizens,
from Elisa Zeid, MS, RD

Gotta Dance The Movie captures the adventures of the first-ever senior citizen

hip hop dance team for the New Jersey Nets Basketball Team,

from auditions through to center court stardom.

Twas the Day After Christmas (A Dietitian Version)

Modified for the Registered Dietitian
by Sandra Frank, Ed.D, RD, LDN

Twas the day after Christmas, and all through the house

Nothing would fit me, not even a blouse.

The cookies I'd eaten, the eggnog I'd taste

The holiday parties had gone to my waist.

When I got on the scale there arose such a number!

The scale must be broken, I said with a thunder.

I'd remember the wonderful meals I'd prepared;

The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rare,

The wine and the pastries, the bread and the cheese

And the way I'd never said, "No thank you, please."

Nothing would fit me, I felt so depressed.

I knew it was time to start a new quest.

I picked up the phone, to call a RD,

Knowing this path was just right for me.

I won’t feel guilty, I’ll try moderation,

Fad diets have failed and even starvation.

I’ll follow the plan, set up solely for me,

More fruits and Veggies are part of the key.

I’ll eat more fiber and exercise I’ll start,

And limit the fat that is bad for my heart.

Yes, I’ll call a RD to provide inspiration and

Learn new ways to avoid temptation.

Happy New Year to All and a Healthy one too
Remember to eat right and exercise for you.