Here are four reasons why it's important to make nutrition a regular part of your classroom curriculum:

 Recent health statistics underscore the need for nutrition
 education.

• Only 2 percent of children consume the recommended daily serving from the MyPyramid Five Food Groups.¹ Currently, more than half of children ages 2-8 and three-quarters of children ages 9-19 do not get the 3-A-Day™ of Dairy servings recommended by the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.²

• There are nearly twice as many overweight children and almost three times as many overweight teens as in 1980.^{3, 4} Childhood overweight can lead to complications, such as high blood pressure, joint problems, Type 2 diabetes, gall bladder disease, asthma, depression and anxiety.⁵

• 61 percent of overweight 5- to 10- year-olds have one or more heart disease risk factors.⁶

• Less than 25 percent of children get at least 30 minutes of any type of physical activity each day.⁷

• Type 2 diabetes, once considered an adult disease, is becoming more common in overweight children. A Centers for Disease Control study estimated that one out of three children born in 2000 will develop diabetes in their lifetime.⁸

 Good nutrition and learning go hand in hand.

• When children's nutritional needs are met, it's easier for them to focus and learn.
• Well-nourished children have higher test scores, better school attendance and fewer classroom behavior problems.

 Nutrition education lays the groundwork for lifelong
 health habits.

• Research shows that knowledge and skills children learn today help them choose healthier foods during childhood, as well as tomorrow and into adulthood.

 Teachers are role models.

• When teachers talk about good nutrition and choose healthy foods, chances are good that children will too!

References

1. USDA. 1994-1996 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes for Individuals (CSFII).
2. National Dairy Council, unpublished data based on the National Health and Nutrition Survey (NHANES), 1999-2002.
3. Ogden CL et al. Journal of the American Medical Association, 2002. 288:1728-1732.
4. Ogden CL et al. Journal of the American Medical Association, 2006. 295(13): 1549-1555.
5. Schwimmer, JB et al, Journal of the American Medical Association, 2003. 289:1813
6. Freedman et al. Pediatrics, 1999. 103: 1175-1182.
7. International Life Sciences Institute. Improving Children's Health Through Physical Activity: A New Opportunity, A Survey of Parents and Children about Physical Activity Patterns, 1997.
8. Venkat Narayan, KM et al. Journal of the American Medical Association, 2003. 290(14):1884-1890