Exploring Nutrition News Fall 2009

• NDC and NFL Team Up to Launch Fuel Up to Play 60!
• Kids Can Join Fuel Up to Play 60 National Competition
• Flavored Milk Gets an A+ for Child Nutrition
• More Reasons for Kids to Drink Milk
• Vitamin "D-ficiency" Effects in Children Go Beyond Bones

NDC and NFL Team Up to Launch Fuel Up to Play 60!
October 15 marked the major launch of Fuel Up to Play 60, a new youth-led program created by National Dairy Council (NDC) and the National Football League. The program aims to help tackle childhood obesity by helping youth "get active and play" for 60 minutes daily and "fuel up" with critical nutrient-rich foods often missing from their diets, such as low-fat and fat-free dairy foods, fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Students and schools will work together to build a customized, in-school program and expand opportunities for students to improve their overall health and the health of their school environment and community. More than 36 million youth in an expected 60,000 schools will be empowered to take charge of their health during the 2009/2010 school year.

Learn more about how schools can participate in Fuel Up to Play 60.

Kids Can Join Fuel Up to Play 60 National Competition
Fuel Up to Play 60 (FUTP 60) includes a national competition to motivate online and in-school participation by schools and individual students throughout the school year. Youth and schools compete with others around the country logging the most points at the end of the competition by tracking their healthy eating and physical activity changes online. Students and schools that make the most progress toward their daily habits will be eligible for prizes and rewards throughout the program. At the end of the competition (April 2010), one national school and one individual youth winner will be awarded with a national prize, such as a healthy school makeover or an opportunity to star in a FUTP 60 promotion.

Learn more about the competition at fueluptoplay60.com.

Flavored Milk Gets an A+ for Child Nutrition
Findings presented in a recent abstract published the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that removing flavored milk in schools resulted in an average 53 percent reduction in total milk purchases in grades K-12. Additionally, a new scientific statement from the American Heart Association about added sugars and cardiovascular health provides further support on the benefits of flavored milk. The statement, published in their journal, Circulation, notes that when sugars are added to otherwise nutrient-rich foods, such as sugar-sweetened dairy products like flavored milk, the quality of children's and adolescents' diets improves. And, in the case of flavored milk, no adverse effects on weight status have been found.

Editor's Note: Flavored milk delivers the same important nutrients as white milk. In fact, research has found that children and adolescents who drink flavored milk have higher nutrient intakes of vitamin A, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and potassium and have a body mass index (BMI) that is lower than or comparable to the BMIs of non-milk drinkers.

Patterson, J, et al. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 2009; 109(9, Supplement): A-97.
Johnson, RK, et al. Circulation, 2009; 120(11): 1011-1020.

More Reasons for Kids to Drink Milk
A recent study published in Public Health Nutrition found that the intake of dairy, grains, fruits and vegetables is inversely associated with central obesity among adolescents. In fact, adolescents who met the criteria for obesity were also found to consume significantly less total dairy (as well as milk and cheese separately), grains, fruits and vegetables.

Bradlee, M Loring et al. Public Health Nutrition, Published online by Cambridge University Press 22 Sep 2009 doi:10.1017/S1368980009991546

Vitamin "D-ficiency" Effects in Children Go Beyond Bones
Two new studies recently published in the journal Pediatrics show that low levels of vitamin D in children and teens are associated heat disease risk factors, such as high blood pressure, low HDL cholesterol, high blood sugar and metabolic syndrome, independent of their body weight. However, both studies note that additional studies are needed to determine whether low vitamin D in youth are related to children developing cardiovascular disease as adults. Low levels of vitamin D were prevalent among non-Hispanic blacks, Mexican-Americans, girls, and older and obese children and adolescents. Lower vitamin D levels were also linked to time spent indoors watching TV, playing video games and using the computer. Children and adolescents who drank milk less than once a week were almost three times more likely to be vitamin D deficient than those who drank milk more often.

Editor's note: Four servings of vitamin D fortified milk provide 400 IU of vitamin D, the amount currently recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics for children and adolescents.

Reis, JP et al. Pediatrics, 2009; 24(3): 1-9.
Kumar, J et a. Pediatrics, 2009; 24(3) 1-9.