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spring 2009

Nurses Address Childhood Obesity, Healthy Eating at Annual Early Childhood Conference

It is not often that Morgan Spurlock’s 2004 documentary Super Size Me, on the negative health effects of eating too much fast food, is shown at a conference of educators. But at the UFT’s second annual Early Childhood Conference, “Educating the Whole Child,” Federation of Nurses/UFT Special Representative Anne Goldman and UFT Lutheran Medical Center (LMC) Chapter Chair Renee Setteducato did just that.

The two nurse leaders were at the March 28 conference at UFT headquarters to discuss child obesity, healthy eating habits, and the 24/7 Let’s Go! “healthy lifestyle program,” which teaches about the impact of different foods on health, with a roomful of the 400 teachers, child care providers, paraprofessionals, guidance counselors, parents and administrators who turned out for the daylong event.

Federation of Nurses members are all smiles on a sightseeing break from the NYSUT RA in Buffalo, April 2-4.

Other activities and presentations at the conference included workshops on creative play and math literacy, discussions on the importance of a well-rounded early education and the UFT’s call for a quality early childhood education program, and talks by guest speakers Dominic Carter of NY1 and Reg Weaver, president emeritus of the National Education Association (NEA).

For their part, the nurses screened clips from Super Size Me, in which Spurlock eats only fast food from McDonald’s for a month and which graphically illustrates the rapid collapse of his health, to drive home their message: healthy eating habits are enormously important for children to lead long, healthy, and happy lives.

“There is a child obesity epidemic in this country,” Goldman said after the workshop, “and fast food chains are largely responsible for it.”

But McDonald’s and Burger King do not bear all the blame, Goldman continued. “Parents and educators have also unwittingly played a role in creating this crisis – and that is why we are here today talking with them about it.”

“In many cases, parents are not aware of how the high calorie counts in fast food, and the amount eaten, are directly related to obesity and other serious health implications in children, and too many early educators don’t realize the importance of teaching students about healthy eating or don’t have access to resources to teach about it,” added Setteducato.

That is why the Federation of Nurses/UFT has partnered with teachers and other health professionals in NYSUT to create 24/7 Let’s Go!, our union’s own “healthy lifestyle program” for kids. The program’s goal is to get kids to make seven healthy eating or exercise decisions each day and offers stickers as rewards.

According to NYSUT Vice President Kathleen M. Donahue, “The 24/7 Let’s Go! program has been a great success, and has included nearly 100,000 students across the state.” It will soon reach an additional 50,000 students in grades K through 5.

And it has been well-received by teachers and parents alike. “I found the health workshop…really helpful both as a parent and school learning leader,” said Sandra Cruz of Goldman and Setteducato’s presentation on the program.