WANT EVEN MORE HEALTHY IDEAS FROM SHAPE YOUR FUTURE?
September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month
OKLAHOMA CITY (September 06, 2017) – Shape Your Future and the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) offer valuable, free resources to promote good nutrition and physical activity options for Oklahoma families during National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month.
In Oklahoma, one in three youths is overweight or obese and are at an increased risk for immediate health issues like bone or joint problems and sleep apnea, in addition to long-term health problems such as diabetes or cardiovascular disease or to be obese as adults. Children learn healthy habits at a young age and as role models, parents set the example by choosing healthy foods, being physically active and drinking water instead of sugar sweetened beverages.
“It can be hard to make healthy choices when Oklahomans are juggling busy schedules and struggling to find a variety of food options,” said Dr. Curtis Knoles, University of Oklahoma College of Medicine Department of Pediatrics and a member of the TSET Board of Directors. “But we have to do our best to find time for physical activity and healthy meals to give our kids a brighter future.”
Shape Your Future, a health education awareness campaign funded by TSET, is helping to reverse the trend in childhood obesity in Oklahoma by offering fast and affordable recipes for meals and snacks and ideas for how to be active throughout the day. On the Shape Your Future website, ShapeYourFutureOK.com, you can find a variety of free tools to educate families, daycares, afterschool care and schools about the importance of eating healthy, staying active and being tobacco free.
“We want to encourage parents to help their children start healthy habits now so it continues to benefit kids for the rest of their lives,” said John Woods, TSET executive director. “Making choices to fill half your plate with fruits and veggies, drinking water instead of sugary beverages and being physically active for 60 minutes a day will help reduce children’s risk of obesity. Also by taking these steps, they reduce their risk for cancer and cardiovascular disease, the leading causes of preventable death in Oklahoma.”
Shape Your Future supports TSET’s mission to improve the health of every Oklahoman. TSET’s program, grant and research efforts focus on reducing the leading causes of preventable death, cancer and cardiovascular disease. TSET is focused on creating healthy environments where Oklahomans live, work, learn and play by making the healthy choice the easy choice.
For more information about National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month and for healthy tips and resources, visit ShapeYourFutureOK.com. Connect with Shape Your Future on Facebook or Twitter (@ShapeFutureOK) to enter contests, share photos and videos, and access other exciting tools.
###
Shape Your Future encourages Oklahomans to eat better, move more and be tobacco free to improve community health. By leading healthy lifestyles, Oklahomans can decrease the number of citizens who fall victim to death and disease while increasing community health, physical activity and quality of life. For more information, go to ShapeYourFutureOK.com.
The Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) serves as a partner and bridge builder for organizations working towards shaping a healthier future for all Oklahomans. TSET provides leadership at the intersections of health by working with local coalitions and initiatives across the state, by cultivating innovative and life-changing research, and by working across public and private sectors to develop, support, implement and evaluate creative strategies to take advantage of emerging opportunities to improve the public’s health. TSET – Better Lives Through Better Health. To learn more go to: www.tset.ok.gov.