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The purpose of this newsletter is to provide quick contacts to KNN partner agencies and to other resources that might be helpful to our partners. You should be able to read this newsletter in less than 5 minutes – that’s our goal!

KNN April 2008 Newsletter

Welcome to the April 2008 issue of KNN’s email newsletter. Please visit our web site at www.kansasnutritionnetwork.org. We are always interested in how our partners are “partnering” to improve nutrition and physical activity education throughout Kansas.
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Upcoming KNN Meetings and Other Important Dates!!!

April 4th - Manhattan - International Grains Program

May 13-14, 2008 Kansas Conference on Poverty - Topeka

Moving is a Learning Experience! is the theme of 2008 National Physical Education and Sport Week (May 1-7). Find promotional ideas and daily activities for celebrating at www.naspeinfo.org. Click on the National Physical Education and Sport Week logo or find the link under the Hot News Items box.

NPR: Old-Fashioned Play Builds Serious Skills
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19212514&sc=emaf (Note: Some of us grew up watching the Mickey Mouse club on TV. Who would have thought that we were the beginning of a new wave of television advertising?)

More than $300,000 in Prizes Awarded to Winners of the Ruckus Nation Competition, a global idea competition to stimulate ideas for new products that will increase physical activity among children. The $50,000 grand prize, awarded at an event held at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, went to "Dancing Craze"-an interactive dance game
with wearable sensors that let kids pick their music, record their moves and share their virtual dance videos online.
In 2003, about 56 percent of those eligible to participate in the Food Stamp Program actually participated. States with a higher share of households headed by elderly people had lower rates, while those with a higher share of households without earnings and headed by nonelderly people had higher participation rates.
http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/CCR37/

Food stamps and obesity: Results from reviewed studies indicate that for most participants in the Food Stamp Program-children, nonelderly men, and the elderly-use of food stamp benefits does not result in an increase in either Body Mass Index (BMI) or the likelihood of being overweight or obese. However, for nonelderly women, who account for 28 percent of the food stamp caseload, some evidence suggests that participation in the Food Stamp Program may increase BMI and the probability of obesity. Different results for age and sex subgroups remain unexplained.

http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/EIB34/ The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) will be accepting nominations for 2008 Hunger Champions until June 30, 2008.

http://www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/outreach/default.htm U.S. Surgeon General Launches National Childhood Obesity Initiative Acting U.S. Surgeon General Steven Galson, M.D., marked the launch of a new national childhood obesity prevention initiative with a visit to
West Virginia, the Charleston Gazette reports.

Preschool-Based Intervention Helped to Instill Healthy Eating Habits. Researchers say "A new study suggests that preschool-based weight control programs can help children adopt healthy eating habits", HealthDay News reports.
Restricting Screen Time Helps Overweight Children Attain Healthier Weight Status, Study Finds. A study in the March issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine suggests that limiting screen time can help overweight children reduce their calorie intake and move toward a healthier weight status. USDA has released MyPyramid Menu Planner, an on-line nutrition guidance tool to help individuals plan healthier meals and menus, based on the recommendations of the 2005 MyPyramid and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. To use the Planner, go to www.MyPyramid.gov and click on the MyPyramid Menu Planner link. Nutritionists, Educators, and Community Groups! The Eat Smart. Play Hard.T web site for Educators has been revamped with YOU in mind! The updated Eat Smart. Play Hard.T for Educators site is full of new features. It is now easier than ever to find updated and new resources, ideas on how to use them, and ready-to-go tools to use in conjunction with Power Panther visits.

From the latest issue of Preventing Chronic Disease PEER REVIEWED

A35: Trends in Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Among U.S. Men and Women, 1994-2005 Heidi Michels Blanck, Cathleen Gillespie, Joel E. Kimmons, Jennifer D. Seymour, Mary K. Serdula

A36: Cultural Attitudes Toward Weight, Diet, and Physical Activity Among Overweight African American Girls Josephine E. A. Boyington, Lori Carter-Edwards, Mark Piehl, Jeanne Hutson, Debbe Lang

I think our 5 minutes is just about up. Send an email to Karen Fitzgerald kfitzger@ksu.edu if you have information you to include in next month’s KNN email newsletter.
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