Healthy Habits For New Hampshire Children

As part of an ongoing effort to instill healthy habits for New Hampshire children, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in New Hampshire is pleased to announce a multi-year grant to the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship (ASF). The grant of $167,446 will be used to support New Hampshire Fellows from Dartmouth College who will implement ASF's 5-2-1-0 Healthy Kids Countdown, a childhood obesity prevention program, in the granite state.

ASF was selected for the grant because its Schweitzer Fellows exceptional graduate and professional school students who dedicate themselves to addressing health disparities have served youth and families in underserved communities for nearly two decades. Specifically, ASF's New Hampshire-Vermont Schweitzer Fellows Program will use the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation grant to support stipends for New Hampshire Fellows and participating community-based organizations, 5-2-1-0 Healthy Kids Countdown initiative training, leadership development training, and the purchase of equipment and other materials needed to support the Schweitzer Fellows' 5-2-1-0 Healthy Kids Countdown programming in community-based organizations.

The Fellows will address childhood obesity in underserved communities head-on and will work to help make the 5-2-1-0 Healthy Kids Countdown habits a part of children's lives through a comprehensive approach, including:

-- Integrating 5-2-1-0 Healthy Kids Countdown activities into community health fairs;

-- Featuring 5-2-1-0 messaging and programming in individual Schweitzer projects; and

-- Providing children and their families with 5-2-1-0 resources, such as weekly log sheets and colorful posters that reinforce healthy lifestyle messages

A total of $167,446 in grant funds will be directed to ASF for the New Hampshire program over the course of three years, beginning with $47,446 in 2010. Subsequent grants of $60,000 will be disbursed in 2011 and 2012, provided each year's grant terms are successfully met.

The 5-2-1-0 Healthy Kids Countdown program seeks to help kids live a healthy lifestyle by asking them to do four simple things:

-- Eat five fruits or vegetables per day

-- Limit screen time (TVs, computers) to two hours or less per day

-- Get one hour or more of physical activity per day, and

-- Drink zero sugar-sweetened beverages per day.

Developed in 2003, the 5-2-1-0 metric has since been recommended by the American Academy of Pediatricians and adopted by wellness programs across the country.

"Good habits at an early age can help New Hampshire's children avoid chronic health conditions such as obesity and heart disease throughout their lifetimes," said Lisa Guertin, president and general manager, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in New Hampshire. "Childhood obesity in our state and across the country has reached epidemic proportions, and it is a problem that impacts all of us in a number of ways including health care costs. This unique approach helps get at the crux of the issue."

Three years ago, Anthem launched its State Health Index, a program that incorporates public health data to identify and help address major health issues in New Hampshire. As part of the initiative, Anthem assembled a dedicated team to collaborate with local and state officials, as well as community organizations, to research the reasons behind the prevalent health deficiencies and to design policy solutions and implement or enhance programs aimed at helping to improve overall health in the state. "High up on the project list is child fitness, so this partnership is in wonderful alignment with that work," noted Guertin.

She added that Anthem also provides major support to the Foundation for Healthy Communities and its HEAL initiative (Healthy Eating, Active Living); both programs also champion the 5-2-1-0 movement in New Hampshire.

Obesity is a serious health issue for America's families and their children. Nearly one in three children are overweight or obese, and it is estimated that one-third of all children born in or after the year 2000 will suffer from diabetes. Additionally, research indicates that obesity and the resulting chronic health conditions associated with being overweight disproportionately impact people living in underserved communities, where fresh food sources are scarce and social factors make healthy lifestyles difficult to attain.

"Our hope is that through the 5-2-1-0 Healthy Kids Countdown, we will have an immediate impact on the health of underserved children and families but that also, in the long-term, we will have equipped future health professionals and community leaders with the tools to address childhood obesity in an empowering way that emphasizes individual choices," said ASF Executive Director Sylvia Stevens-Edouard, who played a key role in developing 5-2-1-0 during her time as the senior director of Children's Health Initiatives at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts.

Since the launch of its U.S. Fellows Program in 1991, ASF has selected and supported over 2,000 Schweitzer Fellows who have delivered more than 400,000 hours of health-focused community service. From launching a Hepatitis B initiative that has since been replicated across the country, to creating a mobile legal assistance program for rural domestic abuse victims, Fellows from many disciplines partner with community agencies to create and carry out yearlong service projects that address the social determinants of health all on top of their regular academic responsibilities.

"In a given program year, around 80 percent of our Schweitzer Fellows across the country create and carry out service projects related to nutrition, physical health, and obesity," says ASF President Lachlan Forrow, MD. "Through our 5-2-1-0 Healthy Kids Countdown initiative, we're providing our Fellows and the communities they serve with an exciting variation on a proven resource for effective health promotion."

Source: Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in New Hampshire

Note: Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional. For more information, please read our terms and conditions.

All opinions are moderated before being added.

Please note that we publish your name, but we do not publish your email address. It is only used to let you know when your message is published. We do not use it for any other purpose. Please see our privacy policy for more information.

If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.

Contact Our News Editors

For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.

Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:

View the original article here