We continue to struggle as a nation with growing waistlines, and the impact for our children’s generation will be significant.  Your best chance to avoid obesity is to stop gaining weight right now.

What is so different today?

Today, one in two Colorado adults are overweight or obese. If current trends continue, nearly ? of Coloradans will be overweight or obese within the next six years.

Today’s 10-inch turkey sandwich averages 820 calories. This is 500 calories more than a portion 20 years ago.

Today, most children watch more than 20-30 hours of TV a week, or about 3 or 4 hours a day! Time spent watching TV or using the computer is time they could be playing, riding a bike, or having fun with family and friends.

So, let’s stop overfilling our plates.  Let’s play board games instead of video games. Let’s cook dinner together instead of ordering dinner together. Let’s exercise instead of supersize.

Let’s Go! 5-2-1-0 (5 or more fruits and veggies a day, 2 hours or less TV/Computer screen time, 1 hour or more of physical activity, 0 sugary drinks, more water and low fat milk)  is helping you and your kids be healthy by working with families and other partners to improve healthy eating and to be more physically active. For more information or to get involved with this campaign, please contact Barb Parnell, LiveWell Northwest Colorado Community Coordinator for the Northwest Colorado Visiting Nurse Association at (970) 819-4110, or bparnell@blog.northwestcoloradohealth.org.

Sincerely,
Barb Parnell, LiveWell Northwest Colorado Community Coordinator
Northwest Colorado Visiting Nurse Association