Trade group foundation launches kids’ guide to healthy living

Backed by grants from major food processors, the International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation last week released a program to help health professionals, educators, and community youth organizations promote healthy lifestyles to elementary school children. The Kidnetic.com Leader's Guide to Healthy Eating & Active Living for Kids & Families is a series of lessons and activities that were successfully field-tested in Kansas City during the 2003-2004 school year. The Leader's Guide is based on content from Kidnetic.com, an interactive and educational Web site designed to appeal to kids aged nine to 12 and their parents in an effort to help prevent childhood overweight/obesity. "Over the past 18 months, we’ve learned that organizations serving youth are looking for new, affordable tools to help them discuss the importance of a healthy lifestyle, and that's why we created the Leader's Guide," said Richard Elder, Senior Director of IFIC. "We believe the content from the successful Kidnetic.com Web site, combined with this new hands-on activity book that can be downloaded from the Internet at no cost, is an exciting new resource that meets these needs." All content on Kidnetic.com, and in the Leader's Guide, is reviewed for scientific accuracy and appropriateness by each of five organizations that formed a partnership with the IFIC Foundation to create tools designed to help prevent childhood obesity. These organizations are: the American Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Sports Medicine, American Dietetic Association, International Life Sciences Institute Center for Health Promotion, and the National Recreation and Park Association. For more information and to download a free copy of the Leader's Guide, go to www.ific.org/kidnetic.