I just got back from attending a youth-hosted forum organized by The Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a joint partnership of the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation, to address the epidemic rates of childhood obesity which currently point to one in three children in the United States being overweight or obese . The event kicks off a month-long celebration of Go Healthy Month, part of the empowerME movement to raise tween and teen awareness about healthier lifestyles and inspire them to spread the word to their peers.

September is ideal timing for this discussion as schools and congress come back into session, and in that spirit, I thought I'd share some of the obstacles panelists cited as getting in the way of reaching these goals, along with the ways the Alliance suggested individuals and brands can help become part of the solution…

Obstacle: Lack of access to affordable, healthy food options during the school day. Both in school and in the surrounding areas, the students on the panel (all from New York and New Jersey) cited a lack of choice when it came to eating well during the school day. As one panelist put it,  "what's cheaper isn't healthier," comparing dollar menus with an alternative like $5 sandwiches from Subway. The same went for convenience. With cafeterias full of "mozzarella sticks, burgers and pizza" next to rows of fast food restaurants, teens and tweens see junk food as the path of least resistance.

Solution: Agreements between beverage, snack food and dairy industries and schools. The Alliance encourages those companies who can offer more healthful selections to step up for partnerships. By swapping out the current choices available in lunchrooms and school vending machines (vs. throwing out the machines altogether), students won't have to look off campus or out of their price range. Brands not only get (appropriate) product placement in schools, but also can take credit for lowering the amount of gratuitious calories available to students.  From the ongoing efforts over the past two years, schools across the country have already seen a 58% decrease in total beverage calories.

Obstacle: Recessed recess. Apparently the free play period many of us remember from our youth isn't what it used to be. These days many elementary and middle schools have scaled back their recess or "nutrition" periods to a single 20-30 minutes periods during the day. In extreme cases at some schools, the period is only optional.

Solution: Revive recess outside of the school. One facet of the Go Healthy Month program was a series of community events coordinated with grassroots Champions like YMCA (the facility where today's event was held) to turn tweens and teens on to the joys of "good-old fashioned play," i.e. unplugged games and sports. We know plenty of brands like Nike and PUMA (see today's interview), for instance, are out there spreading a similar message about staying active, and it would be great to see even more instances where corporate and community forces team up.

Ypulse Readers: If you know of a great effort from a brand or organization helping tweens and teens gain access to healthier choices and become more active,  let us know in comments!

For more coverage of the tween space, check out the Ypulse Tween Channel.

Categorized under: Tweens

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