What every community can do: the 5-2-1-0 rule

Communities have a responsibility to prevent childhood obesity. Learn what your community can do:

5 or more servings of fruit and vegetables per day

Fruits and vegetables contain many nutrients that a child's body needs and they should be taking the place of high calorie food from a child's daily food menu. According to the 2004 Canadian Community Health Survey, children who eat five or more servings of fruit and vegetables a day are significantly less likely to develop overweight and obesity than children who eat less than 3 servings per day. Additional evidence supports the linkage between high fruit and vegetable consumption and decreased cancers, diabetes and heart disease rates. Find out about the following healthy eating programs:

• Farm to School Salad Bar: Children consume 30% of their daily calories at school. So an important step is improving access to locally-grown, culturally-appropriate foods in schools. The Public Health Association of BC is piloting a Farm to School Salad Bar initiative in twelve schools - in the North and Interior - where access to such foods can be limited. A central focus is to build relationships between schools and local farms. Parents, students, and school staff prepare, serve and eat fresh, local produce. Children benefit because fresh veggies and fruit are readily available at school and they learn about the local food system, nutrition and health.e serves snack and/or lunch to students, serve fruit and vegetables at each mealtime.
• Food Skills for Families: Cooking healthy food that is tasty and appealing to our families is not always easy. Adding to the challenge is the fact that some families have limited incomes or do not even have basic information about where to start. Drawing on the strengths of two existing programs - Cooking Fun for Families and Cooking for Your Life! – the Canadian Diabetes Association is developing a new food skills program geared to the needs of vulnerable families. The program will build skills necessary for choosing and preparing healthy foods. New programming, promotion, venues and training for community-based facilitators ensure the program reaches those who need it most.
• Healthy Beverages at School, Work and Play: Schools receive customized support from Dietitians of Canada as they implement provincial school guidelines for food and beverage sales. The BC Recreation and Parks Association, along with the Union of BC Municipalities, is ensuring local government buildings and recreation facilities also receive the support they need to make vital changes to their food and beverage selections.
•  Healthy Food & Beverage Sales in Recreation Facilities & Local Government Buildings Initiative:    The BCRPA and the UBCM are co-leading the Healthy Food & Beverage Sales in Recreation Facilities & Local Government Buildings Initiative (HFBS). This project features provincial coordination of supports for local government buildings and recreational facilities to voluntarily adopt the sale of healthy food. The HFBS also provides support where recreation centres are either attached to or located near schools, in order to ensure consistency with school guidelines.

2 hours of screen time or less per day

The latest Canadian Community Health Survey data indicates that children who watch more than 2 hours of screen time (TV, computer, video games) per day have double the incidence of overweight and obesity when compared to children who watch less than 1 hour per day. Screen time takes the place of essential physical activity. Communities need to keep children physically active and limit screen time to less than 2 hours per day. Children should not be allowed to watch TV before 2 years of age and there should be no TV in the children's bedroom, no matter what the child's age. Find out about the following active living program:

• Active communities: The Active Communities Initiative is a cross-sectoral initiative focused on supporting communities to increase physical activity levels of British Columbians by 20% by the year 2010. The initiative mobilizes and collaborates with communities, local governments, First Nations and partner organizations to promote healthy lifestyle choices, increase accessibility to physical activities and build supportive community environments.

1 hour or more of physical activity per day

There is significant improvement in both physical and mental health when children and teenagers obtain the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity per day. But more than half of 5-17 year olds are not reaching activity levels sufficient for optimal growth and development. Encourage your community to be active! According to Canada's Physical Activity Guide, children should engage in:

• 30 minutes a day of vigorous physical activity such as running and playing soccer
• 60 minutes a day of moderate physical activity such as playing outdoors or biking

Find out about the following active living programs:

• Everybody gets to play : This program is focused on ensuring that economically disadvantaged children and families have access to quality leisure experiences. Because everybody needs to play, but not everybody has the chance. The initiative is designed to help recreation practitioners and volunteers mobilize the resources already available in their community. This initiative provides tools to help you build partnerships in your community and plan effective action as well as workshops that can help you build skills, raise awareness and mobilize your community.
• Kidsport: Established by Sport BC in 1993, KidSport™ is a community-based sport charity that provides grants for children aged 6 – 18 to participate in a sport season of their choice. There are 20 community chapters in BC and 160 across Canada. The benefits of sport participation are well documented. Playing sport supports development of self-esteem, community engagement, confidence, leadership and teamwork skills. Through KidSport™ families dealing with financial hardship have one less thing to worry about, and can ensure their kids have an even playing field when it comes to accessibility to sport.

0 sugar sweetened beverages per day

We know that one of the major contributors to the childhood obesity epidemic is the over consumption of sugar sweetened beverages (SSB's). Examples of SSB's are soft drinks (pop), fruit “beverages” , “punches” or “cocktails” (bought or homemade), flavoured milk, sports drinks and flavoured coffees. These beverages are liquid candy and should rarely be served. 100% pure fruit juice does not contain added sugar but may well contribute to excess weight gain and portions should be limited.

Aside from weight gain, a child who drinks too many SSB's may also have tooth decay, a small or picky appetite due to fullness from SSB's, and loose bowels or diarrhea due to problems digesting the sugars in the drinks. Find out about the following program:

• Sip Smart: From sport drinks to pop to fruit “punch”, sugar-sweetened beverages are everywhere. To help kids kick this liquid-sugar habit, the BC Pediatric Society and the Heart and Stroke Foundation are launching an elementary school educational program. It includes innovative resource materials and a teacher-friendly learning module. By teaching kids why it is important to drink less sugary drinks, the initiative complements BCHLA's other efforts to reduce unhealthy choices in schools. The goal? When kids are thirsty, they reach for healthier thirst-quenchers.
• Healthy Food & Beverage Sales in Recreation Facilities & Local Government Buildings Initiative:    The BCRPA and the UBCM are co-leading the Healthy Food & Beverage Sales in Recreation Facilities & Local Government Buildings Initiative (HFBS). This project features provincial coordination of supports for local government buildings and recreational facilities to voluntarily adopt the sale of healthy food. The HFBS also provides support where recreation centres are either attached to or located near schools, in order to ensure consistency with school guidelines.