We Can! Families Finding the Balance: A Parent Handbook

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We Can! Families Finding the Balance: A Parent Handbook

Ebook - Education

We Can! Families Finding the Balance: A Parent Handbook We Can! (Ways to Enhance Children’s Activity & Nutrition) is a new public education outreach program designed to help children 8–13 years old stay at a healthy weight through improving food choices, increasing physical activity, and reducing screen time.

The program is a collaboration of four Institutes of the National Institutes of Health (NIH): the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), and National Cancer Institute (NCI).

We Can! is unique because it focuses on parents and families in home and community settings. Research shows that parents and families have a big impact on shaping the behavior of children. They can do much to help children maintain a healthy weight and prevent overweight.

We Can! is harnessing that power through:

Programs in local communities throughout the country
Partnerships with other national organizations that care about children and their health
A comprehensive Web site for parents (http://wecan.nhlbi.nih.gov)

Read on to understand why overweight is a problem for children as well as adults in the United States. Learn about energy balance—the key to managing weight—and get lots of ideas and tips to help you and your children eat right and be physically active. And find out about places to go for further information and more strategies.

Download We Can! Families Finding the Balance: A Parent Handbook

PDF format, 1.45MB, 32Pages.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1. Why Should We Care About Our Weight?............................................1
Chapter 2. What Can My Family and I Do to Encourage a Healthy Weight? ...................4
Chapter 3. Energy Balance: The Heart of the Matter ........................................................8
Chapter 4. Energy IN: Focusing on Food Choices and Portion Size ............................13
Chapter 5. Energy OUT: Physical Activity and Screen Time......................................21
Chapter 6. Resources ..............................................................................................26

For More Information:

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Health Information Center is a service of the NHLBI of the National Institute of Health. The NHLBI Health Information Center provides information to health professionals, patients, and the public about the treatment, diagnosis, and prevention of heart, lung, and blood diseases and sleep disorders.

For more information, contact:
NHLBI Health Information Center
P.O. Box 30105
Bethesda, MD 20824-0105
Phone: 301-592-8573
TTY: 240-629-3255
Fax: 301-592-8563
Web site: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov

6 Resources:

Congratulations! If you’ve come to this point in the We Can! Families Finding the Balance: A Parent Handbook, you’ve got everything you need to start—or continue—helping your family maintain a healthy weight. If you’re ready to try additional ideas or want other We Can! ways to help your family eat well and get more physically active, call 1-866-35-WECAN or visit the We Can! Web site at http://wecan.nhlbi.nih.gov. The Web site is full of information about maintaining a healthy weight, nutrition, and physical activity. You also can visit the Web site for recipes, healthy tips, and additional resources.

Check out these other great resources:

NHLBI, www.nhlbi.nih.gov