| Bright Futures in Practice: Physical Activity |
 NUTRITIONHealthy eating is essential at all stages of life. It is especially important for the growth and development of infants, children, and adolescents. Optimal nutrition can prevent health problems such as iron-deficiency anemia, obesity, eating disorders, undernutrition, and dental caries. Over the long term, it can help lower the risk of developing chronic disease (e.g., heart disease, certain cancers, diabetes mellitus, stroke, osteoporosis) and risk factors for disease(e.g., obesity, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol levels). Eating healthy foods also helps children and adolescents feel good and do well in school. Unfortunately, there are many barriers to healthy eating. High-fat, high-sugar, and low-nutrient foods are plentiful, inexpensive, and widely available. Viewed as quick and cheap, such foods are attractive to families facing time and money pressures. And with so many media messages encouraging unhealthy eating, children and adolescents may have more negative than positive influences on their eating behavior. Too often, "healthy eating" carries images of expensive and tasteless food that is time-consuming to prepare. Improving the well-being of infants, children, and adolescents requires that health professionals, families, and communities work together to create opportunities for healthy eating and physical activity. Multifaceted, communitywide efforts are needed to combat negative images and to demonstrate that healthy eating can be quick and delicious and that physical activity can be fun. Using creative settings--such as recreation centers, athletic facilities, libraries, restaurants, and supermarkets--to deliver innovative nutrition education programs should be explored.
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