What's being done to improve children's health in our region?

Today's guest blogger is Lorina Marshall-Blake, President of the Independence Blue Cross Foundation.

When my kids were young, I knew how important it was to make sure they were eating healthy, and getting enough exercise and sleep. Like most parents, I did what I could to be a positive role model and to encourage healthy behaviors. In my current role, I now have the unique opportunity to help children throughout our region make healthy choices through an initiative called Healthy Futures. And there couldn't be a better time for this work.

The statistics on childhood obesity are well documented: Today, more than 42 percent of children aged six to 12 in our region are either overweight or obese, and in the city of Philadelphia, that percentage increases to nearly 50 percent. These children face higher risks of chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease as they mature. However, the most sobering fact is that experts say our current generation of kids may be the first not to live as long as their parents. That is simply unacceptable.

To change the path on which our children are headed, the Independence Blue Cross Foundation partnered with some of our region's most respected and influential health leaders to create Healthy Futures, a three-year innovative school-based approach that invests more than $3 million in helping children "Eat Right," "Get Fit" and "Stay Well." Launched in August 2013, the program targets fourth graders, which research shows is the perfect age to learn new behaviors. Healthy Futures is now in 25 elementary schools throughout southeastern Pennsylvania, touching the lives of more than 1,000 kids and their families.

Nutrition, exercise, and disease prevention are all part of the wellness equation, but few programs address all three as comprehensively as Healthy Futures. For example, Healthy Futures' first "Eat Right" partner — The Vetri Foundation's Eatiquette program —  completely transforms the school lunch experience from the traditional cafeteria assembly line to an environment where children gather at round tables, pass plates of delicious homemade healthy food, and build social skills through team work. Greener Partners, another "Eat Right" partner, brings a mobile farm to schools, so kids can see how plants grow and inspire them to eat more fresh food.

For "Get Fit," the Foundation partners with local sports organizations including the Philadelphia Union, 76ers, and Philadelphia Freedoms Team Tennis, bringing players and coaches to schools to offer fitness experiences that are not otherwise available to many city students. By leveraging the sports figures in our own region, we're able to motivate children to make fitness a part of their daily lives.

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is an integral part of the "Stay Well" piece of Healthy Futures, focusing on preventative care. A Children's nurse visits students at five Healthy Futures schools each week to help the school nurse with mandatory health screenings and teach kids about healthy habits like washing their hands or getting regular dental checkups.

At the same time, Healthy Futures is conducting a three-year study with Drexel University that will track changes in indicators such as body mass index, prevalence of chronic disease and nutritional awareness. This research is critical if we want to make long-term sustainable changes to improve children's health, and initial findings will be shared at a free conference at the Bellevue hotel in Philadelphia on October 20, co-hosted by The Foundation and Children's –"Healthy Futures: A Recipe for Childhood Wellness."

The conference, which is open to the public, will convene some of the best and brightest minds in childhood wellness and obesity prevention, sharing the latest local, regional and national research trends. It will explore how partnerships between insurers, doctors, hospitals, and the community can help shape the future of our country's health and will challenge all of us to be a part of the solution that ensures our kids a healthy beginning in life. For more information or to register click here.

Together, we are confident we can reverse the alarming childhood health trends we are currently experiencing, and with Healthy Futures as a model for how we — health care professionals, schools, principals, teachers, families and kids — can come together to tackle a systemic, complex problem, we can ensure our children have longer, healthier futures.

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