INSIDER: Extended Growth Charts

If you're having trouble reading this message, click here   April 2023 Greetings,   This time of year, more hours of sunlight and warmer temperatures draw people outside. It’s the season for long walks and impromptu athletic games along with mowing the yard and planting a garden. All those things count as physical activity, but people need to be active year-round for maximum health benefits.   How a community is designed can help people build physical activity into their daily life. Communities designed to increase physical activity feature pedestrian, bicycle, and public transportation systems that make travel safe, easily accessible, and activity-friendly. Activity-friendly routes connect to everyday destinations such as homes, workplaces, schools, parks, health care, and food outlets.   Increasing physical activity through community design might mean adding traffic calming measures, street lighting, benches, shade, and public restrooms. Community design could also expand services and locations of public transit networks. Transit networks provide opportunities for increased physical activity by walking or biking on either end of the trip.     Often, people from racial and ethnic minority groups and people living in rural areas have less access to safe spaces for physical activity. Designing communities to give all residents improved access to physical activity opportunities can address these disparities.   Increasing physical activity through community design requires multi-sector collaboration. It may involve working with metropolitan or rural planning organizations, transportation departments, zoning officials, and residents.   To get started or to expand your current work, see potential state and local activities, resources, and examples of what others are doing.   Federal funding is currently available for active transportation projects. See the US Department of Transportation Navigator. For example, the Safe Streets and Roads for All grant program is open for applications through July 10, 2023. You can also find state information on transportation alternative programs and technical assistance to apply for transportation funding. Thank you for all that you do through your work to increase physical activity.   Dr. Ruth Petersen, Director, DNPAO   Physical Activity Recommendations   Children and adolescents 6 to 17 need to be active at least 60 minutes a day.   Every week, adults need at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity. This could be 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. Adults also need muscle-strengthening activities at least 2 days a week. In addition, adults 65 and older need activities that improve balance.   People who can’t meet these recommendations need to be as physically active as possible—some physical activity is better than none. See Recommendations for Different Groups   Feature Of The Month Extended Growth Charts Include Severe Obesity   CDC recently extended growth chart percentiles to reflect severe obesity for children and adolescents 2 to 19 years old. Growth chart percentiles for children and adolescents without obesity did not change.   The extended growth charts allow clinicians to track growth and visualize high body mass index (BMI) with families. Coupled with high-quality treatment, use of the extended charts can help optimize care for children with severe obesity.   The US prevalence of severe obesity in this age group increased from 1% in 1971–1974 to 6% in 2017–2018. For this age group, severe obesity is defined as a BMI of 35 or greater or BMI at least 20% greater than the 95th percentile for the person’s sex and age. Learn More   News You Can Use What's New   New Breastfeeding, Nutrition Tips for Childcare Providers New fact sheets for early care and education (ECE) providers include tips and examples for how to meet recommended practices for supporting breastfeeding, storing breastmilk, and introducing solid foods. The fact sheets can be used in ECE centers and home-based programs. They are part of the Early Care and Education Resource Library. Supporting Breastfeeding Families in ECE Storage, Handling, and Preparing of Breastmilk in ECE Solid Foods in ECE More than 1.9 million US children younger than 1 year are in a nonparental care arrangement at least once a week. ECE providers can help families meet breastfeeding recommendations for infants to be exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months and receive breastmilk with appropriate complimentary foods until 12 months old or older.   ECE settings can be part of the breastfeeding continuity of care marked by consistent, collaborative, and seamless delivery of high-quality services. See potential ways for state and local organizations to achieve continuity of care.   Economic Benefits of Improving Physical Activity Infrastructure   A new review from the Community Preventive Services Task Force found economic benefits exceed the cost for improvements to park, trail, and greenway infrastructure to increase physical activity and use. The systematic review found that every dollar spent led to $3.10 worth of benefits. Economic benefits accounted for improved health due to physical activity or the value of the infrastructure to users for recreation or relaxation. Win From the Field: Ideas From CDC-Funded Grantees   Drive-Through ‘Food Farmacy’ Serves New Mexico Residents Since 2018, health care providers at New Mexico’s Presbyterian Healthcare Services could refer patients who needed food to a Food Farmacy. Once a week for 1 year, patients can take their referrals to two locations in Albuquerque and receive healthy food, including fresh fruits and vegetables. Staff and volunteers provide healthy food preparation tips and recipes, lead cooking classes with the available food and basic ingredients, and connect patients to chronic disease self-management classes.   In March 2020, COVID-19 social distancing requirements meant that the Food Farmacy staff had to convert operations to a drive-through model. They set up an outdoor assembly line so people could safely volunteer, and patients could drive up to receive food bags.   Eventually, the drive-thru model generated a new program partner, MoGromobile grocery. MoGro procures mostly local produce, which supports the local food system and farmers. Quality, local fruits and vegetables now make up half of patients’ weekly produce, and the feedback is positive.   The Food Farmacy serves more than 250 Presbyterian patients and health plan members every week. Even after social distancing requirements eased, the Food Farmacy maintained a drive-through model, based on patient survey results.   To further engage and get feedback from patients, the Food Farmacy hosted an open house in late 2022. Patients at both locations could shop for food, watch a cooking demonstration, taste food made from local produce, receive a flu or COVID vaccination, and connect to other local resources, including community health workers. The Food Farmacy plans to host at least two open houses in 2023.   In 2020, food insecurity had decreased but still affected about 86,000 people, or 13% of the population, in Bernalillo County, which includes Albuquerque. Through its universal screening for health-related social needs, Presbyterian Healthcare Services identified nearly 1,200 patients in the Bernalillo County area who were experiencing food insecurity in 2021.   Presbyterian Healthcare Services is a recipient of the Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) program.  How to expand fruit and vegetable voucher incentive and produce prescription programs.   Upcoming Observances May Asian Pacific American Heritage Month National Physical Fitness and Sports Month Older Americans Month Mental Health Awareness Month National Bike Month #BikeThere May 1–7, National Physical Education Sport Week May 1–7, Screen Free Week May 3, Walk, Bike, and Roll to School Day May 7–13, National Pet Week May 14, Mother’s Day May 14–20, National Women’s Health Week May 15–21, National Bike to Work Week May 19, National Bike to Work Day May 20, Kids to Parks Day May 29, Memorial Day May 31, World No Tobacco Day June National Men’s Health Month Great Outdoors Month Pride Month June 7, Global Running Day June 10, Family Health & Fitness Day USA June 12–18, Men’s Health Week June 18, Father’s Day June 18, International Picnic Day June 19, Juneteenth June 21, Summer Solstice, Longest Day of Play   Suggested Social Media Posts Good nutrition during the first 2 years of life is vital for children’s healthy growth and brain development. Learn how you can help give your child a healthy start. https://bit.ly/2I3UfQD At every stage in life, there are ways to stay physically active. Learn how much physical activity you need to stay healthy, feel better, and reduce the risk of chronic diseases. https://bit.ly/3sJaMOz #ActivePeople Are you transitioning your child from breastfeeding to other foods and drinks? Learn at what age and how to introduce nutritious foods and drinks. https://bit.ly/2HNV14h Muchas de nosotros comemos y bebemos demasiada azúcar añadida. Esto puede causar problemas de salud significativos. ¿Sabías que las bebidas azucaradas son la principal fuente de azúcar añadida en la dieta de los estadounidenses? https://bit.ly/3jQIP3F #MejoraTuBebiba   English Translation: Many of us eat and drink too much added sugar. This can cause significant health problems. Did you know that sugary drinks are the main source of added sugar in the American diet? Find photos to accompany these posts in the State and Community Health Media Center.   Behind The Scenes Kristine Day Deputy Chief, Physical Activity and Health Branch   As deputy chief, I juggle many roles. I mainly oversee branch operations so our staff can increase equitable and inclusive access to physical activity for all people. This is critical because physical activity is one of the most important things you can do for your health now and for the future. My activities include managing budgets, staffing, and travel. I also help set direction, develop projects, and ensure a safe and healthy work environment for branch members.    What is your greatest professional satisfaction?   Our focus on increasing physical activity through community design provides many opportunities to partner with groups such as AARP, the National Recreation and Parks Association, and the US Department of Transportation. I enjoy figuring out which opportunities to pursue and how to move things forward. It’s satisfying to find organizations that can become allies and partners because aspects of our work or visions align. Then we work together to identify potential activities to maximize the impact of effort and resources. Seeing the incremental progress and knowing I played a role in it makes me love what I do every day.   How do partners help you do your work?   Partners are our force-multipliers. Partners are part of the national Active People, Healthy NationSM movement to get 27 million people more physically active by 2027. Partners help implement the evidence-based strategies and help conduct surveillance, research, and evaluation to fill gaps in knowledge.    What would you like partners to know?   We focus on increasing physical activity using community design because it’s an effective, population-based approach. These approaches can create social, physical, and economic environments that promote health and well-being. Consider how community design influences your work, such as access to healthy foods and access to parks for early care providers.     Favorite quote:   “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken." — Oscar Wilde   Receive this as a forwarded email? Get it directly by entering your email here and subscribing to Nutrition, Physical Activity & Obesity.   Note: Website addresses of nonfederal organizations are provided solely as a service to readers. Provision of an address does not constitute an endorsement of this organization by CDC or the federal government, and none should be inferred. CDC is not responsible for the content of other organizations’ web pages.   Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 1600 Clifton Rd   Atlanta, GA 30329   1-800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636)   TTY: 888-232-6348