Healthy South Dakota

Quizzes

How much physical activity does your child need each day?

How much vegetable is needed daily by a 4 to 8 year old child?

Frozen and canned fruits and vegetables are just as healthy as fresh ones?

"We are what we do repeatedly."
–Aristotle

Activity sheets - fun way to teach kids about the importance of fruits and vegetables in their diets.

Coloring pages - more fun and activity with fruits and vegetables.

Fresh for kids, check it out!

Kids and exercise

Children's snacks: 20 tips for healthier snacking
(Mayo Clinic)

Foods to avoid when you're pregnant

Healthy recipes for the family - check it out!

Smallstep KIDS

The Department of Health and Human Services has created an interactive website for children called Smallstep KIDS! The mission of the site is to educate children on healthy eating and developing healthy lifestyle habits. Check it out!

Making better choices at fast food restaurants

Be sure to check out the Activities Calendar on the tool bar above to find what's going on near you!

Small Steps Change of the Month

Each month watch for a new small step you can take to a healthier lifestyle, a healthier you!

Don't like the taste of milk? Keep portable, calcium-rich foods on hand for snacks on the run, such as low-fat or fat-free string cheese or individual pudding cups with calcium added.

Small Steps to help your child grow up healthy and strong.

Ways to boost your family's interest in healthy foods!

Are you breastfeeding? Learn more about weight loss or gain during breastfeeding.

May is National Physical Fitness
and Sports Month

Spring is here and now is the time to get out and get moving. May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month. Due to the increase risk of obesity in children and adults, parents can take steps to prevent this.

The #1 way that parents can teach their children is by example to get up, get out and together make exercise fun. Doing so will keep the whole family physically and emotionally healthier.

Encourage family physical activity by:

Taking family walks and bike rides
Encourage playing outside during the day
Keep the word exercise out of it! Promote “play time” with such activities as hop-scotch, jumping rope, tag or hide-and-go-seek
Go dancing or roller-skating
Make a rule to have the TV turned off for one whole day each week
Keep exercise light and fun so it doesn’t become a chore
Do a variety of things and take turns letting family members choose what you will do
Get your walking in at the park, zoo, or on a miniature golf course
Make gardening and yard care a family activity
Challenge kids to combine elements of two games or sports to create a brand new activity
Enroll your children and support them in summer team activities
99 Tips for Family Fitness Fun

Tips to Help Your Child Grow Up Healthy & Strong!

Eat smart!	Serve a vegetable or fruit with every meal and at snack time.
Get moving!	Include children in active chores such as house cleaning, car washing, and yard work.
Other ideas!	Review store ads and clip coupons before shopping.

Children and their weight . . .

Encourage healthy eating habits.

Buy and serve more fruits and vegetables (fresh, frozen, canned or dried). Let your child choose them at the store
Buy fewer soft drinks and high-fat or high-calorie snack foods like chips, cookies and candy. These snacks may be ok once in a while, but always keep healthy snack foods on hand. Offer the healthy snacks more often at snack times.
Make sure your child eats breakfast every day. Breakfast may provide your child with the energy he or she needs to listen and learn in school. Skipping breakfast can leave your child hungry, tired, and looking for less healthy foods later in the day.
East fast food less often. When you do visit a fast food restaurant, encourage your family to choose the healthier options, such as salads with low-fat dressing or small sandwiches without cheese or mayonnaise.
More next month……

Fit from the Start

Fit From Start logo “Healthy eating habits and regular physical activity are the aims of the Fit from the Start campaign that targets South Dakota’s 2- to 5-year-olds. First Lady Jean Rounds has been assisting in encouraging parents and caregivers to instill healthy eating and physical activity habits at a young age.

Fit from the Start provides parents and caregivers with the tools and information they need to offer their kids healthy foods and opportunities for physical activity. Helping young kids adopt these kinds of healthy behaviors will have lasting benefits.

According to the Department of Health’s latest data, 13.9% of South Dakota 2-5 year olds are overweight. Overweight children are at risk for serious health conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease and a large percentage are likely to remain overweight as adults. The emotional and social consequences for overweight children in a society that stigmatizes this condition can be traumatizing.

“Fit from the Start” has educational materials for parents and caregivers, all emphasizing healthy eating habits and regular physical activity. Items available include a dry erase magnet (front, back) that provides information and allows you to monitor you child’s nutrition and physical activity. If you’d like a hard copy of this magnet to use in your home or a snack cup with a list of healthy snacks inside, please contact us.

For a list of recommended books to read to children ages 2-5 regarding healthy eating and physical activity, click here.

The Department of Health exercises no control over the content of outside sites linked on www.HealthySD.gov and provides the links for informational purposes only. This information is not a substitute for medical care.

Dad's parenting style influences childhood obesity – Report on an Australian study that looked at almost 5,000 children, ages 4-5, and what it found about a dad's influence on a child's weight.

Healthy Habits for Healthy Kids is a nutrition and activity guide for healthy kids. If your child is overweight, or at risk of becoming overweight you will gain ideas of what you can do to help.

Designate indoor and outdoor play areas where rolling, climbing, jumping , and tumbling are allowed. Learn more.

Body Mass Index (BMI) calculator for children and teens

CDC has an online tool that calculates BMI-for-age for children and teens. It displays numeric results, a graphic that shows the weight category, and plots the BMI on a printable growth chart. Click here to figure your child’s weight status.

Whole grain "buzz words"

We are encouraged to eat more whole grains for a healthier diet. To see if a product is made with whole grains look at the ingredients listing on a label. The whole grain should be the first ingredient listed. Any of the following are consider whole grains:

* Brown rice
* Buckwheat
* Bulgur
* Millet
* Wild rice
* Popcorn: to lower the fat and salt content try air-popping, buying lower-fat varieties of microwave popcorn and use the snack size bag to help with portion control
* Quinoa
* Triticale
* Whole-grain barley
* Whole-grain corn
* Whole oats, oatmeal
* Whole rye
* Whole wheat

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