Ed. Note: This is a cross post from the blog of usda.gov. You can find the original post here. Over the past four years, USDA has worked closely with schools, parents, community leaders, and nutrition experts to ensure that when children go off to school, they are greeted by a healthier school environment. According to the CDC, childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years, leading to an increase in obesity-related health outcomes in children, including cardiovascular disease, pre-diabetes, and bone and joint problems. Improving school nutrition is vital to reducing childhood obesity, because many children consume half of their daily calories during the school day. Making the healthy choice the easy choice sets our nation’s children up for a lifetime of healthy choices, and supports a healthier next generation. Recently, we've seen evidence that student acceptance of healthier meals is increasing across all grade levels. Today, we are pleased to see the results of the latest poll by The Pew Charitable Trusts, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the American Heart Association, showing that most parents support the healthier meal and snack standards implemented through the Healthy, Hunger-free Kids Act of 2010. Read more about the results of that study in this blog, cross-posted from the Blog of the American Heart Association.

Ed. Note: This is a cross post from the blog of fitness.gov. You can find the original post here. As the buzzer sounds on another sizzling summer, kids across America are getting back in the game and gearing up for another school year. Now, instead of days filled with swimming, biking, climbing trees and playing, most kids will spend six to seven hours each day within school walls.  The primary focus of schools is to help students learn and develop foundational skills and knowledge to succeed in life. But with the increasing demands and pressures of improving standardized test scores and grade point averages are we defeating these goals by eliminating or significantly restricting the time students are physically active throughout the school day?

President Barack Obama has proclaimed September 2014 as National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, encouraging Americans to help our youth lead more physically active lifestyles and make healthier food choices.

Last September, First Lady Michelle Obama joined the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) to launch the Drink Up campaign, encouraging everyone to make an easy choice to improve their health and well-being every day: drink more water.