City goes on a diet and it worked - Diet & Nutrition - MSNBC.

.comSkip navigationMSN home Mail My MSN health lifestyle travel careers more MailMessengerMy MSNMSN DirectoryAir Tickets Autos Careers & Jobs City Guides Dating & Personals Games Health & Fitness Horoscopes Lifestyle Maps & Directions Money Movies Music News Real Estate Shopping Slate Magazine Spaces Sports Tech & Gadgets Travel TV Weather White Pages Yellow Pages health & fitnessMSN Search: Espaol Home Health Centers Ask the Experts Diet & Fitness Health NewsHealth TipsFDA ApprovalsNews HighlightsWomen's Health Men's Health Pregnancy & Kids Medical Encyclopedia Drug Finder Message Boards Newsletter Sign-up Pick Your Favorites: Health & Fitness Diet & Nutrition Preferred Format: HTML (graphical) Plain Text Learn More Boston suburb goes on a diet, slims kids City committed to smaller portions, more activity and it worked Savant Minot, 6, left, and Keila Perez, 6, right, enjoy a healthy snack of yogurt, graham crackers and apple juice during an after-school program at the Michael E. Capuano Early Childhood Center in Somerville, Mass. View related photos Lisa Poole / AP Message boards

Share your experiences and best tips Most Popular Most Viewed Top Rated Most E-mailed Woman survives `internal decapitation' Best contestant doesn't make it to `Idol' finale 129,000 pounds of beef recalled for E. coli Leadership failures found in GIs' murders World Bank, Wolfowitz discussing his exit Most viewed on MSNBC.com Bomb Explodes Near Somali PM's Convoy Search for 3 Missing Soldiers Continues U.S. Military Deaths in Iraq at 3,399 Israeli Airstrikes Target Hamas Iran Not Complying With U.N. Demands Most viewed on MSNBC.com Woman survives `internal decapitation' 129,000 pounds of beef recalled for E. coli Boston suburb goes on a diet, slims kids Vitamins may hike deadly prostate cancer risk Senators strike deal on immigration reform bill Most viewed on MSNBC.com Top celebrity trainers offer their advice Diet and fitness videos Your own personalized diet? May 15: A new test that shows how quickly people secrete insulin could be used to create personalized diets. NBC's Robert Bazell reports. Cooking with olive oil Whole town gets behind obesity experiment Senate approves food safety legislation Doctor creates program to combat childhood obesity RSS feeds on msnbc.com Add these headlines to your news reader Fitness Learn more about RSS Updated: 2:26 p.m. PT May 16, 2007 SOMERVILLE, Mass. - More fruits and vegetables were added to school lunches. Restaurants offered smaller portions. Crosswalks even got a fresh coat of paint to encourage walking and biking. The whole city of Somerville went on a diet to curb childhood obesity. And researchers say it worked. Tufts University nutrition experts found public schoolchildren in this Boston suburb avoided gaining about a pound of excess weight compared with their 8-year-old counterparts in two nearby communities. Story continues below advertisement

The results of the study were published last week in the journal Obesity. The report covered the first year of the 2003-04 study involving 1,696 children in

first, second and third grades. If other communities take similar steps, the findings could help children avoid becoming overweight as they grow older, said Christina Economos, who led the program called Shape Up Somerville: Eat Smart Play Hard. Researchers picked Somerville, a city of 77,500, because it has a large population of minority children in low-income families. Only 3 percent of the town's land is set aside for children to walk and play safely, a situation that fuels a sedentary lifestyle. Lessons in healthy eating In the weeks before the study, researchers met with parents, teachers and school officials to explain the importance of avoiding meals high in fat and sugar and encouraging children to be active, Economos said. Children began seeing fresh strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and other fruits in school cafeterias. They were told they could eat as much as they wanted. School cooks started using fresh ingredients instead of frozen foods. They also turned to olive and canola oils and replaced fried foods with baked products, including potatoes with cheese. INTERACTIVE Snacking stats: Low fat vs. the real thing Compare how low-fat versions of snack foods stack up against their regular counterparts. More than 90 teachers were taught a new health curriculum, and the program leaders learned yoga, dance and soccer to encourage children to be more active before, during and after school. Since the study ended, the city has kept up with many of the activities and healthier eating plans. Kayla Brown, 10, feels the difference. I always got tired when I walked home, said Kayla, a fourth-grader who gave up snacking on milk and cookies after school in favor of fruit or carrots and dip. Since I have been eating more healthier foods at school, I just feel so excited, and I walk home and I never get tired. Put to a vote Encouraging children to eat fresh fruits was easy. Getting them to munch on vegetable dishes was more difficult. Students were enticed to taste new foods and vote on what they would like to see on their plates. If it looks good, they'll take it. And if it tastes good, they'll keep eating it, school food-service director Mary Jo McLarney said. Researchers also sent newsletters to parents and other members of the community each month offering health tips, coupons for healthy foods and updates on the project. Click for related content College students: Hip, fly ... and fat Thin people can be fat on the inside Pesticides may be making kids sick at school They also posted a physical activity guide and a healthy snack list on the city and public elementary school Web sites. Somerville school nurses were trained to keep track of students' weight gain and counsel families with a child at risk of becoming overweight. Some businesses supported the effort. Twenty restaurants agreed to offer healthier meals including low-fat dairy products, smaller portions, and fruits and vegetables as side dishes. The study was funded with a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation also contributed a

grant to make roads safer for pedestrians and cyclists. fact fileParents, take charge Instead foods high in fat, sugar and calories, try these lunchtime treats. South Beach wraps or other low- calorie meal roll-upsPrepacked, high-sodium meals Low-fat turkeyRegular bologna or hot dogs Vitamin Water or fruit waters. Organic, low-fat milk or flavored rice milkSugar-filled juices. Soda Small ziplock bag of high-fiber, sweetened cereal like frosted shredded wheatFried cheese puffs Baked, trans fat-free chipsRegular potato chips Chocolate graham crackers Chocolate candy bars Print this 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Print this Email this Blog this IM this MORE FROM DIET & NUTRITION College students: Hip, fly ... and fat Applebee's dumps trans fat from the menu 129,000 pounds of beef recalled in 15 states Report: FDA food safety plan rejected City goes on a diet and it worked College students: Hip, fly ... and fat Feeling down? Refuel with tofu and turkey Chocolate conundrum: Is it good to indulge? Self-esteem tied to body image for most teens Milk campaign under fire ending Where can tastiest milk be found? In the dark Diet & Nutrition Section Front Add Diet & Nutrition headlines to your news reader: More RSS feeds from MSNBC.com Top MSNBC stories Minority population tops 100 million WP: 26 prosecutors listed for firing Leadership failures in GIs' murders Date set for U.S.-Iran meeting And then there were two on 'Idol' NBC News highlights Video: Exclusive with Tony Blair Should Prince Harry even be in the army? TODAY goes wild Q & A with sportswriter Mike Lupica Vote for Countdown's 'D.C. Idol' SPONSORED LINKSGet listed here Breaking News! OTC:VYON Viyya Tech: Investment stock consideration. Software and technology. www.viyya.com Hot Stock Pick VSPC expanding in the $45 billion per year homeland security sector. www.smallcapstockalert.com AARP and The Hartford Auto Insurance Over 50? Save up to $303 on auto insurance from AARP & The Hartford. aarp.thehartford.com

Calculate New Mortgage Payment See today's low mortgage rates. Featured on Dr. Phil. Get low rates! lowermybills.com Refinance Rates at 5.5% Fixed! $300,000 mortgage, $719/mo. Bad credit OK. Get 4 free quotes. www.lendgo.com MSN privacy Legal Advertise RSS Help Feedback 2007 Microsoft