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Nutrition & Product Information
Calcium Summit II
Moving from Awareness to Action
Moderator: Gregory D. Miller, Ph.D., F.A.C.N.
Senior Vice President, Nutrition and Scientific Affairs National Dairy Council
Working together, the Calcium Summit II participants took part in roundtable discussions to identify problems, solutions, and implementation strategies related to helping America's youth improve their dietary patterns and calcium status. The discussions focused on parents, children and adolescents themselves, schools, and health care practitioners. The following are some of the suggested actions.
Helping Parents Take Action
Educate parents about how their behaviors or role modeling can benefit their children's dietary patterns and long-term health. Encourage parents to stock flavored, single-serve milks at home and drink these beverages themselves.
Reach parents of different ethnicities and cultural backgrounds through their unique channels and provide culturally and linguistically appropriate materials about healthful diets and, in particular, dietary calcium sources.
Communicate with parents where they are (e.g., in doctor's offices, supermarkets, fitness centers, churches), through the mass media (e.g., magazines), and through organizations such as Parent-Teacher Organizations (PTO) or Scouts.
Develop parent coalitions including school nurses, school principals, coaches, and others to effectively campaign for improved food choices offered to children in schools.
Provide resources to parent coalitions and give parents practical tips on how to incorporate calcium-rich foods into their family's diets.
Reaching America's Youth
Change the image of milk to make it "cool" by offering more varieties of flavored milks, including more sophisticated flavors such as coffee or unique flavors such as "Oreo;" by using appealing, convenient packaging; and by distributing milk through trendy venues such as milk bars, fountain dispensers, or mixing "slush" machines.
Make milk more accessible by providing milk vending machines in malls, at school sporting events, or wherever children are.
Partner with large web sites such as AOL where teens frequently log on, and use the media such as teen radio stations, MTV, and magazines targeting children and teens to reach this audience.
Reading, Writing, and Reaching Calcium Intake Goals
Make nutrition part of the school curricula by including key messages about good nutrition and integrating nutrition into other subject areas such as math, science, or English. Use after-school and non-formal education programs to impart nutrition education; involve school nurses, physical education teachers, and other experts in schools; and use technology for interactive nutrition education programs and delivery of calcium messages.
Improve packaging of milk and delivery systems, support milk vending machines in schools, and offer milk and/or other dairy products at all school events.
Work to limit competitive beverages in schools by helping schools develop new fundraising options; educating school boards on policies in schools that may jeopardize students' health (e.g., "pouring rights" contracts); and supporting legislation to limit access to competitive foods of minimal nutritional value in schools.
A Calcium Check-Up
Work with a wide variety of health professionals such as pediatricians, nurse practitioners, school nurses, health educators within school systems, and dental hygienists to help them educate their patients/clients about the health benefits of calcium.
Form partnerships with national health professional organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and government agencies such as the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to give messages credibility and consistency.
Provide patient education materials such as brochures and patient tear sheets on various nutrition-related issues (e.g., lactose intolerance), as well as computer kiosks in patient waiting rooms.
Teach MDs about nutrition in medical schools and during fellowships and help physicians educate patients that meeting calcium needs offers health benefits beyond reducing the risk of osteoporosis.
Encourage medical group practices to share and use a Registered Dietitian.
Convince health practitioners to ask their patients/clients key questions such as "how often do you drink milk?" and "how often does your mother drink milk?"
The mission of Calcium Summit II is "to develop a shared vision and action plan to help America¹s youth make improved dietary choices and achieve an optimal calcium intake."
Partnerships among educators, health professionals, the media, and private and public sectors are key to the success in moving from awareness of the calcium deficit among America¹s youth to action.
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