FEATURE – IMPROVING EATING HABITS THROUGH HEALTHY APPS FOR KIDS
INTRO: The U-S-D-A announced the winners of its healthy apps for kids challenge during an event at the White House. The U-S-D-A’s Bob Ellison has more. (1:58)
THE HEALTHY APPS FOR KIDS CHALLENGE HAD TEAMS FROM ACROSS THE NATION DESIGN APPS AND GAMES THAT ENCOURAGE HEALTHY EATING AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. AGRICULTURE SECRETARY TOM VILSACK SAID THE CONTEST’S GOAL WAS TO TEACH CHILDREN THE IMPORTANCE OF GOOD HEALTH FOR THEMSELVES AND SOCIETY.
Tom Vilsack, Agriculture Secretary: We wanted them to understand the choices that they can make. The important choices they make for themselves and for their country in terms of what they eat.
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY KATHLEEN SEBELIUS SAID THE APPS AND GAMES WOULD PROVIDE A COUNTER TO INFORMATION ABOUT LESS HEALTHY FOODS.
Kathleen Sebelius, Health and Human Services Secretary: We need to have an equally strong and powerful challenge to begin to reeducate kids about how what they eat is connected to how they feel, how they learn and their opportunity to be healthy in the future.
FORMER N-F-L PLAYER BRIAN MITCHELL SAID HEALTHY HABITS NOW WOULD TRANSLATE INTO GOOD HEALTH FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS.
Brian Mitchell,Former NFL Player: Kids are our future. Well, kids become adults. And if those kids learn things while they are young, when they become adults, they’re going to pass it on to their kids and we’re not going to have those problems.
THE DESIGNERS CAME UP WITH INTERESTING AND EDUCATIONAL APPS AND GAMES TO CHALLENGE CHILDREN WHILE ENTERTAINING THEM,
Mike Carcaise, Grand Prize Winner, Co-Founder of ZisBoomBah, Boulder, CO: You can actually take from a menu and drag and drop the food items onto a plate and then there are meters along the right hand side that will tell you, is there too much salt, is there not enough protein.
Frederic DeWulf, Food N’ Me, Bellevue, WA: Smash Your Food takes ten of the most commonly abused foods by kids in the USA today, burgers, fries, milkshakes and it literally squishes them and smashes them to smithereens and shows you how much sugar, salt and oil and fat there is in them.
YOU CAN SEE THE WINNING APPS AND GAMES AT APPS FOR HEALTHY KIDS DOT COM. IN WASHINGTON D-C FOR THE U-S DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, I’M BOB ELLISON.
