Every Kid Healthy Week - April 25-29, 2022

Launched by Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK) in 2013, Every Kid Healthy Week is an annual observance on the calendar of national health observances that celebrates school wellness achievements.

Observed the last week of April each year, this special week showcases the link between nutrition, physical activity, mental health, and learning and how they can work together to create healthy kids. Every Kid Healthy Week also shows the great efforts that schools and families are making to improve the health and wellness of students, helping them be better prepared to learn.

History Of Every Kid Healthy Week

It all started in 2002 when Action For Healthy Kids (AFHK) began to establish a network across the U.S. after Dr. David Satcher addressed childhood obesity as an epidemic. After the initiative began to be recognized, several steps were taken to improve the health of school-going children. The efforts taken included meetings with policy-makers as well as school administrations. In 2008, AFHK began working on elevating the focus on school wellness by launching a toolkit for parents to better inform them on wellness practices. By 2012, AFHK had numerous events under its belt that all aimed to increase the health and nutrition of kids.

In the year 2013, the AFHK mission was recognized and accepted in numerous schools. However, there was still a great need to spread awareness regarding the mission as not all individuals were aware of the strong link between physical health and learning — especially in this technological day and age where fewer children seem to be involved in physical activities. To further ensure that the focus on kids’ health never took a backseat, AFHK launched Every Kid Healthy Week, which is also recognized on the Calendar for National Health Observances. This week, which is celebrated every year, brings to light numerous physical and mental health problems faced by the children of today, how they can be managed, and, most importantly, how schools and parents can play a vital role in the health of a child. 

Why Kids' Health Is Important

Fact is, children are more vulnerable to illnesses due to their underdeveloped immune systems and their high exposure to germs at schools and child care facilities. Most children may have 6 to 8 colds a year. Other common childhood illnesses include allergies, skin problems, eye conditions, neurological issues, and gastrointestinal conditions.

Protecting and improving the health of children is of fundamental importance. Over the past several decades, we have seen dramatic progress in improving the health and reducing the mortality rate of young children. Among other encouraging statistics, the number of children dying before the age of 5 was halved from 2000 to 2017, and more mothers and children are surviving today than ever before.

However, a great deal of work remains to further improve the health outcomes for children. The world is facing a double mandate. More than half of child deaths are due to conditions that could be easily prevented or treated given access to health care and improvements to their quality of life.

At the same time, children must also be given a stable environment in which to thrive, including good health and nutrition, protection from threats, and access to opportunities to learn and grow. Investing in children is one of the most important things a society can do to build a better future. 

Personality development starts at a young age – a disturbed child is likely to grow up into an unhappy adult. To ensure the future generation is happy and healthy, mentally as well as physically, parents and schools need to emphasize a child’s mental health.

New Threats to Children's Health

Children’s survival, nutrition, and education have improved dramatically over recent decades. But progress on indicators of child health and well-being is currently stalled across the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). No country is currently providing the conditions needed to support every child to grow up and have a healthy future.

Children (aged 0 to 18 years) today face a host of new threats linked to climate change, pollution, harmful commercial marketing, unhealthy lifestyles and diets, injury and violence, conflict, migration, and inequality. Their very future is uncertain, and urgent action is needed to address these threats.

• Greenhouse gas emissions leading to climate change and ecological degradation existentially threaten the lives of all children.
• Children are vulnerable to adverse health effects from indoor and outdoor air pollution which causes an estimated 7 million deaths per year (2016).
• Over 250 million children are at risk of not meeting their development potential (2017).
• There are 124 million children and adolescents affected by obesity (2016).
• Children are frequently exposed to commercial marketing promoting addictive substances and unhealthy commodities.
• Road injury is the leading cause of death for children and young people; more than 1 billion children are exposed to violence every year.

Environmental threats

The lives of all children are existentially threatened by greenhouse gas emissions leading to climate change. Children’s lives today, and future existence, are at risk from rising sea levels, extreme weather events, water and food insecurity, heat stress, emerging infectious diseases and large-scale population migration. These issues are already affecting hundreds of millions of children today.  

Indoor and ambient (outdoor) air pollution are both responsible for an estimated 7 million deaths (2016). Air pollution is associated with poor childhood respiratory health; it impairs the lungs and the brain and increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome across the child’s lifespan.

Climate-related health risks are compounded amongst the 40% of the world’s children who live in informal settlements where substandard housing, overcrowding, hazardous locations, unhealthy living conditions, poverty and poor access to basic services can harm their health and well-being.  

Obesity and non-communicable diseases 

The rapid rise in childhood obesity is one of the most serious public health challenges of the 21st century, with the number of children and adolescents affected by obesity increasing more than ten times from 11 million in 1975 to 124 million in 2016.

Children are frequently exposed to harmful commercial marketing, typically seeing tens of thousands of advertisements a year for addictive substances and unhealthy commodities including fast food and sugar-sweetened beverages which contribute to obesity and chronic diseases, as well as online gambling services, which can harm their relationships, school achievement, and mental health.

The marketing and inappropriate use of breastmilk substitutes (formula milk)— a US$ 70 billion industry — is associated with lowered intelligence, obesity, increased risk of diabetes and other non-communicable diseases, accounting for an estimated loss to society of US$ 302 billion. 

The commercial threats to children’s health are dangerously underappreciated. Children’s high online exposure can also harm them when companies buy and sell their profiles for the purposes of commercial targeting. Children are also exposed to bullying, exploitation, and contact with criminals and sexual predators.  

Injuries, violence, and conflict 

Road injury is the leading cause of death for children and young people aged five to 29 years. And more than 1 billion children — half of all children —are exposed to violence every year. 

In 2018, 1 billion people had moved or were on the move either as internally displaced persons, international migrants, or refugees, including many children, as a result of conflict, violence or inequity, and lack of opportunities. 

How Can My School Take Action?

Every Kid Healthy Week is all about celebrating your school’s wellness initiatives and inspiring new ideas to promote healthy eating, physical activity, and social-emotional health. Parents and schools can show their commitment to wellness by hosting an in-person or virtual event that focuses on healthy kids and families. Parents and family members can volunteer to help their kids’ schools host an event, then keep the celebration going at home.

Check out some event ideas at everykidhealthyweek.org to get started. There, you’ll find planning toolkits and checklists, as well as tons of resources to help you plan the best Every Healthy Week event.

Every Kid Healthy Week Event Ideas

• Host a healthy foods taste test featuring fruits, vegetables, whole grains, or low-fat dairy products.
• Invite a local fitness instructor to volunteer to lead a virtual family Zumba or yoga class.
• Create a school garden or refresh an existing one, and invite parent volunteers to help.
• Plan a school-wide field day, walk-a-thon, or fun run and engage parent volunteers to help with the organization.
• Energize the classroom with fun brain break activities led by parent volunteers.
• Combine these ideas and work with community partners for a full health and wellness fair.

Everyone is encouraged to join the celebration online by sharing photos of their events and actions on social media using #EveryKidHealthyWeek and #takeaction4healthykids.

Sources:

https://www.actionforhealthykids.org/get-involved/every-kid-healthy-week/

https://nationaltoday.com/every-kid-healthy-week/

https://www.who.int/health-topics/child-health#tab=tab_1

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/children-new-threats-to-health