There's new evidence the childhood obesity epidemic may be leveling off. The past three decades have been an utter disaster in terms of childhood obesity, with the percentage of obese six-to-11-year-olds rising from 6.5 percent in 1980 to 16.3 percent in 2002. Currently, 32 percent of American schoolchildren are overweight or obese.

After analyzing 1999-2006 survey data, researchers with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report the level of overweight and obese schoolchildren in America has plateaued at around 32 percent. The rates have remained constant for the first time in 45 years. It's not clear whether kids have simply gotten as heavy they're going to get under current lifestyle habits or if family, school and community interventions to eat right and exercise are making a difference. Some wonder whether a 'fat ceiling' could be a false ceiling -- researchers acknowledge more time and data are required before the obesity rate is definitively deemed stable.

As a fan of fitness and nutrition, I'd like to think advocacy for healthier living is strongly pushing back against obesity's four-decade rising tide. But that's the optimist in me. The hearts of advocacy organizations such as The Alliance for a Healthier Generation must be enjoying a lighthearted moment right now -- AHG's immediate goal was to halt the rise of childhood obesity by 2010. But the moment must be brief as our nation has an immense amount of work to do -- 32 percent is no number to celebrate. In the 1960s, childhood obesity stood in the single digits.

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Brian wrote a post last month on the controversial McDonald's advertising printed on envelopes holding the report cards of elementary school kids in Seminole County, Florida. Good news! McDonald's has responded to public pressure and officially ended its Happy Meal reward advertising on the report card envelopes. They're footing the bill to immediately reprint the envelopes -- with no trademarks. Talk about a branding strategy gone bad.

Turns out one parent, Susan Pagan, started the ripple which crested and crashed a tidal wave of pressure on McDonald's to remove the predatory advertising. Pagan complained that her daughter worked hard for her grades and then felt entitled to the advertised promise of a Happy Meal -- only to be disappointed as the Pagans do not eat at fast food chains. Pagan boldly pointed out McDonald's was exploiting her daughter's good grades. Unbelievably, 2,000 more parents complained, and the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) campaigned McDonald's to immediately stop the advertising, citing this marketing strategy was in clear violation of McDonald's pledge to stop advertising in elementary schools.

Good for Susan Pagan for speaking up, and for CCFC and other parents for supporting her fight against a behemoth corporation peddling 710 calorie Happy Meal prizes loaded with 28 grams of fat and 35 grams of sugar to young, impressionable kids. Shame on McDonald's -- and what was the Seminole County School Board thinking? Many parents, teachers and organizations (e.g., Alliance for a Healthier Generation) are working diligently to get the vending and a la carte junk foods and sugary beverages out of schools, and this school board grants approval to link academic performance with a free Happy Meal? How about a free pedometer, a free dance night, a free jump rope or free time to cultivate a school vegetable garden instead?

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Soccer snack grouch here. But this time I'm not griping about the nutritiously poor, often unnecessary soccer snacks tossed to young kids after the game. Today I'm celebrating the creative nutritional overhauls and exercise programs being implemented by many public schools across the country.

Check out these inspiring, real-life School Success Stories highlighted on the Alliance For A Healthier Generation's (AHG) website. AHG is a partnership between the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation to fight childhood obesity. Here is a sampling of bright ideas:

• Miami Springs Middle School renegotiated their beverage contracts to align with the beverage guidelines outlined by AHG. They serve a green vegetable with all starch entrees (salad with pizza), and that pizza crust is whole wheat, as well as the only cookies served -- whole wheat oatmeal raisin cookies. Breakfast offers low-sugar cereals and low fat milk. A before school walking club and a new focus on lunchtime free play are also sparking active kids.
• Waubun Secondary School strategically raised the price of candy bars to $1.25 in their school store, eliminated many other unhealthy snacks and added taste-tested/student-approved yogurt, 100-calorie packs and string cheese at a significantly lower price of $.40. With these simple pricing and stock changes, sales of candy bars have gone down, healthier options have risen and here's the key -- overall store profits are up.
• Delaware Valley Middle School started a 13-week mini-marathon. About 40 students, along with several staff, meet Tuesdays after school to nail a two-mile run. They'll finish their mini-marathon this April at their school district's first annual 5K Race/Walk.

I love that these students are eating better and moving more -- this grouch is actually smiling! Forward AHG's School Success Stories to your school principal. Educate school district leaders it is entirely possible to make strategic changes to enhance school nutrition and incorporate more exercise without jeopardizing the bottom line.

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My son started soccer last year at the age of five. I loved watching him smack the ball around when he wasn't picking grass. But I could not stand watching the soccer snacks handed out after each and every game. Sugary cookies, juice boxes filled with sugar -- one family even brought Krispy Creme doughnuts and chocolate milk. I was disgusted. Call me a soccer snack grouch if you will, but why do kids need a snack after sporting activities? What happened to the coach taking the team to the ice cream shop ONCE during the season? According to the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, about 17 percent of American students are overweight.

But there's hope. This year, his soccer league handed out a flyer requiring healthy snacks. For parents unaware of the distinction, they listed a few examples. This grouch actually smiled upon reading the flyer, but it was fleeting as I think the snack should be banned altogether. This is exactly the policy change taken by our park district's preschool this year. Snack time was taken out of the curriculum. No surge of calories near the end of the two hour and fifteeen minute class. The snack never made any sense to me -- class ends at 11:30 am, just in time for lunch.

Don't get me wrong, I admire parents inspiring kids to keep fit and learn new skills via organized sports. But if you still believe in that soccer snack, check out these healthier alternatives provided by No Junk Food.

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