Video: Childhood Obesity Rates Falling

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STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Just as the First Lady’s “Let’s Move” campaign reaches it’s 4th anniversary, a new report says some American children are getting healthier. Less sugar and less salt. More fruit and more veggies. These small but important changes are making America’s children healthier. The American Medical Association is reporting a 43% decline in obesity rates for children 2 to 5 years old in the last decade. Director of Child Nutrition Beverly Lowry for Starkville Schools says more changes are on the way.

“The regulations have required us to add more whole grains, more fresh fruits, vegetables and we’re looking at leaner meats. The big change for next year will be, we’ll start to look at our sodium counts,” says Lowry.

Many school districts across Northeast Mississippi no longer deep fry foods. Instead they bake foods in new, high tech ovens.

“It’s has three different modes. You have steam, where you can steam vegetables. You have the Comby mode, where it adds moisture and yet makes the food crispy. You have the convection mode where it bakes food without adding a whole lot of moisture. This oven is wonderful,” says Bonita Jordan, Cafeteria Manager at Henderson Ward Stewart Elementary in Starkville.

The new AMA report states that more breastfeeding and physical activity for young children have also contributed to the drop in obesity rates. Four years ago this month, First Lady Michelle Obama began the “Let’s Move” campaign to encourage children to get more exercise. Lowry says the new report is good news for those on the front lines of the childhood obesity battle.

“I’m not really surprised because we worked so hard on this for the last three years,” says Lowry.

In 2011, the USDA replaced the traditional food pyramid with the new symbol MyPlate. The Plate recommends that Americans fill half of every plate with fruits and vegetables along with whole grains and lean meat.

Mississippi was awarded a Best Practices Award by the USDA for improving the way it prepares school meals.