Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation and Discovery Education Announce Energy Balance Curriculum to Combat Childhood Obesity

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Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation

Sep 21, 2010, 10:02 ET

WASHINGTON, Sept. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation (HWCF), the CEO-led organization driving a multi-year effort designed to help reduce obesity – especially childhood obesity – by 2015, today announced the launch of a new online curriculum powered by Discovery Education. Promoting ways to help young people achieve a healthy weight through energy balance – calories in and calories out – this curriculum is now available at no cost to educators at www.energybalance101.com.

"Parents and educators play a key role in teaching children that maintaining a balance of our Energy In and Energy Out contributes to a healthy, active lifestyle," said Lisa Gable, Executive Director of HWCF. "This program helps ensure that we can deliver high-quality curriculum directly into the classroom where it can make a real difference in the lives of our children."

"Discovery Education is proud to support the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation's efforts to eliminate childhood obesity in America," commented Mary Rollins, Discovery Education Vice President of Educational Partnerships. "This curriculum provides educators with new tools and resources that they can use in their classrooms to fight this epidemic threatening today's children."

This engaging new curriculum – jointly developed by the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation, Discovery Education, the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE), and pediatric dieticians -- includes lesson plans, resources, and videos aligned to national standards, for the K-2 and 3-5 grade bands.

Energy Balance 101 teacher resources are divided into four modules:

Module 1- Introduction to Energy Balance and how to make choices for an active, healthy lifestyle that fit individual needs
Module 2- Food Side of the Energy Balance Scale
Module 3- Physical Activity Side of the Energy Balance Scale
Module 4- Applying Energy Balance to Students' Lives

Each module includes background information and tips helping teachers, especially those not experts in nutrition or physical education, understand the content, as well as dynamic activities and engaging Discovery Education digital media.

"NASPE dreams of a healthier nation in which all individuals are physically educated and participate in lifelong physical activity," said Executive Director Charlene R. Burgeson. "This excellent new resource will help students achieve the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity every day while having high energy and physical stamina."

Read the full release here.

SOURCE Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation