Fighting Childhood Obesity

Obesity is the top health risk in America as well as a leading cause of heart disease, diabetes and stroke, according to a June report from The U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Jim May, founder of the Gilbert, Ariz.-based company that produces SweetLeaf Sweetener® (http://www.sweetleaf.com/), is taking a stand against childhood obesity, a condition that defines nearly one-fifth of American children. The Department of Health and Human Services says that 1 in 3 youngsters is overweight.

May is teaming up with the Worthy Institute (http://worthyinstitute.com/), WellCare Foundation (http://www.wellcarefoundation.org/) and the American Heart Association (http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=1200000) to present the 2009 Arizona Children's Obesity Conference: A Community Taking Action (http://worthyinstitute.com/page/1lyiu/2009_Childrens_Obesity_Conference.html).

May's co-sponsorship of the event represents both a personal and a professional concern over the rapidly increasing rates of childhood obesity. May is confident that there are solutions to this epidemic of childhood obesity. In its latest Scientific Statement, the American Heart Association boldly said that added dietary sugars lead to cardiovascular disease. Reducing the amount of sugary foods and beverages is an important step toward a healthier heart and greater quality of life for children and their families.

Administrators from the Arizona Department of Health Services will join with health care professionals from both the private and public sectors to share information and exchange ideas as to how the State, schools and communities can develop and implement strategies to successfully combat childhood obesity. One of the changes that the Arizona Department of Health Services has already made is to change the regulations in the Women, Infant and Children (WIC) (http://www.azwic.gov/) nutrition program to promote healthier eating.

Jim May applauds this change. As the first person to bring stevia to the United States in 1982, May is known as the "Father of Stevia," and has spent his life researching and promoting the uses and health benefits of the Paraguayan plant.

"Arizona has taken a first step with the kind of common-sense action that will make our state healthier," he said. "We need more movement across Arizona and the nation to confront the obesity epidemic. I have worked 27 years to make people healthier and I have no plans to stop now."

Jim's passion for health and purity extends into his business philosophy. SweetLeaf Sweetener® is the only zero-calorie, zero-carbohydrate, zero-glycemic index sweetener that uses no chemicals or solvents in processing, making it 100%-natural and ideal for diabetics. SweetLeaf™ is made from the stevia plant, a naturally sweet plant native to Paraguay whose leaves are 30 times sweeter than sugar in its unprocessed form, which can be 300-350 times sweeter than sugar when purified. SweetLeaf™ recently achieved GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) status, the FDA's designation of quality. The U.S. stevia and natural-sweetener industry is projected to expand from $100 million this year to $2 billion by 2011.

New Cookbook For Healthier Children

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports 16 percent of children (over 9 million) ages 6 to 19 years are overweight or obese - a number that has tripled since 1980. Another 15 percent of child are considered at risk of becoming overweight indicates the "Prevalance of Overweight and Obesity Among Children and Adolescents".

Overweight adolescents have a 70 percent chance of becoming overweight or obese adults. According to a national household survey published in Pediatrics in 2004, fast food consumption has increased fivefold among children since 1970 resulting in an estimated extra six pounds per year, per child. Obesity is a serious health, which is associated with risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and Type 2 diabetes. Parents looking for ways to make fast and healthy meals can find help in the form of a new video and tip sheet with recipes from motivational speaker and cookbook author, Lisa A. Lundy, which you can download free from her website at www.TheSuperAllergyCookbook.com.

Lundy's three children have a variety of food allergies, which eliminate foods containing gluten, dairy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts and a few other allergens. What that means for Lundy is there is literally no "fast food" for them unless it comes out of the freezer, slow cooker, or is simply a quick cooking meal. As a working mother, time is of the essence for this busy woman. She has learned how to save time and money in the kitchen and still have healthy foods for her family. "You can have delicious tasting and nutritious foods and not spend hours and hours in the kitchen every day," Lundy said. "What is takes is good recipes, planning and preparation. And if you are cooking for children, by all means get them involved."

She practices what she preaches. Her two sons, ages 12 and 10, can make baked goods - from scratch - with no supervision. Her youngest, Anne who is 7 years old, can make a trail mix from scratch and is quickly becoming an expert salad chef. "Getting children involved in the meal planning, shopping and preparation can boost their self-esteem and pride. Plus, it often helps to increase the kinds and numbers of foods a child will eat" said Lundy.

Lundy is the author of The Super Allergy Girl™ Allergy & Celiac Cookbook - From A Mother Who Knows™, a gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, peanut free, tree nut free and other allergen free resource for both beginners and advanced cooks. Her daughter has had severe health issues due to an inability to absorb vitamins and nutrients from her diet - an issue that has set the family back over $100,000 in uncovered medical bills. The prognosis for Lundy's daughter Anne was poor at best given the level of severe malnutrition her blood testing results showed. With the help of several good physicians and multiple therapies, Anne has improved substantially and has a bright future. In the process the whole family has had to learn the importance of nutrition.

To help other parents and consumers, Lundy shares what she has learned by uploading free white papers, tip sheets, recipes, videos and other documents to her website -www.TheSuperAllergyCookbook.com - there for the taking. She loves helping people so this journey lines up with her passion of contributing to others.