Jump Into Foods and Fitness!


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4-H Health & Well-Being

Jump Into Foods & Fitness

About JIFF | Families | Staff, Educators & Volunteers | Youth

JIFF for Families

Families Can Jump Into Foods and Fitness With JIFF!

You're an important influence on your child's lifestyle choices. Families are where children learn about and develop their attitudes toward food and physical activities. As your child's first teacher, you and other family members can help him or her learn about:

Being physically fit and growing healthy. Many factors contribute to developing healthy lifestyles!
Using accurate food, nutrition and fitness information to improve his or her overall health and fitness levels. Such knowledge may reduce the risk of developing life-threatening illnesses later in life.
Being involved in a physically active lifestyle. Enjoy fitness activities with your child and model the healthy habits that you want him or her to learn.
Making simple, healthy decisions. Making choices between two healthy options helps children learn how to make the increasingly difficult decisions they will face as teens and adults.
Starting early to practice healthy lifestyle habits. The earlier children start the more likely they are to practice healthy habits longer.

Current statistics on health problems that face young people indicate the need to educate children about the importance of making healthy choices, including eating nutritious food and being physically active. For example, one out of every two children in Michigan today is likely to die prematurely from preventable cardiovascular disease or preventable cancer. Two major contributing factors are sedentary lifestyles and excess weight (Pivarnik & Pfeiffer, 2002). The activity habits that children develop influence their adult activity (Malina, 2001).

The eight Kangaroo Jumps or sessions of Jump Into Foods and Fitness (JIFF) are designed to help children aged 8 to 11 learn about healthy nutrition, physical fitness and food safety choices. Jiff the Joey kangaroo sets the stage for the fun activities that use the Food Guide Pyramid and the Kid's Activity Pyramid.

Nutritious food choices and increased physical activity are key factors in helping children be healthy and fit. Kids (and adults) can:

Make healthful food choices including fruits, vegetables and dairy products for meals and snacks.
Decrease consumption of foods high in fat or sugar.
Engage in physically active play.
Decrease television viewing time and other sedentary activities.

Be a role model by eating sensibly and enjoying physical activities in your daily life. You might enjoy playing some basketball or soccer with your child, taking a walk together with your child and a pet or just getting up during the commercials of your favorite television show to stretch or dance with your child!

You Can Be a Jiff Volunteer, Too!

You don't need to be a nutrition or fitness expert to become a JIFF volunteer! The Jump Into Foods and Fitness curriculum provides the background information and materials you need to become a facilitator and help children learn to make healthy lifestyle choices.

You can order Jump Into Foods and Fitness (4H1602) or find out about other learning materials related to foods, nutrition, fitness, positive youth development and food safety from the MSU Bulletin Office, 117 Central Services, East Lansing, MI 48824, phone 517-353-6740, fax 517-353-7168, e-mail bulletin@anr.msu.edu, Internet http://web2.msue.msu.edu/bulletins/mainsearch.cfm.

Ideas for Improving Your Child's Nutrition, Fitness and Health Awareness

Eight- to 11-year-olds prefer to make or do things instead of just hearing about them, so . . .

Grab a jump rope and see how many times either you or your child can jump!
Cook together and experiment with different fruits and vegetables.
Exercise together during television commercial breaks.
Do something for your community together.
Try a new food — shop for and prepare it together.
Read food labels together to compare similar foods and look for the best value.

Additional Resources for Families

A few of the many Web sites that can help you help your child learn about nutrition, physical fitness and healthy lifestyle choices are listed here. The JIFF Web site also provides resource links for staff, educators and volunteers, and youth.

MSU Extension Family and Consumer Sciences (http://web5.msue.msu.edu/fcs/) — This page provides links to the MSU Extension Family and Consumer Sciences programs related to food, nutrition and health, including the Michigan Nutrition Network, Project FRESH and Team Nutrition.
Common Food Allergens (http://www.foodallergy.org/allergens.html) — This page lists common food allergens and contains information designed to increase food allergy awareness, information and research. The site is part of the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network.
Dietary Guidelines for Americans (http://www.healthierus.gov/dietaryguidelines/) — This online version of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans encourages Americans to aim for fitness, build a healthy base (using MyPyramid when choosing foods) and choose sensibly.
Eat Smart Play Hard (http://www.fns.usda.gov/eatsmartplayhard/) — This is a national nutrition education campaign designed to convey motivational messages about healthy eating and physical activity. The campaign uses Power Panther™ as the primary communication vehicle to children and their caregivers. Materials also available in Spanish.
Healthy K.I.D.S. Newsletter: Knowledge Improving Diet and Strength (http://www.childrenshealthfund.org/publications/healthed.php#kids) — These newsletters for elementary and middle school youth contain tips for healthy snacks and physical activity, and provide a corresponding parent guide. Materials are available in English and Spanish. The newsletter is published by the Children's Health Fund.
Healthy Parenting (http://www.wellpoint.com/healthy_parenting/index.html) — At this site you'll find the "Healthy Habits for Healthy Kids" newsletter, a nutrition and activity guide for parents, information about helping children who are overweight, nutrition information, resources and more. The newsletter is prepared by the American Dietetic Association and Wellpoint.
Kidnetic.com (http://www.kidnetic.com/Parents/) — This site features interactive games; "bright papers" on topics related to children and physical, healthy eating and self-esteem; and recipes for youth nutrition, fitness and more. Kidnetic.com is sponsored by the International Food Information Council Foundation.
Michigan Team Nutrition Booklist (http://www.tn.fcs.msue.msu.edu/Booklist.pdf) — The Michigan Team Nutrition Booklist contains the annotations for over 300 books about food, healthy eating, and physical activity for children in pre-school through third grade
Montana Healthy Families (http://www.montanadieteticassociation.org/promo.html) — This site, sponsored by the Montana Dietetic Association, offers a monthly newsletter that includes family health and fitness ideas that readers can take advantage of any time and anywhere.
MyPyramid (www.mypyramid.gov) — This is an official home of MyPyramid, a tool designed to help people select foods for a balanced diet. The page offers links to information about MyPyramid in English and Spanish. It was developed by the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion.
MyPyramid for Kids (http://www.mypyramid.gov/kids/index.html) — This is an adaptation of MyPyramid designed with nutrition messages for children aged 6 to 11. It includes an interactive computer game, tips for families, and MyPyramid for Kids posters. It was developed by the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion.
Nutrition Explorations: The Fun and Easy Way to Teach and Learn Nutrition (http://www.nutritionexplorations.org/) — This site offers fun food games and information for parents, educators and school food service programs. It includes meal suggestions, nutrition and safety tips. The site was developed by the National Dairy Council.
Nutritive Value of Foods (http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/HG72/hg72_2002.pdf) USDA Home and Garden Bulletin 72) — This document, which is published by the USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory, allows readers to research the nutrient content of favorite foods.
Parent Resource Center (http://www.healthinschools.org/parents) — The Parent Resource Center provides two types of information: Learn Now, a Web portal that provides valuable links to parent friendly resources on child and adolescent health issues, and Act Now, a guide written to help parents assess health‑related services and programs at their child's schools. The site is sponsored by the Center for Health and Health Care in Schools.
Team Nutrition Parent Place (http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/parents.html ) — Team Nutrition is a network of parents, teachers, food service staff, health and education groups, and the food and agricultural community. At this site you'll find information on improving the school nutrition environment and links to nutrition information for youth and families. Team Nutrition is a program of the Food and Nutrition Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
"VERB: It's What You Do" Tween Site (http://www.verbnow.com) — "VERB: It's What You Do" is a national, multicultural, social marketing campaign that encourages kids aged 9 to 13 (tweens) of all physical ability and skill levels to become physically active every day. The campaign is coordinated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The campaign's main page is at http://www.cdc.gov/youthcampaign/index.htm.

Contact Information

For more information on how to get involved as a youth or volunteer, contact your county MSU Extension office or:

Janet R. Olsen, Program Leader
Michigan 4-H Youth Development
160 Agriculture Hall
Michigan State University
E. Lansing, MI 48824-1039

Email: olsenj@msu.edu
Phone: 517-432-7575

B'Onko Sadler, Associate Program Leader
Michigan 4-H Youth Development,
160 Agriculture Hall
Michigan State University
E. Lansing, MI 48824-1039

E-mail: sadlerbo@msu.edu
Phone: 517-432-7618