While genetics plays a role in cardiovascular disease, so does lifestyle. Research indicates that one of the most effective ways to prevent heart disease is to reduce the major risk factors that can contribute to its development, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity and smoking. Reducing those risk factors can be accomplished by adopting healthy lifestyle habits, such as getting regular exercise and eating a healthy diet that is rich in high fiber foods, such as fruits and vegetables, as well as avoiding tobacco use.
Like all habits, the earlier they are formed, the better are the chances that they will become lifelong ways of living. One of the ways some Boston-area schools are trying to introduce these healthy habits to their students is by signing up for a Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA) program called the Jump Up and Go! 2sDays Challenge.
Sponsored by BCBSMA’s Jump Up and Go! youth health program, the 2sDays Challenge invites parents and teachers to help children designate the second Tuesday of each month from February to April as a day when their screen time — time spent watching TV, playing video games, or surfing the internet — will be limited to two hours. The hope is that this break from the screen will encourage children to spend that time engaged in healthier, less sedentary activities instead.
- Children who watch more than two hours of TV a day are likely to experience:
- Increased likelihood of being overweight and, as a result, an increased risk for diabetes, asthma and cardiovascular disease later in life
- Decreased interest in school activities and lower academic scores
- Less time being physically active and other more beneficial activities, like doing homework and spending time with family
- Increased exposure to advertising for fast food, sugared cereals and snacks
- Preferences for unhealthy snacks, specifically soda and other food low in nutritional value instead of fruits and vegetables
To help motivate children to participate in the 2sDays Challenge, prizes will be awarded to participating students throughout the three-month challenge, and an end-of-year celebration will be held for those students in June at the TD Banknorth Garden.
Participation in the Challenge is free, and BCBSMA will send out the Jump Up and Go! 2sDays Challenge kit — which includes the students’ reward items, 2sDays activity logs and teacher instructions — to every school that requests one. There are still a limited number of openings available for this year’s 2sDays Challenge. To register your school, call (617) 246-4649.
The two-hour screen time limit of the 2sDays Challenge corresponds to the Jump Up and Go! program’s ‘5-2-1’message for healthy living. The ‘5-2-1’ message encourages children to eat five or more fruits or vegetables a day, limit screen time to no more than two hours a day, and participate in at least one hour of daily physical activity.
