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National Nutrition Month
Summary: "Get your plate in shape" is the theme for the 2012 National Nutrition Month in March. The event is a nutrition education and information campaign created annually each March by the American Dietetic Association, and focuses attention on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits.
Suggested angle(s): School lunches and childhood obesity levels are just a few of the hot topics making headlines these days. A proper diet and healthy nutrition choices are integral to fighting disease and developing a strong, healthy body - particularly for growing children. Parents and children alike can gain awareness of how nutrition affects such areas as oral health and bone development, and why it's important to limit such "kid-friendly" dietary choices like sugary drinks and fat- and salt-laden snack items.
Potential interviews/locations: AzAAP has an active ongoing effort to combat childhood obesity. Pediatricians from the AzAAP Obesity Committee, who developed the "5210 AZ Way To Go!" Obesity Prevention toolbox, can offer insights and tips on this important topic. This includes eating 5 servings a day of fruits and vegetables, spending 2 hours or less a day in front of a screen, spending at least 1 hour a day doing something active and striving for 0 sweetened drinks a day.
Read Across America Day - March 2, 2012
Summary: Established in 1998, the National Education Association's Read Across America event is an annual reading motivation and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading on March 2, the birthday of beloved children's author Dr. Seuss.
Suggested angle(s): Hundreds of Arizona pediatric health care professionals embrace and facilitate reading motivation through the Reach Out and Read Arizona (RORAZ) initiative. Part of the national Reach Out and Read program, the Chapter's RORAZ program promotes early literacy by giving new books to children ages six-months to five years of age during their well-child visits. Pediatricians also share important insights with parents on the importance of reading aloud daily with their children.
Potential interviews/locations: AzAAP presents the 3rd Annual Books Eggstravaganza breakfast on March 2 in celebration of organizations and individuals who support and promote early childhood literacy throughout Arizona. The 2012 Storyteller Awards will honor The Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, First Things First Executive Director Rhian Evans Allvin and Dr. Michael Cohen, a clinical professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine Department of Pediatrics. Interviews can be arranged with any of the honorees or pediatricians throughout the state who participate in the program.
International Goof-Off Day - March 22, 2012
Summary: Somebody apparently goofed off and failed to record the origins of the annual celebration known as International Goof-Off Day, but each year March 22 is recognized as a day to, well, goof off.
Suggested angle(s): For adults, International Goof-Off Day is likely seen as an opportunity to miss a deadline or maybe just take life a little less seriously than usual. For children, however, the celebration presents some interesting possibilities - from encouraging play and good, healthy fun, to using the opportunity to demonstrate the importance of responsibility in school, the family and at home.
Potential interviews/locations: AzAAP pediatric members can offer insights into giving children age-appropriate responsibilities and teaching them the importance of taking responsibility for schoolwork, pets, household chores, etc.
National Doctor's Day - March 30, 2012
Summary: National Doctor's Day was conceived in 1933 by Eudora Almond, a Georgia wife who thought her husband, Dr. Charles B. Almond, and his medical colleagues, deserved recognition for their tireless efforts to fight disease and keep people healthy.
Suggested angle(s): Children can and should understand the important role their pediatrician plays in their overall development, growth and future well-being. Rather than dreading a visit to the doctor, children can appreciate their physician for being interested in and dedicated to children's health and welfare. They, along with the children's parents, want to ensure that they have the brightest and healthiest future possible.
Potential interviews/locations: AzAAP can offer a variety of physicians to feature in recognition of the important work doctors do - many of whom are struggling to survive through the complex maze of the health care world. Additionally, we can share physicians who can offer tips, ideas, activities and more to involve children in their own health and well-being, and insight into how regular visits to their pediatrician are an important part of this.
COMING UP FOR APRIL
"Autism Awareness Month"
"National Child Abuse Prevention Month"
"International Children's Book Day" (4/2/2012)
"World Health Day" (4/7/2012)
"Week of the Young Child" (4/22-28/2012)
The Arizona Chapter also engages in a variety of advocacy efforts and has physicians available to comment on a number of bills moving through the Arizona legislature.
For more information on these issues or arranging an interview, please contact one of the following people:
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