Creative Challenge: Alliance for a Healthier Generation Aims to Halt Obesity in Kids

Getting kids to eat right and cut down on screen time is a daily job that challenges most of us parents. Now there's some help.

One out of every three children in the U.S.A. is overweight or obese, and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation is working to stop this trend. My 14 year old daughter, Isabella Acosta Barna, is one of 20 young people nationwide ages 8 to 17, invited to join the Youth Advisory Board for the Alliance for a Healthier Generation this past July. The Alliance is a non-partisan alliance of the William J. Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association.

I'm proud that Isabella is part of this kid's movement for positive social change. Along with her success is a new job for me -- I'm officially Isabella's "Assistant"! It's a lot of fun. Isabella's first project has been to get a blog going. She's making movies about health and fitness and I get to be the cinematographer. It's fun to create with my daughter. We discuss design and aesthetics and I enjoy watching Isabella lead the creative direction of her writing and film making efforts.

So, take a moment to check out Isabella's blog. September is Go Healthy Month and Isabella has written an article for a Oregon branch of the American Heart Association press release and is scheduled to testify before the Oregon State Legislature Ways and Means Committee this month. She is releasing one video a week for the 4 weeks of Go Healthy Month, so be sure to check back often. You'll also find links to helpful sites for family health on her blog.