Hallie E. Ford Center for Healthy Children and Families

Core Leadership

Stay Active at Home fact sheets

•   Stay Active, Stay Well
•   Stay Active, Stay Focused
•   Stay Active, Stay Balanced
•   Stay Active, Stay Positive

News articles on core research

• Athletes urged to beware of diet pitfalls
  As an expert in nutrition and exercise science, Melinda Manore, an Oregon State University professor who is co-leading The WAVE~Ripples for Change: Obesity Prevention for Active Youth in Afterschool Programs housed at the Hallie E. Ford Center for Healthy Children and Families, is always fascinated by the latest research on eating habits and body weight.

• Six bad excuses for overeating
  OSU researcher Melinda Manore, who is involved with The WAVE~Ripples for Change: Obesity Prevention for Active Youth in Afterschool Programs Using Virtual-and-Real-World Experiential Learning housed at the Hallie E. Ford Center for Healthy Children and Families, advises about the best kinds of foods to eat when serotonin levels are low and the body is craving not-so-healthy foods.

• Athletes need to be careful to monitor diet, weight to maintain muscle mass
  OSU researcher Melinda Manore, who is involved with The WAVE~Ripples for Change: Obesity Prevention for Active Youth in Afterschool Programs Using Virtual-and-Real-World Experiential Learning housed at the Hallie E. Ford Center for Healthy Children and Families, looks at the benefits of teaching athletes how to consume what she calls a low-energy-dense diet to avoid eating that is unhealthy and unsustainable while involved with a sport.

• OSU receives $4.7 million grant for obesity study
  Nutrition specialists say the real challenge is getting teens to make the necessary lifestyle changes as they become young adults. ”If they do go to the fast food restaurant how do they make better choices even if other people aren’t,” says Melinda Manore, a Professor of Nutrition at OSU.

• Weighty Matters: More children obese in rural areas
  Children living in rural areas are at a 20 to 50 percent higher risk of being overweight or obese, and researchers at the Oregon State University Extension Service are about to launch a three-year program to find out why and figure out ways to change it.

• Healthy kids make good students
  Estacada will become one of several testing grounds over the next three years as the Oregon State University Extension Service works to de-code how local communities influence child health and wellness.

• Childhood obesity gets a head start in the womb, then continues with lifestyle
  Roughly 20 percent of grade-school kids in the U.S. are obese - triple the rate in 1980. The cause of this epidemic may seem obvious. Children are eating too much high-calorie junk food, exercising too little and putting on excess pounds

• College receives $4.8 million grant to prevent rural childhood obesity
  The College of Health and Human Sciences has received a $4.8 million grant to develop an obesity prevention program for children in rural Oregon.

• Parent's perceptions of their child's competence linked to physical activity
  According to a new study, there is no direct link between parents’ own level of physical activity, and how much their child may exercise. In fact, parents’ perceptions of their children’s athleticism are what have a direct impact on the children’s activity.

• Study: Home-based child care meeting nutritional standards: widespread use of TV a concern
  A large study of family child care providers shows that while nutrition standards are often met, most children ages 2 to 5 are not getting enough physical activity and are exposed to the television for most of the day.

• Oregon could set standards for diet and exercise at day care centers
  With children joining the ranks of the overweight and obese before they're old enough to recite the alphabet, public health and child advocates say it's time working parents across Oregon wonder whether day cares should shoulder some of the responsibility.

Stories on core research and programs

• Get moving: Starting early is key to preventing obesity (pdf)
• Not Just for 50 minutes, for a lifetime (pdf)
• Fitness and Food Choices for Winners (pdf)
• Play outdoors when weather permits (pdf)