If you had asked Christian Prado Diaz a year ago about his favorite foods, the preschooler would have listed some greasy delight from Wendy's, where his mother works the drive-through lane.
Today? "Arroz!" the 4-year-old proclaimed. It's Spanish for rice.
" … y brócoli!"
As public health officials analyze new data showing a turnabout decline in obesity among low-income children in Minnesota, few tales are as illustrative as Christian's transformation from French-fry guy to green veggie guru. It took a mother's motivation to ditch her family's habits, a weekly program to teach the value of nutrition and exercise, and finally a purge of unhealthy snacks from the pantry and refrigerator that outlasted weeks of Christian's whining.
"Changes are really hard," said Dr. Julie Boman, a pediatrician at Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota. "But for younger kids, if their parents are motivated, they can do a lot."
The share of low-income preschoolers in Minnesota who are obese declined from 13.4 percent in 2008 to 12.6 percent in 2011, according to a much-anticipated report released last week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Minnesota was one of 19 states or U.S. territories to show such progress, after two decades of rising national obesity rates.
Experts believe the decline reflects public health efforts — such as the program that served the Diaz family — which have caught up with the desire in many families to adopt healthier lives.
Minnesota has invested millions of dollars since 2009 in community health improvement efforts — from "walking bus" and healthy snack programs in schools, to recreational trails and bike paths. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota has sponsored ads that use a touch of shame to motivate parents to fight childhood obesity. Hospitals have increased promotion of breast-feeding, in part because research links it to lower rates of childhood obesity.