• Feb. 5-6: Leadership Development Conference, Denver
• Feb. 7: Colorado 4-H Day, State Capitol
• Feb. 19-21: Youth Fest, Monument

• CWF registration information
• Letter
• Acceptance Form

Citizenship-Washington Focus

Attached to this newsletter is registration information for the 2005 Citizenship-Washington Focus trip that is scheduled for June 25-July 2, 2005. The acceptance form(s) and check are due back in the State 4-H office by Tuesday, March 15. Please call me at 970.491.1152 or email ebutler@coop.ext.colostate.edu if you have questions. Thanks! - Ellen Butler

2005 IFYE Representatives

The following IFYEs have been interviewed and selected to represent Colorado: Adrienne Bergenfeld (El Paso County) and Kenney Kroschel (Larimer County). Adrienne hopes to spend three months in Greece and three months in Northern Ireland or Austria. Kenney hopes to spend six months in Switzerland or England. They will receive their country assignments in February and will depart in June, returning in December, followed by state-wide reporting mid-January through mid-April 2006. - Courtney Loflin

Obesity in the School Age Population: Solutions Through Community Partnerships

Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Teleconference
Feb. 9, 2005 - 8:30 a.m. through 12:00 noon.

We begin the 21st century with an emerging setback in the health of our country's children - an epidemic of childhood obesity. This epidemic is occurring in boys and girls in Colorado as well as across the nation, in younger children as well as adolescents, across all socioeconomic strata, and among all ethnic groups. At a time when we have learned that excess weight has significant and troublesome health consequences, we see our children gaining weight to a dangerous degree and at an alarming rate. This conference will explore the latest data and promising strategies to identify and address the issue of excessive weight in Colorado's school-age children and youth. As the causes and solutions for this issue do not rest in a singular culprit, this conference will explore strategies to promote both healthy eating and healthy activity for children within families, schools and communities. It will take a community effort to turn these concerning trends around to ensuring healthy outcomes.

Who should attend? Health care providers, public health professionals, nurses, physical and health education teachers, school health coordinators, food service directors, nutrition professionals, park and recreation staff, school board members, PTA members, 4-H staff and volunteers, and other community organizations working with school-age children.

Issues/Questions for discussion:
An Epidemic of childhood obesity

• Since the 1970s the prevalence of obesity has more than tripled for children ages 6-11 years. At present, approximately nine million children over six years of age are obese.
  
  What are the costs?
  
  
• For children born in the U.S. in 2000, the lifetime risk of being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at some point in their lives is estimated at 30 percent for boys and 40 percent for girls, if obesity rates level off.

Understanding the causes

• Taking on childhood obesity must address the factors that influence both eating and physical activity and addressing the complex interactions across social, environmental and policy contexts.
  
  Developing an action plan for prevention
  
  
• What can we do as a state, community, school, health care professional, and a family to impact this problem?

Locations include the Denver Live Site: The Children's Hospital, 6th floor lecture hall, 1056 E. 19th Ave., Denver, CO 80218. Video-conference sites include:

For the exact addresses and maps, and to register, please go to the web site: www.jfkpartners.org/Workshops.asp. Agenda and handouts will be posted on the web site one week prior to the event. Participants are encouraged to print their own agenda and handouts. Cost: $20. - Jan Carroll