March 10, 2004
AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES
Farm Tractor Safety in Busy Seasons
FAMILY AND CONSUMER SCIENCES
Ways to Reduce Childhood Obesity
4-H YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
Clover Cat Way to Wellness Helps Youth
Achieve Good Physical, Mental Health
***
Farm Tractor Safety in Busy Seasons
Source: Larry Piercy and National Safety Council
Spring and summer are busy farming seasons, and a peak time for farm injuries and deaths. Death rates in Kentucky agriculture traditionally are more than twice the national average. Tractor-related injuries are the biggest single source of these deaths.
The number of tractor-overturn deaths has declined in recent years because more farmers are using tractors with rollover protective structures (ROPS), sometimes called “roll bars.” However, overturns still account for more than 60 percent of all tractor deaths in Kentucky.
The second leading source of farm deaths is being run over by a tractor or piece of towed equipment when an operator or rider falls off. Another frequent source of farming fatalities is having a collision with motor vehicles on public roads.
So what can you do to reduce the risk of farm injuries or fatalities?
Equipping older tractors with a ROPS to provide basic protection is one of the best ways to reduce this risk. This is especially important when the tractor is operated by youth or older people who have higher risks of overturns. More than one-half of all farm tractors aren’t equipped with a ROPS; yet it is readily available for most tractors manufactured after the late1960s and can be installed for as little as $600 to $1,200. Contact your equipment dealer with the make and model of your tractor to have it equipped with this life-saving device.
If you have roll bars or a safety cab, make it a habit to use seatbelts. A ROPS usually will stop the tractor on its side; the seat belt ensures that you stay in the zone of protection the ROPS provides. A seatbelt also can keep you from being thrown off the tractor and run over during rough conditions.
Always keep the bypass starter cover in place. It shields the starter terminal to keep an operator, who accidentally or intentionally “shorts out starter terminals,” from being injured or killed. Because this procedure bypasses the neutral starter safety system, the tractor could start in gear, suddenly lurch forward, and run over the operator.
Thus, you should always start a tractor from the seat in the operator’s station.
A missing power take-off master shield is another safety hazard. Sometimes operators remove these shields, and don’t put them back on the tractor. As a result, clothing can easily become entangled in the spinning power take-off shaft. A power take-off turning at 450 revolutions per minute can wrap five to seven feet of clothing per second.
Farm tractors generally are designed for only one person. Extra riders, especially small children, are at risk of falling off the tractor or into the path of trailing equipment. A passenger also might divert the operator’s attention from the important task of driving the tractor.
Improper hitching is another potential farm safety hazard. A standard drawbar height is designed to maintain critical tractor stability while pulling. Hitching loads above the standard height or at other locations on the tractor reduces its stability and increases the risk of a rear overturn.
It’s also important to use reflectors or reflective tape on the front and rear extremities of towed equipment. Use amber or yellow on the front, and red on the rear. Front reflectors or tape are especially important when the edges of towed equipment extend beyond the left side of the tractor to alert on-coming drivers to protruding equipment behind the tractor. .
To prevent collisions on farm roadways and public highways, equip farm tractors and towed equipment with a Slow Moving Vehicle (SMV) emblem and emergency lighting.
The emblem warns other drivers of a slow moving vehicle on the roadway or highway. Be sure to check and replace sun-faded fluorescent orange materials on the emblem and replace damaged emblems. Also check the satisfactory operation of tractor lighting including headlights, taillights and hazard warning lights. They give advance warning to drivers sharing the highway with you.
Following these safety precautions will protect you, your family and your workers.
For more information, contact the (County Name) Cooperative Extension Service.
Educational programs of the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service serve all people regardless of race, color, age, sex, religion, disability or national origin.
-30-
Ways To Reduce Childhood Obesity
Sources: Sandra Bastin and American Heart Association
Although childhood obesity is a serious problem, parents and caregivers can stem the weight tide by taking a positive approach to reinforce good eating habits and encourage children to be more physically active.
It’s especially important to help children establish good eating practices because lifetime nutrition habits are formed during childhood.
Here are some suggestions to help children eat a healthy diet and exercise more.
Dietary research on children under two years old indicates that a low-fat diet isn’t healthy because they are growing rapidly and require a high percentage of calories. At least 30 percent of their total calories should be from fat. Not getting enough fat in the diet might retard their growth and development. After age two, the child should join the family in eating a wide variety of foods in moderation.
A child’s appetite is almost always the best guide for required caloric intake. Don’t be surprised if growing children don’t eat as much as you think they should. Studies show that children will eat when they’re hungry. So offer plenty of healthy choices, but let children decide how much to eat.
Become familiar with your child’s eating habits away from home and monitor what they eat at home. Soft drink consumption by school-age children has more than doubled in the past 20 years, averaging nearly 65 gallons annually. Increasing fast-food consumption also plays a part on the growing number of overweight children. Did you know that just two of your homemade chocolate chip cookies have about 200 calories?
Give children and adolescents alternatives to fat- and calorie-laden foods. The Food Guide Pyramid is a good place to start. The five major food groups of grains, vegetables, fruits, milk and meat help provide the nutrients and energy children need. No one food group is more important than another; children need them all for the variety of a balanced diet.
Making good food choices doesn’t mean children must give up their favorite foods, or that you have to spend a lot of time planning meals. It does mean children need to learn how to make trade-offs in their diets. If pepperoni pizza is on the menu one night, have broiled chicken and fresh vegetables another evening.
Food advertising and media messages directed at children have a large impact on their food choices.
If children eat meals while watching television, they might habitually eat anytime they watch television. There appears to be a greater risk of becoming overweight, the more time children spend in front of the television.
Water is vital to life. Children should have at least four cups of fluid a day.
In addition to a poor diet, lack of physical activity has an important role in childhood obesity. Exercise helps children burn extra calories and tone their muscles.
Several factors are responsible for children’s increasingly sedentary lifestyles. These factors include habitually watching television, playing video and computer games and lack of school physical education classes. Children watch an average 26 hours of television a week. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children watch television no more than two hours a day.
Make exercise a regular and enjoyable part of children’s lives. Even better, involve the whole family in physical activity to help everyone stay fit.
Walking the family pet, visiting a nearby park, playing a game of tag, hide and seek, basketball or badminton, or just dancing in the den encourages enjoyable family activity.
Make shared activities fun and not too competitive for younger children.
Support children’s school physical education classes. Local 4-H Youth Development clubs and Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops encourage outdoor activities.
Reassure overweight children that their bodies aren’t bad. Overweight children have the same potential to develop friends, academically achieve and succeed professionally. Give them unconditional love to help them meet the challenges of life.
Teach children to eat properly and to exercise by your own example. Also, help them understand that diverse body sizes and shapes are both natural and normal.
For more information on helping overweight children become more healthy, contact the (County Name) Cooperative Extension Service or visit our home page at (fill in address here).
Health Education Through Extension Leadership (HEEL) is another information source. You can visit its home page at http://www.ca.uky.edu/agcollege/fcs/HEEL/heel or call 859-257-2968.
Educational programs of the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service serve all people regardless of race, color, age, sex, religion, disability or national origin.
-30-
Clover Cat Way to Wellness Helps Youth
Achieve Good Physical, Mental Health
Source: Janet Tietyen
With overweight among young people reaching epidemic proportions, it’s important to help youth achieve weight loss and maintain positive mental health. A good way to do this is through the Clover Cat Way to Wellness, a Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service 4-H Youth Development program available through our local office.
Statistics on excessive weight in Kentucky children are scary. Children are one-half to two times more likely to be overweight than their national counterparts. Our children rank among the highest in the United States for being overweight. More than 25 percent of pre-school children are overweight or at risk to become overweight. The percentage of overweight teenagers has tripled in the past 20 years.
Clover Cat Way to Wellness will help youth improve their physical and mental health by helping them learn to choose healthy foods, activate their lives, and take time to be well. This program will help 4-H members develop and attain project and life skills. It has three levels: introductory for children ages nine to 10; intermediate for ages 11 through 13; and advanced for ages 14 through 16.
In the introductory level, children learn that a balanced diet is important for good posture, shiny hair, healthy skin and strong bones and teeth. Following the Food Guide Pyramid makes it easy to eat the variety of foods necessary for a balanced diet. The FGP illustrates what kinds of foods and recommends the number of servings to eat daily.
A good way to follow the FGP is to start by building a base of six to 11 servings of good grain foods for energy, nutrients and fiber; Next, add some color by eating two to four servings of fruits and three to five of vegetables such as a red tomato, green salad, orange carrot and yellow banana. Then, pick prime protein such as turkey breast, lean steak, peanut butter, low-fat or skim-milk and cheese. The FGP recommends two to three servings each of meat, meat substitutes and dairy products. Finally, top off the pyramid by using small amounts of fats, oils and sweets because too much of these is unhealthy; however, a treat now and then is fine.
Information in the intermediate level again emphasizes choosing a recommended number of servings from a variety of food sources to maintain a healthy weight and receive the proper amount of nutrients. Although no food or food group has all the essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals, choosing from an assortment adds variety and new tastes to the diet while helping youth stay fit and healthy.
Dairy foods contain a lot of calcium and protein. Calcium is necessary to build and maintain strong bones. Insufficient calcium intake increases the risk of osteoporosis later in life. People with osteoporosis have weak, brittle bones and often suffer fractures and pain. Milk, yogurt and cheese are good sources of calcium; others are broccoli, fortified juices and cereal bars and soy products.
The advanced level lists major diseases for which being overweight increases the risks. These chronic conditions include diabetes, heart disease, cancer, asthma, high blood pressure and sleep problems. A low self-esteem is common in some adolescents with excess weight.
Weight is a balance between energy intake and energy output. Some factors influencing energy intake include type and amount of foods eaten; where these are eat eaten (home or restaurant) and reasons for eating such as boredom or stress. Physical activity helps young people spend energy. Today’s youth tend to be less active because they are spending time watching television and playing computer and video games. Lifestyles, hobbies and jobs or chores have an impact on how much physical activity youth have.
It’s important that young people in this hectic world also learn how to take time to be well. The Clover Cat Way to Wellness offers several ways for youth to discover healthy ways to manage time and emotions. A positive self-image forms the basis for good physical health that young people will maintain on into adulthood.
Youth trying to lose weight should avoid fad diets, starvation, weight-loss pills, supplements and special teas. Instead, young people should balance energy intake and energy output through healthy, sensible portions of food and regular physical activity.