Healthy Habits for Life

Healthy Habits for Life is a multi-year, content-driven initiative launched by Sesame Workshop in 2005 to help young children and their caregivers establish an early foundation of healthy habits. It was also the central theme for Sesame Street's Season 36 in 2005.

Development
In the early part of the 2000s, childhood obesity became a critical issue in the public mind, and was reinforced as a cause for concern by data published by the US Centers for Disease Control.

Sesame Workshop, as a developer of many kids programs, took interest in promoting healthy lifestyles to its viewers. According to people from Sesame Workshop, "Health has always been a part of our Sesame Street curriculum, therefore we will always be committed to ensuring kids are given information and messages that will help them become healthy and happy in their development. For season 36, we have turned up the dial in health, but it will always be part of our curriculum."

The Healthy Habits for Life programming was launched in 2005, to encourage young viewers to lead more active and nutritious lifestyles.

The Workshop formed an Advisory Board consisting of experts such as Woodie Kessel, M.D., M.P.H., the Assistant Surgeon General of the United States. This board examines the research of other organizations, and also conducts pilot studies to determine which areas of research should be expanded, based on social, ethnic and socio-economic sections of the population.

Public Service Announcements


Several United States Senators, governors and other politicians recorded public service messages with Elmo and Rosita in 2005 and 2006. The PSAs were distributed to state and national television outlets. Topics of the public service messages ranged from the importance of health and nutrition to physical fitness and personal hygiene. 

Politicians joining the Sesame Street characters included:
 * incomplete list


 * Saxby Chambliss (Senator from Georgia)
 * Hillary Rodham Clinton (Senator from New York)
 * Kent Conrad (Senator from North Dakota)
 * John Cornyn (Senator from Texas)
 * Christopher Dodd (Senator from Connecticut)
 * Dick Durbin (Senator from Illinois)
 * Bill Frist (Senator from Tennessee)
 * Mary Landrieu (Senator from Louisiana)
 * Blanche Lincoln (Senator from Arkansas)
 * Tom Harkin (Senator from Iowa)
 * Kay Bailey Hutchison (Senator from Texas)
 * Jon Huntsman, Jr. (Governor from Utah)
 * Lisa Murkowski (Senator from Arkansas)
 * Kathleen Sebelius (Governor from Kansas)
 * Jeff Sessions (Senator from Alabama)
 * Ron Wyden (Senator from Oregon)

Promotion

 * On April 4, 2005 Grover appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live to promote the initiative.
 * On Feburary 26, 2006 Rosita and Elmo appeared at The National Governor's Association Forum to promote the initiatve.
 * On April 4, 2006 several Sesame Street characters appeared on the game show Jeopardy! with Alex Trebek to help promote the initiative.

Merchandise

 * Happy Healthy Monsters is a direct-to-video release that was released February 1, 2005. It ties in with the health awareness theme of Season 36, which started only two months later.
 * Several "Happy Healthy Monters" books have been released, such as Come Play with Elmo!, Eat Your Colors!, Good Night, Tucked in Tight and Get Moving With Grover.
 * Learning Horizons published several educational workbooks starting in the Summer of 2005, including "My Healthy Body" and "Healthy Foods".
 * Beginning in February 2005, special health content appeared in every issue of Sesame Street magazine - including a "Happy Healthy Monsters" monthly calendar.
 * Sesame Workshop partnered with several health food and vegetable distributors to market healthy food and lifestyles with the Sesame Street characters. Companies included California Giant Berry Farms, Del Monte vegetables, Earth's Best, Hannaford Supermarkets, Knouse Foods and Stemilt Growers, Inc.

Other Media

 * Sesame Street Presents: The Body, a traveling interactive museum exhibition debuted in May 2005 as part of the Healthy Habits for Life initive. The touring exhibit will reach up to 15 markets over a 5 year period. It focuses on the body, what it can do, and offer specific information about how to keep the body healthy and strong. Various Outreach materials for parents, teachers and caregivers is also distributed to accompany the exhibit.

Healthy Moments
At the start of every season 36 episode, before the sponsorship list and opening sequence ran, a "Healthy Moment" segment aired. Many of these included celebrity guests, including astronaut Buzz Aldrin, game show champion Ken Jennings, or singer Alicia Keys. Each segment started out with Muppet Vegetables, singing a short jingle with the lyrics "Stay happy, and healthy, on Sesame Street."

Sketches
Season 36 and 37 also introduced many new sketches and songs to the show's catalog focusing on nutrition, healthy life styles and hygiene.