Authors: Sarah Burkett, Extension Family and Consumer Sciences Agent, Pulaski County, Stephanie Diehl, Extension Family and Consumer Sciences Agent, Rockingham County, Kathleen Jamison, Extension Specialist, 4-H Youth Development, Virginia Tech, Elena Serrano, Extension Specialist, Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise, Virginia Tech, Julie Shelhamer, Former Extension Family and Consumer Sciences Agent, Frederick County, Joan Wages, Former Extension Family and Consumer Sciences Agent, Patrick County and Dr. Karen Gehrt, Associate Director, Family Consumer Sciences, Virginia Tech
Publication Number 348-275, posted October 2007
Background Information
Information and news items on childhood overweight or obesity are found virtually everywhere and everyday. Why? This problem has reached epidemic proportions and presents a major public health challenge. Recent data show an estimated 17 percent of children and adolescents 6 to 19 years old are overweight – almost 1 in 5 children. (Ogden et al.) Over the past 30 years the number of overweight children and teens has nearly tripled and is expected to rise.
There are many reasons for this trend:
For many, “weight” may be considered cosmetic. However, overweight in children has negative consequences. Overweight children are more likely to have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes, as well as a tendency to be overweight as adults. In fact, 1 in 3 children will be diagnosed with diabetes sometime in their life, largely due to overweight. Large children also report lower self-esteem, sadness, feeling isolated, and an overall lower quality of life than healthy weight children. Overweight is not just a matter of appearance – it impacts physical and emotional health. One of the most striking facts of overweight is that children born today may not live as long as their parents for the first time in history. (Olshansky et al.) Overweight is also costly. In Virginia, the estimated medical expenses attributed to obesity (for adults) is $1.6 billion per year. (Finkelstein)
What is Virginia Cooperative Extension doing to address childhood overweight?
Virginia Cooperative Extension developed Healthy Weights for Healthy Kids (HWHK) to address childhood overweight. HWHK provides Extension agents and educators with a hands-on, user-friendly curriculum for youth (ages 7 through 14) that addresses key concepts related to healthy weights. This is a crucial age to foster and promote lifelong healthy behaviors and attitudes. Healthy Weights for Healthy Kids focuses on six research-based topics critical for children of all sizes:
Smart Foods – Children use MyPyramid to learn about nutrition and to make smart food choices.
Smart Choices – Children explore different ways to enjoy eating, focusing on “quality” over “quantity” by measuring portion sizes of different meals and food products, planning a healthy plate or meal, eating slowly, and using different senses when eating.
Smart Drinks – Children investigate the amount of sugar and fat in popular beverages and can even learn how to make a nutritious homemade soda.
Smart Snacks – In this lesson, children have the options of using the food label to compare snacks, making healthy “snackwiches,” exploring what puts “whole” into whole grains, or creating advertising campaigns for snacks.
Smart Activities – Children get an opportunity to have fun and move in this lesson. They also can find out about calories and what inventions and discoveries have taken place that limit our ability to be active.
Smart Image – As part of this lesson, children view, reflect, and discuss different media images and societal attitudes toward body size to improve opinions and respect toward different sized and shaped individuals and to focus on “what is inside.”
How Healthy Weights for Healthy Kids improves children’s lives
Since Healthy Weights for Healthy Kids was developed in 2003, over 10,000 youth have completed the program. Based on pre- and post-program surveys conducted with 319 students in five counties, children reported:
Interviews with some of the children demonstrated they enjoyed the lessons and “put knowledge to work” as shown by these quotes:
“Thank you for all your help. Even though I am still really unhappy with my weight. You have helped me with what to eat and not to eat.”
“I need to get more exercise.”
“I think that I want to learn how to go on a diet; but a diet that is good for me; not a crash diet and I don’t want to get anorexia from trying to get slimmer.”
While this program is only one of many offered through Virginia Cooperative Extension, it demonstrates the capacity that this organization has in addressing a growing concern – not only for children and their parents, but communities as a whole.
References
Finkelstein, E.A.; Fiebelkorn, I.C.; and Wang, G. State-level estimates of annual medical expenditures attributable to obesity, Obesity Research 2004;12:18–24.
Ogden, C.L.; Carroll, M.D.; Curtin, L.R.; McDowell, M.A.; Tabak, C.J.; and Flegal, K.M. Prevalence of overweight and obesity in the United States, 1999-2004. Journal of the American Medical Association 2006;295: 1549-1555.
Olshansky S.J.; Passaro, D.J.; Hershow, R.C.; Layden, J.; Carnes, B.A.; Brody, J.; Hayflick, L.; Butler, R.N.; Allison, D.B.; and Ludwig, D.S. A Potential Decline in Life Expectancy in the United States in the 21st Century, New England Journal of Medicine 2005;352:11, pp. 1138-1145.
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