by Ashley Kolpak
Childhood Obesity is an American epidemic. In America’s South, a region often plagued with fast food and processed meals, children are feeling the effects of unhealthy eating as 1 in 3 are overweight, and 15% are obese (Center for Disease Control [CDC], 2010). One of the issues concerning the epidemic is that both children and parents don’t recognize poor eating habits. Making a change requires available information and resources.
To allow the South to improve its eating habits and to fight obesity directly, the change in available foods and healthy eating has to start at home, in supermarkets and schools.
What Can We Do?
Start the conversation. Educate kids to make smarter eating choices for themselves that will empower them. Educate parents to help keep healthy foods at home and reinforce the idea that healthy foods are important for healthy kids. More importantly, healthy foods are good for the whole family. Family dinners and school lunches are key meals for teaching children healthy eating habits. Talking is an important first step, but feeding them a healthy meal is essential.
Be the change. Children learn by observation. Bad eating habits are usually formed by watching others eat badly, and healthy eating habits can be formed the same way. Children will have an easier time adjusting to healthy eating if the adults around them have already made the change. Discuss healthy foods and adopt better eating habits as a family to help children understand how and why to make the transition. Then, once healthy foods are introduced, allow them to help pick out foods for meal planning to keep them engaged and interested.
Keep it simple. Parents and educators can help younger kids (5-8) identify which foods are healthy, while older kids (9+) can learn about healthy foods, the purpose of nutrition and the consequences of poor eating habits. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's MyPlate (2013) helps define ideal meal proportions, as well as which foods are in which Food Groups: Fruits, Vegetables, Grains, Proteins, Dairy. This tool only works if you are able to understand it; a younger child will have an easier time understanding healthy eating with real-life examples and added help by an adult. Let them see what healthy foods looks, smells, feels and tastes like. Older kids can learn how food helps their bodies stay healthy and why it’s important to avoid long-term obesity and disease (CDC, 2010).
How the South is Bonding Together to Fight Back
Grocery stores are getting it together. Remember that children learn by observation; hands-on learning is a great way to get them involved and informed, too. Southern-based stores such as BI-LO/Winn Dixie have launched “Free field trip program for kids in grades K-5, called BI-LO Food Detectives... kids learn about how to build a better meal using the USDA MyPlate model, while also learning how to read food labels,” says Monica Amburn, RDN, LD and BI-LO/Winn Dixie Consumer Wellness Manager. Kids get to sample different fruits and vegetables, giving them the chance to learn about healthy options in a fun way. The field trip’s goal is to get children excited about healthy food and share their new information with parents and friends. Grocery stores have implemented shelf-labeling systems to make identifying healthy foods easier and make more informed choices.
Another supermarket that is helping kids understand healthy eating is Lowes Foods. Affirming that kids’ ability to understand healthy eating is just as important as their parents, Lowes has an educational Be A Smart Shopper field trip program (in its 16th year). According to Lowes Foods Dietitian Cindy Silver, MS, RDN, LDN, “Be A Smart Shopper wraps up a fun bundle of healthy choices education right in the supermarket - where all the sights, smells and flavors of tasty food await.” This way kids learn about healthy foods in a fun, interactive way in the hope that it will make them want to eat healthier.
A number of schools and community organizations are implementing the C.A.T.C.H. (Coordinated Approach to Child Health) program where students learn about the foods they eat in three easy categories: GO (Almost Anytime), SLOW (Sometimes), and WHOA (Once in a While). The C.A.T.C.H. program encourages kids to make healthy eating habits with knowledge and encouragement from school employees who praise the children’s healthy food choices at meal time. Greenville County Schools, YMCAs and JCCs are all adopting this program. Taking matters a step further, C.A.T.C.H. also puts emphasis on physical activity as a part of a healthy lifestyle.
Find community organizations. Healthy lifestyles should be shared. In addition to a healthy eating home and school life, finding a supportive community is important to combating childhood obesity. Organizations such as Louie’s Kids help children make healthy lifestyle changes to their eating and physical activity habits at the same time as offering support to their families. Louie’s Kids analyzes each kid as it values the fact that no two are alike, and while one kid might need to see a dietitian for a healthy-meal plan, another kid might need help in the form of therapy to combat the underlying cause for unhealthy habits. Louie’s Kids also offers online resources on topics such as bullying and nutrition. The community effort helps fight childhood obesity more easily, as a move towards being healthy can be better achieved if more people acknowledge the problem and look for a solution together.
The South has great tools to combat its childhood obesity epidemic. Adults and children can learn together as they discover healthy foods and eating habits that benefit everyone. The change will start with communication and information -- and more importantly the desire to start promoting healthy eating habits. Teach kids about healthy food now so they can make long-lasting changes.
Help them understand. Children absorb knowledge well when they are able to interact and feel excited about the information. The South’s supermarkets and organizations are encouraging field trips as a way to get children interested in learning more. Organize a field trip for a school or group to enrich children’s learning. Field Trip Factory is a leader in experience-based education for all ages. Help give context to healthy lifestyles and ideas so that children may understand the importance of eating better and fighting obesity.
Ashley Kolpak is a Chicago native with a passion for experiential learning. As the Copywriter and Social Media Manager for Field Trip Factory, she enjoys engaging with educators and working to create a community focused on the benefits of field trips and hands-on learning. She invites you to explore FieldTripFactory.com for a list of inspiring, fun and educational field trips offered across the United States and Canada.
Childhood Obesity is an American epidemic. In America’s South, a region often plagued with fast food and processed meals, children are feeling the effects of unhealthy eating as 1 in 3 are overweight, and 15% are obese (Center for Disease Control [CDC], 2010). One of the issues concerning the epidemic is that both children and parents don’t recognize poor eating habits. Making a change requires available information and resources.
To allow the South to improve its eating habits and to fight obesity directly, the change in available foods and healthy eating has to start at home, in supermarkets and schools.
What Can We Do?
Start the conversation. Educate kids to make smarter eating choices for themselves that will empower them. Educate parents to help keep healthy foods at home and reinforce the idea that healthy foods are important for healthy kids. More importantly, healthy foods are good for the whole family. Family dinners and school lunches are key meals for teaching children healthy eating habits. Talking is an important first step, but feeding them a healthy meal is essential.
Be the change. Children learn by observation. Bad eating habits are usually formed by watching others eat badly, and healthy eating habits can be formed the same way. Children will have an easier time adjusting to healthy eating if the adults around them have already made the change. Discuss healthy foods and adopt better eating habits as a family to help children understand how and why to make the transition. Then, once healthy foods are introduced, allow them to help pick out foods for meal planning to keep them engaged and interested.
Keep it simple. Parents and educators can help younger kids (5-8) identify which foods are healthy, while older kids (9+) can learn about healthy foods, the purpose of nutrition and the consequences of poor eating habits. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's MyPlate (2013) helps define ideal meal proportions, as well as which foods are in which Food Groups: Fruits, Vegetables, Grains, Proteins, Dairy. This tool only works if you are able to understand it; a younger child will have an easier time understanding healthy eating with real-life examples and added help by an adult. Let them see what healthy foods looks, smells, feels and tastes like. Older kids can learn how food helps their bodies stay healthy and why it’s important to avoid long-term obesity and disease (CDC, 2010).
How the South is Bonding Together to Fight Back
Grocery stores are getting it together. Remember that children learn by observation; hands-on learning is a great way to get them involved and informed, too. Southern-based stores such as BI-LO/Winn Dixie have launched “Free field trip program for kids in grades K-5, called BI-LO Food Detectives... kids learn about how to build a better meal using the USDA MyPlate model, while also learning how to read food labels,” says Monica Amburn, RDN, LD and BI-LO/Winn Dixie Consumer Wellness Manager. Kids get to sample different fruits and vegetables, giving them the chance to learn about healthy options in a fun way. The field trip’s goal is to get children excited about healthy food and share their new information with parents and friends. Grocery stores have implemented shelf-labeling systems to make identifying healthy foods easier and make more informed choices.
Another supermarket that is helping kids understand healthy eating is Lowes Foods. Affirming that kids’ ability to understand healthy eating is just as important as their parents, Lowes has an educational Be A Smart Shopper field trip program (in its 16th year). According to Lowes Foods Dietitian Cindy Silver, MS, RDN, LDN, “Be A Smart Shopper wraps up a fun bundle of healthy choices education right in the supermarket - where all the sights, smells and flavors of tasty food await.” This way kids learn about healthy foods in a fun, interactive way in the hope that it will make them want to eat healthier.
A number of schools and community organizations are implementing the C.A.T.C.H. (Coordinated Approach to Child Health) program where students learn about the foods they eat in three easy categories: GO (Almost Anytime), SLOW (Sometimes), and WHOA (Once in a While). The C.A.T.C.H. program encourages kids to make healthy eating habits with knowledge and encouragement from school employees who praise the children’s healthy food choices at meal time. Greenville County Schools, YMCAs and JCCs are all adopting this program. Taking matters a step further, C.A.T.C.H. also puts emphasis on physical activity as a part of a healthy lifestyle.
Find community organizations. Healthy lifestyles should be shared. In addition to a healthy eating home and school life, finding a supportive community is important to combating childhood obesity. Organizations such as Louie’s Kids help children make healthy lifestyle changes to their eating and physical activity habits at the same time as offering support to their families. Louie’s Kids analyzes each kid as it values the fact that no two are alike, and while one kid might need to see a dietitian for a healthy-meal plan, another kid might need help in the form of therapy to combat the underlying cause for unhealthy habits. Louie’s Kids also offers online resources on topics such as bullying and nutrition. The community effort helps fight childhood obesity more easily, as a move towards being healthy can be better achieved if more people acknowledge the problem and look for a solution together.
The South has great tools to combat its childhood obesity epidemic. Adults and children can learn together as they discover healthy foods and eating habits that benefit everyone. The change will start with communication and information -- and more importantly the desire to start promoting healthy eating habits. Teach kids about healthy food now so they can make long-lasting changes.
Help them understand. Children absorb knowledge well when they are able to interact and feel excited about the information. The South’s supermarkets and organizations are encouraging field trips as a way to get children interested in learning more. Organize a field trip for a school or group to enrich children’s learning. Field Trip Factory is a leader in experience-based education for all ages. Help give context to healthy lifestyles and ideas so that children may understand the importance of eating better and fighting obesity.
Ashley Kolpak is a Chicago native with a passion for experiential learning. As the Copywriter and Social Media Manager for Field Trip Factory, she enjoys engaging with educators and working to create a community focused on the benefits of field trips and hands-on learning. She invites you to explore FieldTripFactory.com for a list of inspiring, fun and educational field trips offered across the United States and Canada.
