Project Description

We are a team of eleven students from NBC Middle School in Montague, Michigan. We will be addressing our school board this spring on the issue of combatting childhood obesity in our district.

We have three goals: to improve fitness, health education and nutrition at our school. We have researched these three areas and are prepared to make recommendations for change to our district curriculum. We want our kids to be more active, eat more healthy and know more about what it takes to have a lifetime of fitness.

Project Description

Squish is a kid rock band from Vancouver, WA ages 12-15 years old. They are sending a message to their peers across the United States and playing concerts up and down the West Coast, about the dangers of an anti-sedentary lifestyle. Their song, "Personal Space Invader" is about how their friends are in their basements playing video games or watching t.v and how they want to be free from the t.v and are out playing in the sun, riding bikes, water skiing and doing all these fun activities. To hear this song, go to www.myspace.com/squishrocks

They have shared their message with many public schools through concerts and afternoon assemblies as well as playing at the Nike World Headquarters at their "Niketown 5K Walk/Run For Kids".

They have a U.S. summer tour planned in 2008, so visit their myspace page and see when they're coming to your city!

Project Description

This program will be formed to counter the bad effects of obesity in children. Childhood obesity in America is very wide spread. In the past 10 years, the United States Government has made an effort to decrease the amount of overweight children, however, this efforts are not working. The rate of obese children has instead increased. There are several theories on the most effective way to counter the problem. Two speculations seem to emerge from the rest. They both deal with what adults should focus more on: The negative - overcoming obesity, or the positive - becoming healthy. The most effective way to solve the major problem of obesity in kids is to encourage them with positive remarks and provide them with a desire to be healthy, and that is precisely what this program does. 'Healthy Kids - 2010' puts together programs for school assemblies and encourages the good aspects of heathly living and an active lifestyle.

Project Description

My project adresses the growing rates of obesity and eating disorders among adolescents today. This project includes a 3 session long class on nutritional education for both parents and children at the Schools of St. Benedict and parish. The 3 session long classes will be held, consecutively, once in the fall, once in the winter, and once in the Spring. Each of the three weeks will cover a different topic on healthy eating habbits. Adults and older kids can go to one room where they will recieve factual information on how to promote healthy eating in their children's, as well as their own, lives. Children can go into another room to work on handouts that help kids make healthy food choices as well as watch educational videos on healthy eating. Each meeting will be an hour and a half long and take place at St. Benedict in the evening. Since they are held three different times out of the year, if you miss one, you can always make up for it the next time it comes around!

Project Description

On October 27,2007 take part in the Fall Family Fitness Challenge. The Fall Family Fitness Challenge will bring students between the ages of 5 - 18 and their families together in an outdoor event to promote team building and establish mentoring relationships. This is an outreach effort to bring community awareness and education of the devastationg effect of childhood obesity. The scary fact is that more than 75 percent of US children are not active for even 20 minutes a day, and the number of overweight and obese children has more than doubled over the past two decades. This means that more children and teen are at risk for such serious conditions as diabetes and premature heart disease.

Each student that enrolls in the Fall Family Fitness Challenge will be paired with a mentor to help encourage the person to become physically active and fit for 10 days. By engaging in regular physical activity for 2 weeks each day, participants can earn an award patch. There are no fitness requirements or tests. Adults must complete at least 30 minutes a day of physical activity five days a week, and children, 60 minutes. The award is for any kind of movement, such as walking, sweeping the floor, taking the stairs instead of elevators, using a pedometer to accumulate steps or active play. Adults are encouraged to earn the award with their children and teens to engage family fitness. Youth will also be asked to keep a journal to record their journey over the two weeks and share as reflection during our celebration ceremony. The interaction of youth and adults in this project will ultimately connect families into a vibrant and caring community.

Project Description

As a nation we’ve been steadily getting heavier. According to national data over 65% of adults Americans are now overweight or obese. And, now 16% of children and teens are overweight as well. As we know, being overweight or obese can lead to a number of health problems and chronic diseases, but We Can! make a difference!

Ways to Enhance Children’s Activity & Nutrition, or We Can!, is a new national public education program from the National Institutes of Health to prevent overweight and obesity among youth ages 8-13. We Can! reaches parents and caregivers in home and community settings with educational materials and activities to encourage healthy eating, increase physical activity, and reduce sedentary time. The initiative is unique among existing youth obesity-prevention efforts in its focus on parents and families as a primary group for influencing youth audiences. By empowering parents with the knowledge and tools for a healthier lifestyle We Can! will start a change in the most important area of children’s lives, the home.

The program outlines five desirable behaviors for parents:

1. Increase the availability of healthy food in the home
2. Enjoy small portions at home and at restaurants
3. Limit the availability in the home of sweetened beverages and high-fat foods
4. Support and enable family physical activity
5. Support and enable reduced screen time

The program also outlines five desirable behaviors for youth:

1. Choose a sufficient amount of a variety of fruits and vegetables per day
2. Decrease consumption of high-fat foods and energy-dense foods that are low in nutrient value
3. Substitute water, fat-free milk, or low-fat milk for sweetened beverages
4. Engage in at least 60 minutes of moderate physical activity on most days of the week
5. Reduce sedentary activity by limiting screen time to no more than 2 hours per day.

With these focal points in mind, the We Can! program will engage parents and families in educational and fun activities to learn the many different facets of nutrition and exercise to use knowledge as a preventative measure against childhood obesity.

Project Description

Activate Attleboro is a pre-existing community-wide initiative, under the leadership of the YMCA of Attleboro, to combat the epidemic of inactivity and poor nutrition among children. With more than 20 programs and activities continually running or in the preparation stages, Activate Attleboro requires a great amount of people power to be successful.

Wheaton College is a small, residential college in Norton, Massachusetts—a town served by the YMCA of Attleboro. Wheaton’s 1550 students come from nearly every state and more than 30 countries. Global Education is a Wheaton priority and the majority of Wheaton students will have studied abroad in some capacity before graduation. Our renowned curriculum requires students to think globally with language proficiency requirements and ‘Beyond the West’ courses. In four years, Wheaton students really do become “global citizens prepared to lead in a complex world,” as the Wheaton 2014: Transforming Lives to Change the World strategic plan states.

I worry, as a Wheaton student entering my final year, that while I have become a global citizen, I am not yet a citizen of the local community where I have spent the last three years of my life. With everything we need available right on campus, it is too easy for students to live in Norton, Massachusetts without ever knowing someone from Norton, Massachusetts. Not only are Wheaton students missing out on valuable relationships, the larger community is left without the positive experiences that result from these relationships as they form opinions and generally regard the college. Wheaton College Students Activate Attleboro would bring college and community together in a more positive relationship as they work jointly to tackle a growing health concern.

As the project coordinator for Wheaton College Students Activate Attleboro, I will work with Wheaton and the YMCA to see that this partnership gets off the ground. I know Wheaton students can impact Activate Attleboro and, therefore, the larger community if they are made aware of opportunities for involvement. Wheaton College Students Activate Attleboro would see student teachers volunteering to 'drive' the Walking School Bus—a program that is only in one elementary school right now, though it could easily be spread throughout the larger community with more volunteers. Students walk to or get dropped off at a meeting point, usually about half a mile away from school, and walk the rest of the way on a designated route with a 'driver' who serves as the chaperone. Kids get in extra physical activity first thing in the morning as they talk and joke their way to school with the volunteer. Wheaton students could also volunteer to serve as a mentor in the PAC program. PAC (Physical Activity Club) is a weight management program that works with kids on a one-to-one basis upon referral from a teacher, doctor, or other community leader who thinks the child might be at risk for becoming overweight and/or inactive. The Wheaton Athletic Mentors, a group with representatives from every sports team at the college, would be wonderful PAC mentors. They could easily relay the importance of good nutrition and physical activity while using the interpersonal skills they have developed as the chosen mentor for their teammates. Wheaton students could also partake in the community-wide Step Challenge. Using a pedometer to keep track, community members are challenged to walk 10,000 steps a day. Last year more than 1600 kids and adults participated in the Step Challenge and walked over 140 million steps! Not only would the Step Challenge get college students—who tend to lead pretty unhealthy lives—moving, it would bring Wheaton into a real community event.

The possible collaborations between Activate Attleboro and Wheaton College are endless. With this financial support we can bring Wheaton College and the surrounding community together in cooperation on a public health issue that involves us all. I hope to offer this successful project as a thank-you to the community that has become my home away from home.