Extension
It Starts With Us
Making Healthy Lifestyle Choices (FCS/HORT)
Promote Healthy Lifestyles
Diane Mason, David Koester
Making Healthy Lifestyle Choices (general)
Faithful Families
The obesity epidemic threatens the quality and years of life of Kentuckians. Obese individuals are at increased risk for many chronic health conditions, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and some types of cancers. The obesity rate in Kentucky increased 90 percent over the last 15 years. Thirty percent of individuals in the Commonwealth report no leisure-time physical activity. Increased consumption of unhealthy food, stress, and built environments that promote physical inactivity are largely responsible for the obesity epidemic. As a result, Kentuckians are dying from heart disease and cancer at higher rates than all Americans and they have a lower life expectancy, 75.5 years, compared to 78 years for Americans. Minorities and individuals residing in Appalachia bear a heavier brunt of the obesity and chronic disease burden. The goal of the Making Healthy Lifestyle Choices Initiative is to reverse these trends by working with various organizations, agencies, and groups to promote the health and wellness in all Kentuckians.
A decrease in the number of obese and overweight children, youth, adults and elderly
Increase in the practice and promotion of physical activity and healthy eating daily
Improvement in the built environment to promote physical activity and healthy eating
Improvement in the mental health and well-being of Kentuckians
Manage and prevent the risk, debilitation, and premature death related to diabetes, cancer, heart disease, stroke and hypertension
Increase the estimated health savings in dollars for chronic disease.
Increase policies that address obesity, physical inactivity and promotion of poor nutrition
More people growing and eating their own fresh fruits and vegetables, gaining health benefits from more exercise (gardening) and from gaining easy access to healthier foods with more fiber and less fat, through fresh garden produce they grow at home.
Practice healthy food choices and strengthen individuals’ ability to build healthy eating plans and patterns.
Maintain appropriate calorie balance during each stage of life: childhood, adolescence, adulthood, pregnancy and breastfeeding and older age
Practice of physical activity in families and communities and decreased time spent on sedentary behaviors
Community members advocate for policy implementation and changes related to obesity, physical activity and healthy eating.
Strengthen community coalitions or partnerships to address obesity, physical inactivity and chronic disease.
Practice healthy lifestyle decision-making that strengthen individuals’ ability to cope with normal life stressors.
Change in awareness, knowledge, opinions, skills, and attitudes needed to make informed choices regarding:
Healthy lifestyle choices
Childhood and youth obesity
Adult weight management
Healthy aging
Practice and promotion of daily physical activity
Policies that that reduce the level of obesity
Reduction of chronic disease
Initial Outcome: Post program surveys
Indicator: Change in knowledge or attitude and intent to implement
Method: Post program surveys
Timeline: Immediately following program
Intermediate Outcome: Post Program Surveys
Indicator: Use of information from program and change in practice or behavior
Method: Mailed or on-line survey of participants
Timeline: 3 to 6 months following program
Long-term Outcome: Change in behavior that leads to change in health
Indicator: Community indicators for health
Method: Statistics from state and national organizations
Timeline: 4 years
Audience: Adults of general public
Project or Activity: Walk, Grill and Learn
Content or Curriculum: Plate it Up Kentucky Proud;
Inputs: Farmers Market, Plate it Up Kentucky Proud recipes;
Date: June 2019
Audience: Adults of general public
Project or Activity: Walk and Wok
Content or Curriculum: Plate it Up Kentucky Proud
Inputs: recipes; cooking supplies, farmers market
Date: July 2018
Audience: Adults
Project or Activity: What's for Dinner?: Beef, Chicken, Fish
Content or Curriculum: UK handouts, speakers
Inputs: Speakers
Date: September and October 2018
Audience: Adults, general public
Project or Activity: Hands-on Food Preservation for Adult Beginners to include fresh garden produce
Content or Curriculum: University of Kentucky curriculum
Inputs: Canning supplies, fact sheets
Date: July 2018
Audience: Adults
Project or Activity: Hands-on Freezing and Drying
Content or Curriculum: UK Publications
Inputs: publications, food freezing and drying supplies
Date: August 2018
Audience: Adults, general public
Project or Activity: Friday Food Fun: Increasing consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats and essential nutrients
Content or Curriculum: Extension curricula; different topic each month
Inputs: Cooking supplies
Date: Monthly, July, August, September, October, November, December 2018; January, February, March, April, May, June 2019
Audience: Adults
Project or Activity: Farmers Theater Dinner and Safety Show
Content or Curriculum: UK handouts, speakers
Inputs: Speakers
Date: November 2018
Audience: Adults
Project or Activity: Cook Right, Move More Series
Content or Curriculum: North Carolina Extension Curriculum
Inputs: food, partner with Kenton County Extension
Date: March 2019
Audience: Adults
Project or Activity: Bake for 1 or 2
Content or Curriculum: UK Extension Curriculum
Inputs: food, curriculum
Date: February/March 2019
Author: Diane Mason
Major Program: Accessing Nutritious Foods (general)
Animal protein is often the most expensive item on a menu for families. Choosing inexpensive cuts and styles of common animal proteins can be daunting, and knowing how to prepare them properly is important to help avoid food and money waste.Boone and Kenton County Cooperative Extension joined together to provide a three-part series focused on helping individuals know how to choose and prepare common animal proteins. Each two-hour program focused on a different meat: beef, fish and chicken. The h
Author: David Koester
Major Program: Home & Consumer Horticulture
The Boone County Horticulture Program with its Spring 2019 series of classes attracted 1261 tri-state residents. This was an 18% increase over 2018 participants. 17 individual classes were held. Topics for the series were developed from our home horticulture advisory council and Master Gardeners. Council members asked for some of the classes to be offered during the day and again at night for working clientele. This request was honored with numerous classes offered twice.Evaluations
Author: Diane Mason
Major Program: Food Preservation
Home food preservation can help prevent food waste and save on family food budgets. There is an increased interest in eating fresh, locally grown produce and home food preservation has had an increased interest in recent years. If not done properly, however, loss of food, time and money are the least of one's worries. Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, show that home-canned vegetables are the most common cause of botulism outbreaks in the United States. From
