Making Healthy Lifestyle Choices
Promote Healthy Lifestyles
Diane Mason, David Koester
Making Healthy Lifestyle Choices (general)
Making Healthy Lifestyle Choices (Curriculum)
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
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
Project or Activity: Exploring the Mediterranean Lifestyle
Content or Curriculum: Plate it Up Kentucky Proud; U of Penn Extension Curriculum
Inputs: Farmers Market, Plate it Up Kentucky Proud recipes; U of Penn Curriculum
Date: August 2017
Audience: Adults
Project or Activity: How Do You Eat That?
Content or Curriculum: Plate it Up Kentucky Proud
Inputs: Plate it Up Recipes; Farmers Market; Extension Fact Sheets
Date: July 2017
Audience: Adults
Project or Activity: Baking for Just a Few Series
Content or Curriculum: Baking for One or Two; Plate it Up Kentucky Proud
Inputs: Curriculum; foods
Date: February 2018
Audience: Adults
Project or Activity: Designed for Health
Content or Curriculum: Slim by Design research and resources
Inputs: Worksheets
Date: August and September 2017
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: August 2017
Audience: Adults, general public
Project or Activity: Friday Food Fun
Content or Curriculum: Extension curricula; different topic each month
Inputs: Cooking supplies
Date: Monthly, July, August, September, October, November, December 2017; January, February, March, April, May, June 2018
Audience: Adults, general public
Project or Activity: "Organic Vegetable Gardening"
Content or Curriculum: Participants will learn how to plant and maintain a vegetable garden using organic and cultural controls for pests and diseases.
Inputs: Classes taught by extension staff
Date: March, April 2018
Author: Katie Smallwood
Major Program: Making Healthy Lifestyle Choices (general)
~~According to the American Dairy Association, in 2016, the total amount of milk produced in Kentucky was over 125 million gallons. During a three day agriculture program, Farm Frenzy, the University of Kentucky's Boone County Cooperative Extension Service's Family and Consumer Sciences agents had the opportunity to teach 1455 Boone County School children and their teachers and chaperones about dairy and the importance of consuming three servings of dairy each day. &nbs
Author: Diane Mason
Major Program: Making Healthy Lifestyle Choices (general)
According to Oldways/Mediterranean Foods Alliance (www.oldwayspt.org) the growing body of medical and scientific evidence supporting the healthfulness of the Mediterranean diet, continues to show that following a Mediterranean lifestyle may defend against chronic diseases, lower the risk for heart disease, protect from diabetes, ward off Parkinson’s disease, and aid in weight management efforts. Raising awareness of this lifestyle and encouraging individuals to adopt healthier eating
Author: Diane Mason
Major Program: Embracing Life as We Age (general)
According the U.S. Census, approximately 54 percent of the Boone County population is between the ages of 18 and 65 and about 13 percent is age 65 or older. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle throughout life is important, but even more so the older we get. Healthier adults generally require fewer medical services and may live independently longer. Educational programming to address common aging questions and issues has been requested and supported by the Family and Consumer Sciences Advisory Commit