Extension
It Starts With Us
Improving Dietary Habits
Making Healthy Lifestyle Choices
Kathy Byrnes, Joan Bowling, Linda Brown-Price
Making Healthy Lifestyle Choices (general)
Plate It Up! Kentucky Proud
Food Preservation
Food Preparation
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. According to the 2013 Kentucky Health Issues Poll, only 31% of Northern Kentucky adults reported eating the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables per day. 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. The goal of the Making Healthy Lifestyle Choices Initiative is to reverse these trends by working with various organizations, agencies, and groups to promote 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
• 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.
• 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, and older age
• 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
• Reduction of chronic disease
Outcome: Learn about and practice healthy food choices
Indicator: Food diaries, participant responses
Method: Mail out follow-up evaluations, in-class discussion
Timeline: All year
Outcome: Discover and maintain appropriate calorie balance during each stage of life
Indicator: Self reporting
Method: Class evaluations
Timeline: All year
Outcome: Strengthen community coalitions or partnerships to address obesity and chronic disease rates
Indicator: Increased partner directed activities that address these issues
Method: Agent meeting activity sheets
Timeline: All year
Outcome: Increased knowledge of chronic disease risks in program participants
Indicator: Responses from program participants
Method: Post program surveys
Timeline: All year
Audience: Kenton County families
Project or Activity: Plate It Up, Kentucky Proud!
Content or Curriculum: Plate It Up!
Inputs: KEHA lesson, FCS Agent developed lessons
Date: Fall and Spring
Audience: Northern Kentucky Diabetes committee
Project or Activity: Diabetes reduction activities; diabetes support group
Content or Curriculum: American Diabetes Association, Taking Ownership of your Diabetes
Inputs: Health Department Educators, FCS Agent
Date: All year
Audience: General Public
Project or Activity: Food, nutrition, and safety news articles
Content or Curriculum: UK exclusives, nutrition publications
Inputs: FCS Agent developed
Date: Weekly articles--rotate topics
Audience: Elsmere Senior Center
Project or Activity: Improve nutritional habits
Content or Curriculum: UK FCS nutrition lesson
Inputs: UK SNAP curriculum
Date: Monthly 2018-2019Audience: Lunch & Learn Simon Kenton
Project or Activity: Improve Eating Habits
Content or Curriculum: UK nutrition lesson
Inputs: UK SNAP curriculum
Date: Monthly 2018-2019 school year
Audience: Faith-based Organization
Project or Activity: Faithful families
Curriculum: Faithful families
Input: UK Provided Curriculium
Date: Fall 2018 Spring 2019
Audience: adults-general public
Project or Activity: Roasting Vegetables
Content or Curriculum: Extension Publications
Inputs: Agent designed
Date: September 2018
Audience: General Public
Project or Activity: Where's the Beef
Content or Curriculum: UK factsheets, Beef council info
Inputs: KY Beef Cattle representative
Date: October 2018
Audience: General Public
Project or Activity: Eat more Chicken
Content or Curriculum: UK fact sheets
Inputs: Ag and FCS agents
Date: October 2018-2019
Audience: Adults needing cooking skills
Project or Activity: Cook Smart, Eat Smart
Content or Curriculum: Extension Curriculum
Inputs: Cook Smart, Eat Smart Curriculum
Date: Spring 2019
Author: Ola Donahue
Major Program: Health 4-H Core Curriculum
Alternative schools are essentially specialized educational environments that place a great deal of emphasis on small classrooms, high teacher-to-student ratios, individualized instruction, noncompetitive performance assessments, and less structured classrooms (Raywid 1983). The purpose of these schools is to provide academic instruction to students expelled or suspended for disruptive behavior or weapons possession, or who are unable to succeed in the mainstream school environment (Ingersoll an
Author: Kathy Byrnes
Major Program: Food Preservation
According to PLOS One, a peer-reviewed science publication, nearly one pound of food per person is wasted each day in America. Of the 22 food groups studied, fruits and vegetables contributed to the most food wasted. As we know, food waste comes at a cost our environment, and our pocket books. The study concluded that one approach to minimizing food waste is to educate consumers about how best to prepare and store fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as a complimentary approach to
Author: Kathy Byrnes
Major Program: Food Preservation
According to Penn State Extension, increased interest in eating locally grown produce has led to renewed popularity of home food preservation. If not done properly, loss of food and money are minor problems. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report the major problem - that home canned vegetables are the most common cause of botulism outbreaks in the US. From 1996-2014, they report 145 cases of botulism from home prepared foods, with 43 of those coming from home canned vegetabl
Author: Kathy Byrnes
Major Program: Accessing Nutritious Foods (general)
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) just 1 in 10 adults meet the federal fruit or vegetable recommendations for consumption, putting them at risk for chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease. Seung Hee Lee Kwan, Ph.D., of CDC states “As a result, we’re missing out on the essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber that fruits and vegetables provide.” In an effort to increase home preparation and consumption o
