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 topicsAudience: Elsmere Senior Center
Project or Activity: Improve nutritional habits
Content or Curriculum: UK FCS nutrition lesson
Inputs: UK SNAP curriculum
Date: Monthly 2019-2020
Audience: Lunch & Learn Simon Kenton
Project or Activity: Improve Eating Habits
Content or Curriculum: UK nutrition lesson
Inputs: UK SNAP curriculum
Date: Monthly 2019-20 School YearAudience: General Public
Project of Activity: It’s Fish Time!
Content of Curriculum: UK Extension Fact sheets
Inputs: Local fish market owner/chef
Date: Fall 2019Audience: Adults needing cooking skill
Project of Activity: Using your Electric Pressure Cooker
Content of Curriculum: UK Extension Fact sheets
Inputs: Agent designed
Date: Fall 2019Audience: Adults needing cooking skill
Project of Activity: Baking Basics – Celebrate Whole Grains Month
Content of Curriculum: UK Extension Fact sheets
Inputs: Wheat Council, Home Baking Association
Date: Fall 2019Audience: Homemakers and General Public
Project of Activity: Area Homemaker Training – Food Safety Mystery Dinner Event
Content of Curriculum: USDA and UK Fact sheets
Inputs: UK Extension, Northern KY and 3 Rivers Health Departments
Date: September 2019
Author: Kathy Byrnes
Major Program: Food Preparation
People who frequently cook meals at home eat healthier and consume fewer calories than those who cook less, according to research from John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Researchers found that when people cook most of their meals at home, they consumer fewer carbohydrates, less sugar and fat than those who cook less – or not at all. They recommend that people who cook infrequently may benefit from cooking classes and menu preparation coaching.In an effort to encou
Author: Linda Brown-Price
Major Program: Accessing Nutritious Foods (general)
The Centers for Disease Control estimates 48 million people get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die from food-borne diseases each year in the United States. (https://www.cdc.gov/foodborneburden/estimates-overview.html)Food- borne illness symptoms can occur anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks after a contaminated foods is consumed. The most common “cause” of food-borne illness is attributed to people mishandling food, abusing the time/temperature rule and not washing th
Author: Kathy Byrnes
Major Program: Accessing Nutritious Foods (general)
According to research from a variety of reputable medical sources, a diet rich in whole grains has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and some forms of cancer. The average American, however, eats less than one serving per day and over 40% never eat whole grains at all. The reasons for this are many, according to WebMD, including confusion on what is actually a “whole grain”, as well as the per
Author: Kathy Byrnes
Major Program: Food Preparation
People who frequently cook meals at home eat healthier and consume fewer calories than those who cook less, according to the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research. Tufts University agrees, “restaurant meals, whether fast food or not, tend to be higher in calories and lower in nutritional quality than foods prepared at home.”The Kenton and Boone County Cooperative Extension Agents addressed this topic in coordination with the Family Mealtime initiative by hold
Author: Kathy Byrnes
Major Program: Promoting Healthy Homes and Communities (general)
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates 48 million people get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die from foodborne diseases each year in the United States. The most common “cause” of foodborne illness is attributed to people - mishandling food, abusing the time/temperature rule, not washing their hands, and engaging in other behaviors that put themselves and others at risk. The University of Kentucky and Kentucky State University Family and Consumer Sciences
