Nutrition and Fitness
Achieving a Healthy Lifestyle
Joyce Doyle and Thomas Mann
Recipes for Life
Plate It Up! Kentucky Proud
Super Star Chef
Health
A foundation of nutrition knowledge, skills and competencies in topics such as food safety, handling and preparation, cooking methods and techniques, feeding practices, food science, and food systems are essential to changing dietary behaviors. Kentucky ranks 3rd in the nation with 20.8% childhood obesity for 10 to 17 years old. With the increased trend of chronic disease and obesity in Kentucky, individuals, families, and communities need tools and environments that support healthful dietary decisions. CES agents are encouraged to reach diverse audiences to help combat chronic disease and obesity in Kentucky communities.
The Centers for Disease Control found in a nationally representative survey that only 29% of high school youth participated in at least 60 minutes of physical activity on each of the seven days before the survey. Participation in physical activity decreases as we age.
Healthy living is one of three 4-H mission mandates and encompasses: physical activity, personal safety, mental health, addiction prevention, and diversity and inclusion.
The Carroll County Extension Service is encouraged to reach diverse audiences to help combat chronic disease and obesity in Carroll County. The Kentucky State Data Center of Vital Statistics reports that from 2016 to 2018 the obesity rate in Carroll County was 16% for adults and the National Survey of Children’s Health reported 20% for high school students. Extension programs help reduce obesity through improved diet, hands-on culinary programs, physical activity, school programs, and promoting access to healthy food options through the Riverview Farmers' Market.
- Routinely employ healthy dietary practices that promote health and wellness (e.g. consume recommended daily fruits and vegetables and improve food management skills)
- Reduce the rate of chronic disease and obesity in adults and youth
- Carroll County Youth will:
- Maintain positive health habits.
- Generate positive attitudes toward changing dietary decisions to be more healthful.
- Increase intake of fruits, vegetables, and other nutrient-dense foods
- Decrease intake of solid fats, added sugars, and sodium
- Employ healthful cooking methods, feeding practices, and food preservation techniques
- Increased access to healthy food via local farmers markets, food retailers, and/or home gardens
- Carroll County Youth will:
- Increase and adopt healthier behaviors that lead to a healthy lifestyle.
- Utilize and practice life skills in projects and life situations.
- Practice healthy eating choices.
- Increase awareness about relationships between food and nutrition practices and chronic disease.
- Improve food and nutrition-related skills (e.g. gardening, preparation and preservation techniques, safe food handling, food resource management)
- Increase confidence in ability to employ healthy eating practices
- Increase motivation to access and prepare healthier foods
- Carroll County Youth will:
- Be more aware of health concerns.
- Make a commitment to set family rules regarding eating together, limiting screen time, active play and exercise, set routines.
- Promote physical, social and emotional health habits.
Outcome:
Long-term.
Indicator:
Decrease in chronic disease and obesity statistics through Kentucky Health Facts. Increased number of youth with positive health habits.
Method:
Kentucky Health Facts statistics. Common Measures Experience Survey.
Timeline:
2 – 4 years
Outcome:
Intermediate.
Indicator:
Number of individuals who reported preparing more home-cooked meals, modifying ingredients and/or preparation techniques to improve nutrition. Number of individuals who reported eating 4-6 servings of fruits and/or vegetables daily. Number of individuals who reported utilizing delivery systems/access points (e.g., farmers’ markets, CSAs, WIC, food pantries) that offer healthy foods, supplementing diets with healthy foods grown or preserved (e.g., community or backyard gardens, fishing, hunting, farmers markets), dollar value of vendor-reported sales or EBT, WIC, or Senior benefits redeemed at farmers’ markets, number of pints of foods preserved through water bath canning, pressure canning, freezing, or drying. Number of youth indicated they exercised regularly.
Method:
Self-report survey. Curricula or program evaluations. Common Measures Experience Survey.
Timeline:
1 – 1 ½ years
Outcome:
Initial.
Indicator:
Number of individuals who reported knowledge and skills to improve food-shopping management, utilize the food label to make healthy food choices, choosing smaller portions; increased food preservation knowledge, and recommended food preservation practices. Youth will gain knowledge of health concerns and healthy eating.
Method:
Self-report survey. Curricula or program evaluations. Common Measures Experience Survey.
Timeline
8 months – 1 year
Audience:
Carroll County Youth (9-12 year olds)
Project or Activity:
Super Star Chef
Content or Curriculum:
Super Star Chef
Inputs:
Extension Agents, Extension Staff, Volunteers, UK Publications, Money, Time
Date(s):
July 2022
June 2023
June 2024
Audience:
Carroll County 5th Graders
Project or Activity:
Recipes for Life
Content or Curriculum:
Recipes for Life
Inputs:
Extension Agents, Extension Staff, Volunteers, UK Publications, SNAP-Ed Incentives, Grant, Money, Time
Date(s):
Fall 2022
Spring 2023
Spring 2024
Audience:
Carroll County Families and Individuals
Project or Activity:
Food Preservation
Content or Curriculum:
Publications, Trainings.
Inputs:
Extension Agent, Extension Staff, Volunteers, Facilities, Programmatic materials, Grants, Money, Time
Date(s):
July-September 2022
July-September 2023
July-September 2024
Audience:
Carroll County Extension Homemakers and Residents
Project or Activity:
Lunch and Learn
Content or Curriculum:
Plate It Up! Kentucky Proud, UK Food and Nutrition Calendar, International Cuisine publications, Plate It Up! Toolkit
Inputs:
Extension Agents, Extension Staff, UK Publications, SNAP-Ed Incentives, Money, Time
Date(s):
2022
2023
2024
Audience:
Carroll County Youth 2nd and 3rd Grade
Project or Activity:
Nutrition Lessons
Content or Curriculum:
Professor Popcorn/My Plate
Inputs:
Extension Agent, Cartmell Elementary Staff, Chop Chop Magazines, Time, Money
Date(s):
September 2022 – June 2024
Audience:
Carroll County Youth, 3rd Grade
Project or Activity:
Nutrition and Fitness Lessons
Content or Curriculum:
Jump Into Fitness, Soccer for Success
Inputs:
Extension Agent, Cartmell Elementary School Staff, Time, Money
Date(s):
School Year 2023
School Year 2024
Audience:
Residents of Carroll County and surrounding areas
Project or Activity:
Riverview Farmers' Market
Content or Curriculum:
Craft, meat, and produce vendors from Carroll County and nearby counties
Inputs:
Extension Agent, Riverview Farmers' Market, Three Rivers Health Department, Time, Money
Dates:
Spring and summer 2022
Spring and summer 2023
Spring and summer 2024
Author: Joyce Doyle
Major Program: Health
Do not throw away Chop Chop Magazines! These magazines are one of my best resource materials. Children love the games and all the colorful pictures, and the parents and teachers love the recipes. In this lesson, fruits and vegetables were discussed and the children created their favorite fruit or vegetable using play dough. On this day, I taught 105 third grade students. Ninety percent of the students said that they would eat more fruits and vegetables. Seven
Author: Christy Eastwood
Major Program: Nutrition and Food Systems General
Everyone sees prices continue to go up around us. One area hit the hardest is prices at the grocery store. The US Census Bureau ranks Kentucky as the 7th poorest state in the United States with a poverty rate of 14.6%. Carroll County, Kentucky has a poverty rate of 18%. The national poverty rate is 11.4% for 2022. In addition, Carroll County has 16% of its population over 65 years of age. Due to these statistics the Carroll County Family & Consumer Sciences Agent partnered with the Carroll C
Author: Joyce Doyle
Major Program: Health
Chop Chop Magazines are my best resource for nutrition lessons. Children love the games and all the colorful pictures, and the parents and teachers love the recipes. Mrs. Hamilton, Cartmell Elementary teacher, posted the following on the school’s Facebook page. “#PantherLeaderUnit3 is underway, wrapping up its first 8 day rotation. We ended our last day together by trying a healthy drink recipe from the #ChopChop Kids Healthy Eating Recipe Magazine provided by our Carrol
Author: Christy Eastwood
Major Program: Nutrition and Food Systems General
If you’re like many people you may think that eating a healthy diet means higher food costs, whether you eat out or cook. But a recent study finds that people who cook more dinners save $2 a day on food – and they have significantly healthier diets than those who cook less often. In the Seattle Obesity Study, researchers surveyed over 400 Seattle residents and gathered data on how often they cooked dinner and ate out, how much they spent on food and beverages
Author: Christy Eastwood
Major Program: Recipes for Life
Carroll County Family and Consumer Services Extension Agent collaborated with nine administrators and teachers from the Carroll County School District to offer the Recipes for Life Program to 142 fifth-grade students. Nine volunteers worked with students in a hands-on educational setting to teach important life skills. A pre-test/post-test evaluation was conducted to determine learning outcomes. As a result of the program, students gained the following knowledge and skills:Eighty-eight percent r