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
Healthy Homemaker Series—11 Lesson Series
Audience: Extension Homemakers and General Public
Project or Activity: Healthy Homemaker Series Training
Content or Curriculum: UK CES
Inputs: NKY Area Homemakers
Date: August 2017, January 2018Audience: 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: General public, focus on older adults
Project or Activity: The Healthy Brain--Eating well
Content or Curriculum: Tufts University research
Inputs: UK Specialist Approved
Date: Fall 2017
Audience: Kenton County Senior Health Coalition
Project or Activity: Improved nutritional habits, reduced risk of falling
Content or Curriculum: UK FCS nutrition lessons, MyPlate
Inputs: Local committee
Date: Monthly meetings, fall activity
Audience: General public
Project or Activity: Use and Care of Your Cast Iron SkilletContent or Curriculum: Extension Service
Inputs: FCS Agent
Date: October 10, 2017
Audience: General public
Project or Activity: Venison 101Content or Curriculum: West Virginia University Extension
Inputs: FCS & Ag Agents
Date: Fall 2017
Audience: Elsmere Senior Center
Project or Activity: Improve nutritional habits
Content or Curriculum: UK FCS nutrition lesson
Inputs: UK SNAP curriculum
Date: Monthly 2017-2018Audience: Lunch & Learn Simon Kenton
Project or Activity: Improve Eating Habits
Content or Curriculum: UK nutrition lesson
Inputs: UK SNAP curriculum
Date: Monthly 2017-2018
Author: Kathy Byrnes
Major Program: Plate It Up! Kentucky Proud
The city of Ft. Mitchell-located in Kenton County, Kentucky has a “Live Well” Coalition group, with a mission that includes providing a variety of programs to its citizens to promote overall wellness. This summer, the city started their own community garden adjoining their city building.The Kenton County Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agent was asked to come and provide a program for the citizens on how to prepare various food items from the garden. Program attendees co
Author: Linda Brown-Price
Major Program: Making Healthy Lifestyle Choices (general)
~~As the debate to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act continues, many seniors are concerned with rising health care costs. This cost is further complicated with the high price of prescription drug coverage. The Northern Kentucky Area Agents presented a program on Healthy Living from the Inside Out to 122 homemakers from eight counties to address some of these concerns. Through networking and a new collaboration, a local pharmacist voluntarily taught a session entitled, &ldquo
Author: Ola Donahue
Major Program: Health 4-H Core Curriculum
According to the most recent state-by-state data from the 2016 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) Kentucky ranks 14th with 33.5% of Children 10-18 being overweight and obese. Nationally, 31.2 percent of youth in this age range are overweight or obese. Using this data and being concerned about the youth in our county 4-H has teamed up with Tichenor Middle Schools Family Resource Center to help change the lives of the youth in this school. Healthy eating classes along wi
Author: Joan Bowling
Major Program: Plate It Up! Kentucky Proud
Kentucky adults rank among the ten highest for poor consumption of fruits and vegetables. The Center for Disease Control reports that 33.2% of Kentucky residents are obese, 46.2% consume fruit less than 1 time per day and 24.9% consume vegetables less than 1 time per day. In an effort to encourage Kenton County senior citizens to consume more locally grown fruits and vegetables and increase knowledge of cooking with produce found in the farmers market, the Family and Consumer Sciences Extension
Author: Joan Bowling
Major Program: Embracing Life as We Age (general)
In the year 2012, nearly 9% of Americans age 65 and over were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and by the year 2050, the number of cases is predicted to triple. The Family and Consumer Sciences agents in Kenton County addressed this issue by repeating the 3 – part series, presenting the latest research on nutrition, physical exercise, and mental exercise that might reduce this risk. Attendees were presented an interactive lecture/discussion with through a weekly “lunch and l
