Author: Ryan Farley
Major Program: Health
U.S. childhood obesity has tripled since 1980, with 9.5% of infants and toddlers and 16.9% of children ages 2 to 19 considered obese (Ogden, Carroll, Curtin, Lamb, & Flegal, 2010). Research shows that early childhood is the ideal time to establish a taste for healthy foods and a desire to try new things in order to encourage life-long, healthy habits. With childhood obesity a growing national issue, the 4-H, Family and Consumer Sciences, and Horticulture Agents conducted a 4-month farm to sc
Providing opportunities for youth to develop healthy lifestyle habits is a major focus of both Kentucky 4-H and Woodford County Schools. Finding a way to reach students across the county in an engaging and interactive manner can be a challenge. One 4-H Curriculum available to help achieve this goal is the 4-H Yoga for Kids curriculum, which provides kids-oriented yoga lessons and poses in a fun and engaging manner. To address this issue, Woodford County 4-H has partnered with the Woodford County
Author: Carol Hinton
We are back in the schools for some fantastic programming. We surveyed the schools in the fall months to determine the level of interest to bring the Progressive Ag Foundation Farm and Home Safety event back to the schools. The committee met; they were energetic to get back in the schools.We worked through the schools, the KY FFA Leadership Training Center to host the event indoors. We hosted 200 5th graders across the county along with 75 volunteers, including FFA, Auto
Author: Brittany Osborne
The 4-H Backpack program was established 17 years ago by McCracken County teenagers at a 4-H Issues Conference. Teens were to take an issue that impacted our community and find a way to make a difference. Many of our children in the City and County school systems are fortunate enough to have parents who are able to provide for them. Unfortunately, there are many who do their best to make ends meet and still need additional help. With Covid-19 sweeping the world in unpreced
Author: Annette Buckman
According to the CDC, school closures accelerated weight gain and obesity among kids. Covid disrupted everyone's lives but adolescents suffered the most. Disruption in school closures increased stress, which led to led to less physical activity and also unhealthy eating habits which causes added stress and a sedentary lifestyle. We are beginning to see the evidence and notice an increase with negative effect of their isolation. Here in the Commonwealth obesity is a big conc
Author: Mary Beth Riley
Lyon County is a small community with a lot of accessible side walks and bike riding opportunities. Multiple young people ride their bike to school, the grocery, and the park. When speaking with the Family Resource Director at Lyon County Schools we both agreed that bike safety was a major concern for the youth in Lyon County. “Millions of people are incapacitated by injuries with some suffering lifelong disabilities. For youth, injuries can lead to anxiety, inordinate demands on fam
Author: Ola Donahue
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 mental or health issues, or who are unable to succeed in the mainstream school environment (Ingerso
Author: Stacey Potts
The benefits of yoga are many. In addition to the physical fitness aspect, studies of yoga for kids suggest the practice can help reduce stress, improve stress management and coping skills, increase confidence, promote a healthy body image, and improve social skills. Using the Yoga for Kids curriculum from the University of Arkansas, Daviess County 4-H conducted a six week yoga session at a local group girls’ home. The residents of the home have experienced abuse, neglect
Author: Kellsey Agnew
According to the USDA, “A healthy eating routine is important at every stage of life and can have positive effects that add up over time. It’s important to eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, protein foods, and dairy and fortified soy alternatives.” They say “The benefits of healthy eating add up over time, bite by bite. Small changes matter.” Over the course of the summer, Campbell County 4-H has collaborated with Children’s Collaborative
Author: Victoria Riehemann
According to the Community Assessment Data for Bullitt County (2019), many members of the community want to see an increase in selecting and preparing healthier food options. On a scale of 1-4, with 1 being least important and 4 being very important, this issue was given a 3.48. To aid with this issue, the Bullitt County 4-H agents partnered with Crossroads Elementary School to lead a group of youth aged 7-12 in an interactive day camp that was focused on healthier eating habits.During this day
Author: Mollie Tichenor
In Kentucky, childhood obesity continues to rise and impacts our youth’s overall health and wellness. To help address this concern, the Spencer County Family and Consumer Sciences, 4-H Youth Development, and Agriculture agents, in conjunction with the Spencer County High School Family and Consumer Sciences Teacher’s classes, provided nutritional instruction to each of her classes. The researched-based information from the Nutrition Education Program curriculum “T
Author: Bernita Cheirs
The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services reports that 10% of adolescents self-report illicit drug use in the past month. Substance use prevention programming is critical to the prevention, delayed onset, and/or early identification of substance use. The Life Skills Training (LST) program, developed by Botvin and colleagues, is one of the most successful substance use prevention programs available for use. It teaches a variety of personal self-management skills and social s
Author: Gary Hamilton
According to the 2021 Annual Supplemental Nutrition Education Program Report for Kentucky, today, 60% of all Americans live with at least one chronic disease. These include heart disease and stroke, cancer, and diabetes. These diseases are all associated with obesity and physical inactivity. In 2020, Kentucky ranked in the top five states in the country for obesity with a rate of 36.6% for adults. The percentage of physically inactive Kentuckians is 32%, ranking i
Author: Charles Comer
Author: Bryce Roberts
Author: Mackenzie Pogue
Cooking is a valuable life skill that teaches children about nutrition and food safety, as well as building math, science, literacy and fine motor skills. Twenty youth gathered in the kitchen for a day of learning. Youth explored the pastry world by working in groups to bake tasty treats. Participants learned important kitchen safety, how to avoid spreading germs while cooking, how to use the oven properly and safely when baking, and how to accurately measure liquid and dry in
Author: Gary Druin
There is a wide-spread problem with the health and well-being of our youth. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Kentucky has the fifth-highest rate of obesity in the nation. (National Health and Examination Survey). There has been a dramatic increase in obesity in Kentucky, the rates remain high and one in five children are obese. Kentucky has the 14th highest obesity rate for youth ages 10 to 17. The obesity rate for middle and high school students is
Author: Isaac Hilpp
The 2021 Kids Count data ranks Kentucky as 37th for overall youth wellbeing in the nation and 35th nationally in youth health. One key component of youth health is physical activity. Young people should have at least 60 minutes of physical activity no less than five days a week. Unfortunately, data shows that only 43.8% of middle schoolers and 37.4% of high schoolers reach that level of activity (KDE, 2020). This decline in physical activity with age continues into adulthood with only 32% of adu
