Changing the Odds

According to The State of Childhood Obesity, In Kentucky, 23.8% of youth ages 10 to 17 have obesity. Obesity is linked to diabetes, and hypertension, stroke, and some types of cancer. Poor eating patterns and lack of physical activity are two main causes of obesity. 

 In order to combat this problem Breckinridge County Nutrition Education Assistant and Cloverport Independent School made a strategy to teach Teen Cuisine to a group of sixteen 6^th graders, in hopes to deter this staggering rate at the school. 

Teen Cuisine emphasizes eating of variety of vegetables and fruits, whole grains, a variety of lean protein foods, and low-fat and fat-free dairy products. It also encourages teens to limit foods and beverages with added sugars, solid fats, or sodium. After the 6 session lessons teens showed a 75% increase of choosing whole grains, 63% increase of eating vegetables, 56% increase in choosing low fat foods, 50% increases of eating fruits, 50% decrease in the amount of sugary drinks. Sixty-three percent of the teens also improved by being physically active by at least one hour a day.