Author: Regina Browning
Planning Unit: Shelby County CES
Major Program: Health
Plan of Work: Making Healthy Lifestyle Choices
Outcome: Intermediate Outcome
The prevalence of obesity in America has been an ongoing and increasing issue. In Kentucky, 30% of adults are obese, while Shelby County has a 30.9% obesity rate. The low-income preschool obesity rates are alarming as well, with 21.3% of children being overweight or obese in Shelby County, and 15.9% of children being overweight and obese in the entire state. According to Kentucky Health News in early 2014, only 23% of Kentuckians consume the recommended 5 or more servings a day of fruits and vegetables. In an effort to help decrease the prevalence of obesity in Shelby County, the Cooperative Extension Office has created a local nutrition program in order to educate students on healthier eating starting at a younger age.
The Shelby County Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agent and the 4-H staff created and presented a nutrition program in 20 4-H clubs in the elementary schools. A total of 400 children from Shelby County participated in the 4-H school club nutrition program titled "Eat Right, Be Active Every Day!" in March 2022. Thirty days later 215 students completed a follow-up survey that revealed 56% of these students ate 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables daily, 84% of the group ate breakfast each morning to have energy for the day, 66% ate healthy snacks to get the nutrition they need each day, and 89% chose nutritious drinks such as water, milk, and 100% fruit juice. A majority of those youth surveyed also indicated they had shared a fact about what they had learned with another member of their family.
Shelby County 4-H provides programming in multiple programming modes, most with hands-on, experienti... Read More
Careers in Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) are expected to grow at faster rate than the av... Read More
The mission of the Super Star Chef series is to provide a fun and educational experience for youth t... Read More
Educational programs that strengthen production skills of agriculture operations in Shelby County ar... Read More