Teen Cuisine

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 “Teen Cuisine” was used. The Spencer County Extension Agents taught the six-part lessons once a week for 2 months to 141 youth aged 14-17 years old. During the program, the youth participants were provided with nutrition labels from everyday food items to explain how to read a nutrition label when they are purchasing or consuming food. Several of the participants stated they had never read a food label. A student commented that "the lesson has been so helpful to me to be able to identify a serving size, calorie and ingredients of the food I eat.”

Entry and exit surveys were conducted in their classroom and 117 participants completed the survey data. The results revealed that out of 117 participants, 60 improved their knowledge of reading food labels. Along with the 6 lessons, the participants made and tried recipes from the curriculum. One of the favorite recipes the students made was Enchilada Rice. Over 95% of the students said it was their favorite and would make it for their families. This recipe is low in salt, sugar and fat and follows the My Plate guidelines. They added some fruit to make it a complete meal. In the two months’ time frame, 38 participants reported the adoption of physical activity practices, and 23 participants demonstrated an increase in physical activity levels to an hour each day. This program made a lasting impression and we will continue to make this an ongoing program at Spencer County High School.