“Childhood obesity presents a serious health problem, one that can potentially plague children for the rest of their lives. Some of the negative health outcomes associated with childhood obesity include diabetes, high cholesterol and blood pressure, joint pain, asthma and sleep apnea, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease 

https://www.google.com/search?q=child+obesity+rates+in+grayson+county+kentucky&oq=child+obesity+rates+in+grayson+&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j33i160l2j33i299l2.7436j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 .”  It has also been reported that the dominance of child obesity in the United States has more than tripled since the 1970s. And “In 2019-2020, 39% of children and teens ages 10-17 were overweight or obese https://kyyouth.org/2022nationalkidscount-databook-release/ .”   Inactivity plays a huge role in these statistics. On average most children are spending 7.5 hours a day of screen time, rather than being physically active.

In an effort to combat this problem, the Senior Nutrition Educator from Grayson County, KY recently taught a series of nutrition classes in three kindergarten classrooms at Lawler Elementary School located in Leitchfield, KY; using the LEAP curriculum. This curriculum emphasizes the importance of physical activity, as well as healthy snacks, fruits, vegetables, dairy and personal hygiene. 

There was a total of 59 students in the program.  Pre and post test were given to the students.  The post tests revealed that there was a 61% increase in students who could identify what physical activity is, there was a 61% increase in the number of students recognizing healthy snacks, a 96% increase in students who could identify dairy foods, and a 98% increase in the number of students who could identify occasions when hand washing was necessary. 

As you can see the Nutrition Education Program continues to make a great impact on the students in the Grayson County School District; and these classes will resume very soon.