Success StoryBodywalk event teaches students to be "OrganWise"



Bodywalk event teaches students to be "OrganWise"

Author: Katherine Jury

Planning Unit: Family and Consumer Sciences

Major Program: Making Healthy Lifestyle Choices (general)

Plan of Work: SNAP Education

Outcome: Intermediate Outcome

Many of the behavior determinants of health, such as activity level, consumption of fruits and vegetables, hygiene habits, smoking, etc. are routines that can be established during childhood and adolescents.  The younger that children establish healthy routines, the more likely they are to retain these health patterns into adulthood.  According the CDC statistics, Hopkins County has a higher prevalence of obesity (34%)  and lack of exercise (34%) that the state average.  In an effort to combat these trends, and maintain the county’s low prevalence of teen smoking and tooth loss, many local health-related entities have banded together to increase youth knowledge on these subjects.  The Hopkins County Extension Agent for Family & Consumer Sciences, Katherine Jury, is the coordinator of the annual BodyWalk program- an educational experience for all 4th graders in Hopkins County’s public schools.   This year, a total of 546 students participated.  Community partners, including the Hopkins County 4-H Agent, SNAP Educator, Health Department, WIC Service Coordinator, Baptist Health Nutrition, YMCA, Madisonville Community College’s Community Health students, Fitness Formula, and West Area Health Education Center each utilize the OrganWise curriculum to take students through a “tour” of the human body.  Each community partner focused on one organ or organ system, and taught students about ways they can care for their body and make good choices.  The program aligns with the Health Core Curriculum for 4th grade, and classroom teachers facilitate the pre and post-program outcome evaluations.  As a result of the program, 100% of students reported learning at least one new health behavior modification.  96% of students reported practicing more consistent hand-washing, 93% reported eating more fruits and vegetables, and 67% reported wearing a helmet more often or using a seat belt in a situation where they would not have in the past.  Teachers also completed surveys, where all 100% reported the event as aligning with Health standards, and beneficial to their students.  One student reported, “I’m glad to have gotten to come to BodyWalk.   My family doesn’t always make good choices- they smoke, and eat junk food, and are sick a lot.  I want to make good choices to be healthy and feel good.   The nurses and teachers here have taught me how to make good choices.”






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