According to the PRC Community Health Report for Lincoln County, 42.1 % of youth ages 6 – 12 are reported as being overweight/obese. The report notes the #1 community-identified health issue as obesity. A publication from the Kentucky Department for Public Health reported that 16 % of Kentucky high school students have zero physical activity in a week and only 17% eat the recommended serving of fruits and vegetables daily. In order to combat this prevalent issue, 4-H partnered with the Physical Education teacher at Highland Elementary and Waynesburg Elementary to create a nutrition education program with the hope of making lasting lifestyle changes. Using educational materials from the Professor Popcorn curriculum, an enrichment program was created for all 541 pre-school through 5th grade students at both of these schools. Post-program evaluation results demonstrate that learning, understanding, and becoming familiar with the dietary guidelines of MyPyramid is helping youth make choices that will lead to healthier lifestyles. The program was focused on discretionary calories, healthy eating choices, and healthy physical activity choices. Not only were more than 80% of youth able to correctly identify all five foods groups, but evaluation results indicated the following:

88% of youth report trying a new healthy snack food during the program

69% report asking their families to purchase healthy snacks, including fruits and vegetables

48% of students report eating vegetables most or every day

45% of students report choosing healthy snacks most days