New Program Aims to Prevent Childhood Obesity

Childhood obesity can lead to many adverse health effects later in life, including heart disease, strokes, Type 2 diabetes, cancer, hypertension, sleep apnea, asthma, and orthopedic complications. The American Obesity Association reports that nearly one-third of the American adult population are obese, while 15 percent of American youth are overweight. Another 15 percent of youth are at risk for overweight.

According to Penn State Extension educator Lynn James, the key to eliminating childhood obesity is prevention, not treatment, and prevention needs to be a family affair. She and a team of Penn State Extension educators, registered dietitians, and faculty have documented the intense struggles between parents (or grandparents or other caregivers) and elementary-age children in selecting, preparing, and scheduling time for healthy meals and snacks, and regular physical activity. They developed the Family Fitness Program to address the struggles and offer attainable solutions. The research-based program furnishes students in grades three through five and their parents or caregivers with the nutrition education, skills, and motivational guidance necessary to achieve diet quality and a healthy level of physical exercise.

The Family Fitness Program partners with school nurses, who recommend to the program students who are overweight (above the 85th percentile), based on their body mass index (BMI), or at risk of becoming overweight. School nurses are required by the Pennsylvania Department of Health to measure all students' body mass index.

"Approximately 30 percent of Pennsylvania students are above the 85th percentile, which indicates the urgent need for a program that improves student and family health," says Dr. Marilyn Corbin, Extension's state leader for Family Living programs.

Extension received research money from the College of Agricultural Sciences' Seed Grant Program, the Penn State Outreach Health Thematic Fund, and the Pennsylvania Department of Health to develop and implement the program. Participation is voluntary and confidential. If a child decides to participate, he or she attends after-school meetings twice a week for five weeks. Their parents or adult caregivers are required to attend a weekly meeting for five weeks, three of them with their child.

Student sessions cover nutrition education and food decision-making skills, food preparation and taste-testing, body image discussions, and physical activities. Parent meetings focus on how parents can partner with their child to improve eating and physical activity habits. The program's premise is that "children learn by example." Parents and program leaders set the example by demonstrating their own healthy eating and exercise habits. "Parents and other caregiving adults are responsible for what is presented to eat and the manner in which it is presented," says registered dietitian Lynn James. "Children are responsible for how much and even whether they eat. The Family Fitness Program increases positive parent-child communication and partnership, which sets the stage for healthy eating and activity changes to occur."

Family Fitness gives parents an understanding of the basic nutritional and physical activity needs of their children and how to create daily meal routines in which nutritious foods are served. Together, family members learn how to identify personal fullness cues so that they can avoid overeating. Parents are encouraged to use love and limits, not policing, to help their children eat healthily. Setting and meeting goals is integral to the program. At each parent meeting, the families discuss the healthy-diet and physical-activity goals they have set and attained.

The Family Fitness Program was successfully piloted in ten urban, suburban, and rural areas in Pennsylvania counties over two years. It generated significant improvements in children's eating habits, including greater consumption of whole grains and fruits. More students reported eating breakfast, and there was a greater willingness among young participants to try new foods. The children also reported spending less time in sedentary activities, such as watching television or playing computer games. Evaluations revealed that the program helped the students maintain their body mass index (BMI) six months after the program.

More information on this free program is available from county Cooperative Extension offices. Visit www.extension.psu.edu for a complete listing of the offices across the state.