Promoting Healthy Eating & Exercise in School Aged Children
Authors: Katherine Adams, Andrew Caudle, Erica Day, Chad Hodges, and Brandon Jones
Faculty Supervisor: Lydia Watkins, DNP, RN, CPNP
Abstract:
Obesity has become a major epidemic worldwide, therefore interventions are necessary to reduce its incidence. Our project focused on school aged children at Altama Elementary School (AES). In our preliminary survey we found that many of the students at AES had several high-risk factors for obesity. We educated 5th graders on the importance of healthy eating and exercise, leaving out the emphasis on obesity as we considered this age group to be particularly sensitive to issues regarding body image. To present our activity in an engaging manner we developed five stations, each consisting of an activity and an educational piece relating to exercise or nutrition. Out project accomplishes our service-learning outcomes by participating in community engagement and performing our civic duty as nurses. We hope by presenting this information at a young age in an entertaining matter that we can promote healthy lives in the children of AES.
