KA 703. Nutrition Education and Behavior

Crownpoint OYD Boys and Girls Club
Childhood obesity is a serious health issue that is not going away any time soon. The most recent trend has led First Lady Michelle Obama to launch a nationwide campaign against childhood obesity through increased physical activity and healthier food choices. Healthy nutrition begins with a variety of foods that provide all the nutrients needed to maintain a healthy body. By fostering a new generation of healthy eaters who might then go on to teach their own children to make good food choices we are one step ahead of the game. 15 Native American youth attended the first nutrition session on September 17 at the Crownpoint Boys and Girls Club. The youth learned about MyPyramid: serving sizes, exercise, etc., and they were treated to several different foods they had tasted for the first time. Following the tasting they prepared a recipe they prepared by the kids with adult supervision. The activities were led by the Home Economist and three volunteers from the Boys and Girls Club. The kids enjoyed and gained knowledge that they can share with their family and friends. Evaluation was not given because of the age and reading level of the students. Building healthy families is a step by step process but, by reaching youth at a young age we can start them on the healthy path sooner than later.

Zuni Youth "Nutrition, Healthy Snacks, and More!"
According to the National Health and Nutrition survey obesity is a serious health concern for all children and adolescents. About 39% or American Indian children 5-18 years old were found to be overweight or at risk for overweight. The Zuni Food Distribution, McKinley County Home Economist and CDE submitted a youth grant proposal to provided 2 workshops of "Nutrition, Healthy Snacks, and More!". The grant was awarded in August and planning began with all parties involved. The first 2 hour workshop was held on September 9, 2010 and the second was held on September 16, 2010 in the community of Zuni. 40 youth learned how to prepare health snacks, learned about MyPyramid, learned about serving sizes, learned about avoiding fried foods and sugar, and learned the importance of exercising 60 minutes per day. The Food Distribution Program also provided each participant who attended with a backpack of wonderful incentatives that were purchased through the nutrition grant. Short, medium, and long term objectives were met. Evaluation was provided by the Zuni Food Distribution Program and are pending results. The workshops were successful and well attended.

Nutrition Education
Youth Nutrition
Childhood overweight and obesity are increasing, and the status of our children’s health is declining. There is little doubt that the majority of children eat considerably more calories than required to maintain their ideal weight. To combat this problem home economist, nutrition educators, school staff and other agencies have teamed up to provide instruction on nutrition for health maintenance and disease prevention. KidsCAN programs teach children healthy habits such as: limiting fried foods (fast food/supersize it), sugar and other unhealthy products, participating in regular physical activities, and to choose healthy snack foods such as; fruit, vegetables and yogurt. The children are provided with hand on activities (preparing healthy snacks, learning about MyPyramid, participate in nutrition games, etc.) and regular physical activities and healthy eating practices that will help decrease their risk for chronic diseases and live healthier and longer lives. All of the programs mentioned above include the New Mexico Performance Standards and Benchmarks adopted August 1996 as part of 6NMAC3.2. This year about 2,764 children and their teachers from 16 McKinley County schools and Bureau of Indian Education completed 4 lessons in one or more nutrition programs. Each child received special certificates for each program completed (Eat Smart, Play Hard, Team Nutrition, or Cooking With Kids. One time lessons were also provided for 452 youth in the 2009-2010 school year at the Zuni Head Start program. Evaluation was given to students third-eighth grades and sent to ICAN Specialist for review and reporting purposes. Teachers and parents noted that students were more aware of the foods they are eating, preparing healthy snacks, and are in fact changing their eating habits to include more fruits and vegetables. With proper training on nutrition, serving sizes, exercise, avoiding fried foods and sugar overweight children are more likely to lose weight and suffer less from negative self image, depression, and eating disorders.

Ideas for Cooking and Nutrition
Chaves County’s ICAN Nutrition program reached 1200 youth and 176 adult graduates, 3500 direct contacts and 50,000 indirect contacts. The home economist provides support to two ICAN Nutrition Educators who teach a series of four to six nutrition classes to youth and adults in schools and outside the school setting. The home economist assisted with developing the County Action Plan and keeping it updated. Sites included Headstart, Roswell Independent Schools, ENMU-Roswell, GED Classes, Family Resource and Referral, Teen Pregnancy Center, Housing Division, Esperanza, Curves, Senior Olympics, Upward Bound, and Higher Horizons. Participants increase their knowledge in health food choices, food preparation skills, food resource management and food safety.

Head Start Nutrition Programs

Raton Head Start – “Dad and Student Pizza Making Night”

For many years, the home economist has provided nutrition programming to Head Start parents and teachers from throughout the county during their evening parent meetings at their respective Head Start sites, however it is often difficult for working parents to attend. In 2008 and 2009, the Cimarron Head Start director and the home economist planned a cooking night to directly involve the students, parents and teachers in making a healthy meal together. Although the “Student and Parent Cooking Night” was successful in Cimarron, the director was unavailable to coordinate the program this year, therefore the Raton site director asked the home economist to conduct a similar program targeting fathers and their children. Fourteen fathers, 16 students and three teachers participated in the evening where groups made homemade pizzas with a whole wheat based crust and a variety of lean meat, vegetables, fruit and cheese as toppings of their choice. As the group enjoyed the meal, the home economist presented basic nutrition information related to the pizza and the nutrients found in the kid’s MyPyramid. The importance of healthy snack choices and eating habits were also discussed with the fathers since they are often shopping for groceries and preparing meals at home. The home economist received positive feedback from the students, parents and teachers with comments such as, “The pizza was great and easy to make”, “I liked being able to cook with my daughter so she knows that dad can help in the kitchen too”, “We definitely want to have the program again next year”.

Raton Head Start – “Cooking With Foods From the Garden”

In the spring of 2010, one of the Raton Head Start site directors approached the Extension Office about working with their youth to plant vegetables in the greenhouse they were acquiring through grant monies they had recently received. The home economist, 4-H agent and agricultural agent teamed together to plan activities for the youth by utilizing curriculum from the Ag in the Classroom coordinator in Las Cruces. The 4-H and agricultural agents conducted seed planting activities with the youth, planting such vegetables as beans, tomatoes, onions, squash and jalapenos. At a later date, the home economist coordinated cooking activities with the 80 youth and 12 teachers/directors to make foods that would include the vegetables the students would see being produced from their greenhouse seedlings sometime in the summer. The four classes each chose a different food to make so that they could enjoy an entire meal together at lunch time. The home economist provided the ingredients, equipment and recipes for salsa, calabacitas, chef salad and bean and cheese burritos as each class rotated into the room to assist in making their chosen dish. The students and staff then went through a buffet line to sample the meal. The recipes and other nutritional information were sent home with the students to share with their families. The teachers and directors reported that they were glad students could experience first-hand the connection between foods being grown and eventually eaten. They were also very receptive to conducting the program again next year, however we learned that it would be best to begin the cooking activities at 8: 30 am to give more prep and clean up time between classes.

Springer Head Start - “Healthy Eating Habits”

In December of 2009, the Springer Head Start site director requested a nutrition presentation from the home economist for their parents attending their monthly parent meeting. Seventeen parents and teachers were in attendance for the evening presentations that focused on the 2-5 year old Kid’s MyPyramid; healthy eating habits, including picky eating behaviors; and ways parents and children can incorporate more physical activity into their daily lives. Parents also requested basic information on shopping and budgeting for family meals to cut costs while still providing nutritious meals for their families. Informational packets were given to those in attendance with 10 additional packets given to the teachers for the parents that were not able to attend the program. The program has resulted in an increased awareness of basic nutrition concepts by the parents and teaching staff, thereby benefiting the children involved.