KA 703. Nutrition Education and Behavior

“Just Move It” health fair at Church Rock has good attendance. About 210 Navajo adult male and female participated in the activities sponsored by health agencies. Country style Aerobics, Turkey Walk, Diabetes testing, Vision testing, Bone Density testing, Meth/Drug abuse and Kitchen Creations were the main attractions. Community members gained knowledge about nutrition, food safety, and diabetes prevention form the CES staff. “Just Move It” was held at Church Rock Chapter on November 15, 2006 starting with the Traditional Turkey Walk at 10:00 a.m. followed by health fair and lunch for all attendees.

PAT (Parents as Teachers)and Day care providers learn about childhood nutrition with "Food Mania" Series. Recent statistics show that an increasing number of children are becoming obese. Genetics, parental modeling, a lack of physical activity, and poor dietary patterns are some of the reasons for the obese increase . The parental job is more difficult when snack food and fast food outlets use bright colors and toys to entice children towards poor food choices. "Food Mania" teaches parents and children creative ways of preparing fun attractive and nutritious healthy snacks.
Raw vegetables and low fat dip, plain cheerios, granola, fresh fruits, and nuts mixed with dried fruit can be combined to make simple healthy snacks. The Day Care providers used their creative skills to create recipes that even a child could prepare. Twenty two people men and women attended the 4 sessions and they were excited to share what they learned with their students, families and friends. Healthy food is available to us, all we have to do is promote it, take portioned servings and reduce overeating. Evaluation feedback was very positive from the group and plans are already in progress for a follow up session with the holidays in mind. Some of the food items were donated by the Gallup Community Pantry who are also involved in "Food for Kids".

Twenty-one individuals participated in the Kitchen Creations diabetes cooking school. During the five sessions offered participants learned how to use the Diabetes Food Guide Pyramid and 50/50 method to plan meals, how to identify serving sizes and number of servings, and basic preparation methods for foods. Completed evaluations indicated that ninety-two percent of the participants felt that by participating in the Kitchen Creations diabetes cooking school they now read food labels; sixty-eight percent measure their food portions and eat at least 2 servings of whole grains per day; and eleven individuals reported that they enjoyed the hands-on opportunities provided for learning the information presented and cooking techniques. Seventy-eight percent of participants were able to list knowledge gained as a result of participating in the Kitchen Creations diabetes cooking school which included how to read food labels, how to use the 50/50 method to plan meals, and how to identify serving sizes.

Twenty five Extension Homemaker members were presented with a program on grilling foods. At the end of the program the members attending the programs learned:
*Grilling foods can be a healthy alternative to frying foods.
*Grilling foods may take some preparation time, but there is less clean up time.
*Because grilling uses a lot of fresh ingredients, the cost is generally very little.
*Grilling foods can be done year around whether they are using a grilling applicance or an outdoor grill.

Kitchen Creations 2007: Diabetic Cooking School.
As an annual event in Lea County the participants of the diabetes cooking reported the following:
*85% of the class participants increased their knowledge level in reading labels and comparing regular and sugar free products.
*90% of the class participants were able to dispell at least one myth they had about diabetes at the end of class.
*45% of the class participants were able to plan out alternative methods for cooking their favorite foods.
*60% of the class participants have begun to adopt the 50/50 plate when choosing foods from a buffet line at the local resturants.