KA 703. Nutrition Education and Behavior

Spending Your Calorie Salary Wisely was presented to 7 senior citizens. These participants learned about the new pyramid recommendations and how to get more whole grains, fruits, and vegetables into their diet.

The “Back to the Table” program was continued for another year, with 150 pamphlets being distributed around the county each month. During the 06/07 program year, 8 pamphlets were written. These pamphlets were geared toward busy parents with tight budgets. The ideas presented were easy to implement and the recipes provided were quick to prepare along with being low budget and mostly healthy. The goal of the Back to the Table program is to get families to eat at home together, instead of fast food and eating in front of the television. In addition to the pamphlets, one radio program was done and two newspaper articles were submitted.

In April, Extension was represented at 3 of the 4 county schools child finds. Child Finds are for children birth to kindergarten. They offer a variety of developmental screenings to catch children early for problems that could be fixed with therapy. Sixty-four children and thirty-one adults stopped at the booth to learn about a healthy breakfast and play some nutrition games. Kids were able to taste some nutritious foods that could be eaten as a breakfast or snack. The parents learned how nutritious meals improve learning.

Nineteen participants started the Joslin Keep Moving, Keep Healthy program. Twelve attended the 1 month follow-up session. Only 2 came to the 3 month follow-up session and 2 additional turned in their log sheets. Four participants reported losing 1/2” from their waist. Two reported losing 1” from their waist. Only three attended the final follow up. Of those, 2 had added to the exercise that they were getting before starting the program by at least 1 ½ hours per week. One had not attended the first two sessions. One man who was hoping to have knee surgery, reported that the exercises helped him get ready for the surgery and recover quicker after. One lady, who suffers from severe arthritis and diabetes, felt the exercises helped her with her arthritis as well as weight loss.

Kitchen Creations Cooking School was held in February with 14 participants. Eight completed all 4 classes. Participants gained knowledge on meal planning and learned to cook foods in different ways. Many even tried new foods. Stir-frying is a new concept to many families and is a healthy way of preparing meals. Many expressed gratitude for the class. Five reported that their blood sugar was lower due to using the information in the class.