On A Mission for Better Nutrition! Courtney Nordhus UW Honors Program – Senior Capstone Project

Overweight & Obesity In the past 30 years, the rate of obesity has doubled in children aged 6-11 years has quadrupled in adolescents aged years. According to the more recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), over one-third of youth aged 6-19 years were considered either overweight or obese in Ogden CL, Carroll MD, Kit BK, Flegal KM. Prevalence of childhood and adult obesity in the United States, Journal of the American Medical Association 2014;311(8):

CHARACTERISTICUNITED STATES (%)WYOMING (%) Overweight Obese Did not drink milk Drank a can, bottle, or glass of soda Did not participate in at least 60 minutes of physical activity on at least 1 day Played video or computer games or used a computer 3 or more hours per day Watched television 3 or more hours per day YRBSS data. Centers for Disease Control and Preventions. (2013). Youth Online: High School YRBS: Wyoming 2013 and United States 2013 Results. Retrieved from

The Risks during Childhood Type 2 diabetes Hypertension Hypercholesterolemia Respiratory complications Mental illness U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2005). Research Brief: Childhood Obesity. Retrieved from

And The Consequences Continue… Overweight and obese children also have a 70% chance of being overweight or obese as an adult. As adults, increased risk for: – Coronary Heart Disease – Liver disease – Osteoarthritis – Stroke – Cancer – Other debilitating health consequences U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2005). Research Brief: Childhood Obesity. Retrieved from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012). Overweight and Obesity: Causes and Consequences. Retrieved from

Healthy Pokes In an attempt to address the issue of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents in Laramie, at-risk children in grades 3 through 8 were invited to participate in Healthy Pokes, a program designed to enhance the health and wellness of at-risk children by providing structured lessons on nutrition, physical activity, and behavior.

Healthy Pokes Phase 1: Spring 2014 Phase 2: Fall 2014 Ongoing 10 weeks each semester 2 hours each week 45 minutes for the nutrition lesson

Conclusions Sit with the students to teach the lesson!!! Games/activities and snacks MUST reinforce the concepts presented in the lessons Provide take-home resources Some concepts were difficult to convey – Portion/serving sizes – Nutrients and their functions

Acknowledgements Partnership among faculty members from the Division of Kinesiology and Health and the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences at the University of Wyoming, Albany County School District 1, Ivinson Memorial Hospital, and area pediatricians made this program possible. THANK YOU!