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The
latest Penn State efforts to fight the
childhood obesity epidemic come in many
forms--from academic research to practical
workshops in the community. Below are
some examples:
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Kids
learn to eat smart and play hard through
the "Power Panther" song
at a Keystone Healthy Zone school
in Fayette County. |
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The
Center for Childhood Obesity Research
in the College of Health and Human Development.
Directed by Dr. Leann Birch, the center
allows faculty to explore the epidemic
collaboratively from basic clinical,
environmental, physiological, social
and behavioral perspectives. "Our
hope is that through the center, there
will be increased research on childhood
obesity by our college faculty in collaboration
and partnership with faculty from across
the University, including the colleges
of Agricultural Sciences, Arts and Architecture,
Liberal Arts, and Medicine," said
the college's associate dean Dr. Fred
Vondracek.
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"Family
Fitness," a pilot childhood
overweight prevention program. Led
by Food, Nutrition and Health Extension
Educator Lynn James, along with a
team of extension family living educators,
the program helps parents and children
improve communication and behaviors
to make healthy food choices and be
active as a family. The pilot sites
are in Snyder, Mercer, Cumberland,
Clinton and Philadelphia counties.
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Workshops
for teachers, health professionals
and child-care providers. For
example, several Cooperative Extension
educators organized a workshop featuring
Dr. Ronald Williams, an expert on
childhood obesity from the Penn State
Milton S. Hershey Medical Center,
offering strategies to reduce an overweight
child's body weight. Based on evaluations
of that workshop, others will be held.
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Keystone
Healthy Zone Schools. Cooperative
Extension has partnered with Pennsylvania
Advocates for Nutrition and Activity--a
statewide coalition working to promote
policies and environments that support
healthy eating and activity--to provide
resources, materials, support and
even minigrants to help schools with
their nutrition and physical activity
programs. The work of Fayette County
Cooperative Extension's office even
inspired a local community member
to start her own cable TV talk show
titled "Healthy Awareness."
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One
in five people in the Commonwealth is
over the age of 60, making the state second
in the nation with the oldest population.
That means Pennsylvania and its citizens
play a big part in coping with many of
the geriatric health challenges facing
the country. These challenges will only
increase as the elderly population continues
to rise; by the year 2020, it is expected
to double.
"Many of these elderly have health
problems that make it impossible to care
for themselves," noted Nancy Grotevant,
Penn State Cooperative Extension director
in Pike County. The care is left to professionals
in nursing homes or to family members,
at home.
To ensure that professionals are equipped
with the latest knowledge, Grotevant for
the past few years in the Monroe County
area has been leading a workshop called
Enhancing Skills for Eldercare; this spring,
she and colleagues are expanding the workshop
into Carbon County.
"It's important that health-care
professionals continually update their
skills of examining the basic needs of
the elderly, the changes the elderly experience
and how these changes affect their functioning,"
she said.
Participants listen to experts talk about
various issues facing the elderly--from
sleep disorders to Alzheimer's to depression.
"The workshops are very worthwhile,
with germane subject matter," said
Duane Valence, regional licensing administrator
for personal care home directors in the
state. "It's what providers need."
In
the Family
It's
not only professionals that need training--family
members are often caregivers and need
support. A new effort to help those
providers is Family Caregivers, a program
organized by the Pennsylvania Geriatric
Education Center (GEC/PA), a consortium
including the University of Pittsburgh,
Penn State and Temple University whose
mission is to maintain and improve the
well-being of Pennsylvania's elderly
population.
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need to continually update their
skills. |
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The
GEC/PA last spring launched the program,
which is designed to introduce professional
and lay audiences to a range of family
caregiving issues, help people connect
with available resources and promote efforts
to meet the needs of family caregivers
in rural areas. The GEC/PA delivered half-day
workshops in three different regions of
the state through a partnership with Penn
State Cooperative Extension and the Caring
Community Coalition. The program emphasizes
the importance of collaborative planning
among multiple organizations and the entire
community.
The partners aim to eventually expand
the program within Pennsylvania and into
surrounding states. "Many states
face the same types of challenges as Pennsylvania,"
explained Extension Specialist and Associate
Professor of Intergenerational Programs
and Aging Dr. Matthew Kaplan. "Family
caregivers, particularly those in rural
areas, need better access to a wide range
of information, resources and support."
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The
kindergarten students may not be ready
for the squash or cabbage-apple salad,
but the fruit dip sauce is popular.
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| Children
learn about good nutrition from
Chef Harv, left. |
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Such
gourmet snacks are the result of linking
Pennsylvania farmers with Philadelphia
schools--part of an ongoing effort of
the College of Agricultural Sciences'
Keystone Agricultural Innovation Center
(KAIC) and the Pennsylvania Department
of Agriculture to help farmers fnd new
markets for their products.
The partners teamed up with Philadelphia-based
The Food Trust to do the Kindergarten
Initiative, hiring caterer Harv Christie
to turn farmers' produce into nutritious
snacks for youngsters in four schools
in Philadelphia.
While the kindergartners may shy away
from trying new things like squash, they
are excited to have the fresh snacks and
are learning to make better food choices,
reports Bonnie Hallam of The Food Trust.
"It's been a fabulous partnership
for us," she added. "The logistics
were a challenge, and KAIC had the contacts
and put a system into place."
The Food Trust is planning to expand the
program into more schools in the Philadelphia
area in the fall.
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