One year into a $4.7 million, five-year effort to prevent childhood obesity, a team of West Virginia University scholars will offer a progress report at “Choose to Change” community kickoff events in Charleston and Morgantown.
Over the course of the five-year project, community stakeholders, parents, educators, healthcare professionals, and researchers will collaborate to develop strategies to help children and their families in adopting healthy eating habits that will last a lifetime. Efforts have begun with an assessment of behavioral and environmental contributors to obesity in early childhood.
Funded by the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institutes for Food and Agriculture, the project is being executed by an interdisciplinary team of WVU scholars representing the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, the WVU Extension Service, the School of Medicine, and the Regional Research Institute.
According to Elaine Bowen, health promotion specialist with the WVU Extension Service’s Families and Health unit, team members, staff, and students have examined a number of factors related to obesity in Kanawha and Monongalia Counties.
“We’ve conducted community nutrition and physical activity assessments of factors like the availability and cost of fresh, healthy foods and neighborhood walkability, and scholars at WVU’s Regional Research Institute are collating that data to help give a clearer sense of opportunities and challenges people in these communities face when trying to make healthy choices,” Bowen said.
The team has also been conducting focus groups with school personnel, parents of preschoolers, and other important constituents. They’ve also taken first steps in assembling community advisory committees in each county to help the WVU team design and implement specific, relevant obesity-prevention strategies.
In addition to offering a progress report, the team will also explain ways that interested citizens can become involved in next steps.
“It’s really all about community engagement,” Bowen said.
Choosy, the mascot of the Choosy Kids Club, will be in attendance. Choosy Kids was founded by Linda Carson, Ware Distinguished Professor Emerita of the WVU College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences.
The Charleston event will take place from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 17, at the Embassy Suites Hotel, 300 Court Street. The Morgantown event will take place from 11 to 1 p.m. Tuesday, April 24, at the Erickson Alumni Center, 1 Alumni Drive.
Interested community members are welcome to attend either event but should RSVP with Bowen at 304.293.8584 or epbowen@mail.wvu.edu.
-WVU-
dw/04/03/12
CONTACT: Elaine Bowen; WVU Extension Service Families and Health Unit
304.293.8584; epbowen@mail.wvu.edu
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