Story in Brief
Georgia children are at risk of developing serious health problems at an early age due to a lack of proper nutrition. Educating children about the revised Food Guide Pyramid will increase their awareness of the foods that comprise a healthy diet. The Habersham County Cooperative Extension family and consumer science agent has taken many steps to raise awareness of childhood obesity. In the spring, each 4-H class totaling about 150 sixth graders each month in three schools, focused on an aspect of making healthy food choices and nutrition. Community leaders were alerted to the problem through a conference held in the summer focusing on developing health partnerships among agencies and individuals. The agent also published several newspaper articles on obesity in Georgia and tips for families to develop improved eating habits. The school counselor at Baldwin Elementary School and the agent developed a plan to teach the new Food Guide Pyramid to each student in the school. As part of “Its Healthy!” month, the counselor brought in guest speakers each week for four weeks to speak to each class about a developing a healthy lifestyle. The agent presented a 30-minute lesson on the new Food Guide Pyramid. About 51 percent of the 475 students at Baldwin Elementary are Hispanic so the lesson incorporated many foods found in a traditional Hispanic diet and discussed where those foods fit into the Food Pyramid. Several leaders have adopted the issue of childhood obesity and taken proactive steps to include nutrition in their programming.