Fit Kids in Union County
From our related Focus Area: Physical Activity and Nutrition
Across America, too many kids are carrying too much weight. It’s no different in Union County, where a 2005 study found that almost 35 percent of K-12 youths were either overweight or at risk of becoming overweight.
Since there has been very little research in how to prevent childhood obesity in rural settings, the UC Fit Kids Coalition, a group of eight schools and health care organizations, invited local teens to take photos of what might be affecting kids’ decisions about eating and activity. Each teen got a disposable camera, and was sent on his or her way.
The photo project was supported by a $58,000 grant from the Northwest Health Foundation, and the picture seen here – of a dilapidated tennis court – is one of the shots taken.
The National Institutes of Health was so impressed by the project that it awarded an additional grant to support further information gathering. Efforts such as this are often successful when they take a long-term approach, and when they involve large numbers of people in the community, both of which this project has done.
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