Young People Bring New Solutions to Childhood Obesity Issue

As the legislative battle over health care reform continues, politicians, health insurance representatives, employers, bus drivers, and teachers debate daily about how this proposed legislation will affect them today. Yet while we "old folks" argue, young people are proactively working to reduce future health care costs by addressing childhood obesity through service-learning.

For the second year in a row, Youth Service America is asking young people, as young as middle school children, to help figure out the problem of childhood obesity. Last year, 100 schools and organizations received UnitedHealth HEROES grants that funded youth-led service-learning initiatives promoting healthy eating and physical activity. (Service-learning is an educational strategy that connects community service with the curriculum.)

The solutions that young people came up with were astounding.

• In Royal Palm Beach, FL, student council members worked with their P.E. teacher to create a fitness trail around the school. The trail is open to students and faculty alike and easy to use because of its convenient location on school grounds. As a part of the P.E. curriculum, students will maintain the trail, keeping it clean and accessible.
• Ninth grade students in Defiance, OH approached their local elementary school and analyzed the cafeteria's menu for a week. They graphed the calories, fat, and sugar and compared the cafeteria's serving sizes against actual recommended serving sizes. The students then prepared a report for the school board and suggested how much aerobic activity the elementary students would need each week in order to burn off the calories in school food.
• In Payson, AZ, high school students helped younger students set food and fitness goals. The older students created a walking program and served as mentors, teaching the younger students about the importance of healthy eating combined with exercise.

According to a recent CDC funded study, the health care costs related to the obesity problem in America may be as high as 147 billion dollars annually, double the amount the U.S. spent in 1998. Projecting out, these costs will only rise if you consider that the rates of childhood obesity have more than doubled in children ages 6-11 and more than tripled in youth ages 12-19.

The good news is that young people have the desire and the capacity to change their circumstances. More young people are volunteering today than at any other time in history. Service-learning provides youth with an amazing opportunity to understand and truly believe that they can be a force for good in their communities.

The HEROES grants give youth an opportunity to address a dangerous and expensive problem. As young people become peer educators, mentors, and advocates of healthy living today, they will directly affect the financial health of our country in the future.

UnitedHealth HEROES grants are due October 22. For more information, visit www.YSA.org/awards.