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Food & Fitness Fun Club ®
Teaching healthy nutrition and fitness.
Food & Fitness Fun Club ®
Diane E. Carson, M.S., nutrition and fitness consultant, has designed the Food and Fitness Fun Club ® for Stone Soup to teach children about nutritional values using taste tests of unfamiliar fruits and vegetables (edamame Is a big favorite), label reading, recipe experiments, behind-the-scenes visits to supermarkets and field trips to food labs.
The importance of fitness is taught emphasizing stretching techniques, endurance and strength activities. In 2002, the Department of Family and Consumer Services at California State University in Long Beach hosted Stone Soup's Food and Fitness Fun Club ® members, taking the children on a tour of the Food Science Lab, Textiles Lab and Child Development Lab.
Obesity is the most common health problem facing youngsters today. Unfortunately, many children don't know the importance of healthy nutrition. Throughout the country, an alarming number of children are overweight, eat poorly and get little or no exercise - a growing trend that has inspired the U.S. Senate to introduce legislation aimed at reducing obesity and promoting physical activity, particularly among kids and teens. Stone Soup children have been fortunate to participate in this wonderful program to equip them with knowledge and experience hands-on activities about nutrition and fitness.
"Parents report that the kids bring home what they learn. The whole family becomes more aware of the nutritional value of foods - and just how many empty fat and sugar calories there are in those chips, sodas, candy bars, and fast food dinners."
- Diane Carson, M.S.
Stone Soup's Food and Fitness Fun Club ® Has Children Reaching for Healthy Snacks
In Place of Sugary Ones
Every parent in a grocery store knows what it's like to be nagged for the latest sweet treat advertised on TV. Stone Soup parents, however, are hearing a new refrain, "Mommy, can we get some edamame?"
According to the latest evaluation of Stone Soup's Food and Fitness Fun Club ® , not only are children choosing healthier snacks, water over sodas and being more active, they're changing what their families eat and do together.
"Children who learn young that eating healthy foods and being active can be fun are building a foundation for a better and healthier life as adults," said Judith G. Brandlin, Stone Soup President and Founder.
"It's a tragedy that one out of every three children and teens is overweight. This puts them at risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, poor bone and cartilage development - even sleep apnea."
A three-year, $150,000 grant from The California Endowment and annual grants from St. Joseph's Health Support Alliance allowed Stone Soup to:
- Hire nutrition consultant Diane E. Carson, MS, to develop a specialized curriculum for Stone Soup
- Expand its Food and Fitness Fun Program to serve 2,038 children at 49 sites
- Recruit six nutrition interns from California State University at Long Beach (CSULB)
- Host 50 meetings for 470 parents and care givers to increase their knowledge about nutrition and fitness
- Hire fitness coordinator to visit sites daily and introduce children and staff to new exercises, games, stretching and walking as well as competitions with other Stone Soup programs.
The program evaluation by Wendy Reiboldt, PhD, CSULB professor of consumer affairs, will be given to educators to use the Stone Soup Food and Fitness Fun Club ® as a model for their schools. Dr. Reiboldt's evaluations showed:
- 87 percent of the children learned more about healthy eating.
- Parents reported that about a third of the children drank more water and less soda; 26 percent ate more fruits and 22 percent ate more vegetables. After their children had been in the program, the parents reported their children ate chips 15 percent less often and candy 26 percent less often.
- 71 percent of parents reported they bought foods such as dried fruit, carrots with hummus, edamame, whole wheat bagels, soy butter, soy chips, soy nuts, pita crisps, red bell peppers, sugar snap peas or radishes for their children's snacks.
- 47 percent of the children tested showed greater knowledge of physical activity, including strength, endurance and stretching.
- 44 percent of the parents reported their children engaged in physical activities such as soccer, bike riding, dog walking, martial arts or dance an average of 31 hours a week - well above the 90-minute goal set when the program started.
In addition, parents noted their own lives had changed as a result of what their children had been learning: 27 percent said they were more active since their children started the program.
"I enjoyed the program very much. My children came home excited about the new snacks and the physical activities they participated in. It has opened a new routine in our family to have more physical activities in our home. Thank you!"
- A Stone Soup parent
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