| GROW
Healthy Kids and Community
Look out across any school playground in your community and notice a harsh reality: about one out of every three children are overweight or obese. Research shows that the percentage of U.S. children who are overweight or obese has tripled since the 1980’s. As our nation’s children increase in weight, they face serious health problems like Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and asthma which can follow them into adulthood. Alarmingly, many of these children develop social and psychological problems that hinder their ability to learn and interact with other people. The prevalence of overweight and obesity is higher among rural children than urban children. According to data from the National Survey of Children’s Health, children living in rural areas are 25% more likely than children living in metropolitan areas to be overweight or obese. Rural children are challenged with obstacles to healthy eating and physical activity that are not encountered by children who live in metropolitan areas. Long bus rides to school, a lack of sidewalks or bike paths, nonexistent outdoor spaces such as parks and playgrounds, and a shortage of grocery chains offering affordable fresh fruit and vegetables are just some of the barriers rural children face on a regular basis. And in these hard economic times, under-resourced rural schools are often unable to offer healthy fresh foods and physical education classes. The Generating Rural Options for Weight-Healthy Kids and Communities (GROW HKC) project, led by researchers at Oregon State University, and University of Idaho, is an innovative research study targeting obesity prevention in rural children. Using a community-based participatory approach, GROW HKC engages stakeholders and residents from rural areas to identify features or resources in their community that they perceive to be supports or barriers to healthy living. The process is simple. Led by U of I Extension Educators from Idaho and Nez Perce counties, teams of residents use state-of-the-art GPS technology to photograph and map their community by foot, bicycle, or car. After a series of focus groups and community conversations, the GPS data are used to create a community profile. This resource provides a framework from which GROW HKC investigators and residents work together to institute change within their communities. The expected results? The study will establish an evidenced-based model for how rural residents can make positive changes to their community that promotes healthy eating and physical activity for everyone. After all, growing healthy kids mean growing healthy communities. The first Grangeville community meeting will be September 3rd, 5:30pm at the Soltman Center. For more information about the GROW Healthy Kids and Communities project or details about how you can be involved, please contact Kirstin Jensen (208) 983-2667, or Kathee Tifft (208) 799-3096, GROW HKC Project Leaders. |
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