Growing Healthy
Why Growing Healthy?

Childhood Obesity:

Over the past several decades, the prevalence of overweight has steadily increased among both genders, all ages, all racial/ethnic groups, all educational levels, and all smoking levelsⁱ. As of 2000, 15.3% of children aged 6-11, and 15.5% of adolescents aged 12-19 were overweightⁱⁱ. There are twice as many overweight children and three times as many overweight teens today as there were two decades agoⁱⁱⁱ.

Childhood provides the greatest opportunity to impact eating and activity behaviors. Not only are diet and physical activity during childhood important in preventing diseases later in life^iv, but studies have found that diet quality tends to decline as children move from childhood into early adolescence^v and that foods eaten during childhood are predictive of what will be eaten during teenage and adulthood years^vi.

Thus, the Growing Healthy program was created to design and implement school garden, food service, and food policy interventions that would promote changes in students, families, and schools involved and reinforce healthy eating and healthy weight.

ⁱ Mokdad AH, Ford ES, Bowman BA, Dietz WH, Vinicor F, Bales VS, Marks JS. Prevalence of obesity, diabetes, and obesity-related health risk factors. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2003; 289(1): 76-79.
ⁱⁱ Ogden CL, Flegal KM, Carroll MD, Johnson CL. Prevalence and trends in overweight among US children and adolescents, 1999-2000. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2002; 288: 1728-1732.
ⁱⁱⁱ US Department of Health and Human Services. The Surgeon General’s call to action to prevent and decrease overweight and obesity. Rockville, MD: US Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Office of the Surgeon General. www.surgeongeneral.gov/topics/obesity/
^iv Lytle L. Nutritional issues for adolescents. Supplement to the Journal for the American Dietetic Association. 2002; 102(3): S8-S12.
^v Sargent, RG, Yagi, S, Shoob, HD, Corwin, SJ, Rogan, T, Drane, JW, "Differences in diet quality among fourth and seventh grade public school students in South Carolina." JSC Medical Association. 2002. April 98(2): 54-60.
^vi Singer MR, et al. The Tracking of Nutrient Intake in Young Children: The Framingham Children's Study. American Journal of Public Health. 1995; 85(12):1673-1677.