Preventing Childhood Obesity through Healthy Diet, Physical, and Stress‐Reduction Activities

Abstract

The prevalence of child obesity is increasing in many countries, highlighting the need to educate children and to make them a priority population for obesity prevention. There is limited information about how to best engage children in comprehensive programs that include gardening, cooking, and physical and stress‐reduction activities. The aim of this study was to evaluate engaging children in healthy diet, physical, and stress‐reduction activities to encourage behavior changes to address childhood obesity. The participants were children ages 8 to 17 years old (n=20). The 2‐week health education program included food safety, water intake, physical activity, energy intake, fast food, body mass index, eating disorders, cooking, overall health, and family meal times. Pre‐ and post‐tests were administered to measure changes in participants' knowledge, attitude, and perception about health, and their learning experience was reported. The McNemar test was used to assess changes over time. Participants' knowledge, attitude, and perception regarding nutrition education and positive body image increased after the intervention. Participants learned about healthy food choices, gained increased knowledge of fresh food markets, and realized the benefits of physical activities and gardening. Participants reported they enjoyed healthy cooking and stress‐reduction activities. Our findings demonstrate that this short term intervention could impact knowledge about nutrition information and encourage healthy lifestyle. Additional research should investigate the continued effectiveness of a comprehensive healthy‐living initiative.