http://www.nichd.nih.gov/msy/about/Pages/default.aspx
“Quit Eating Chips at the Computer!”
I cannot speak for your household, but I know I have heard this phrase way too many times (especially from my own mouth). For those of you who are confused, I have an 11-year-old little brother and he, like many pre-teens, can be found glued to his video games after school. This is not just a scary fact due to the activity’s sedentary nature. Video games and social media provide the perfect platform for the mindless over-eating of unhealthy foods such as potato chips, cookies, and candy. (My little brother’s favorite snack is chocolate chips!) This societal norm is devastating to the health of our nation, particularly children and high school students who are developing the habits that will follow them into adulthood.
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Fortunately, a program called Media-Smart Youth: Eat, Think, Be Active! has been developed to address this issue. This interactive after-school education program is for 11 to 13-year-olds. Its primary goals are to make youth aware of media’s influence on their nutrition and physical activity choices, help students make informed decisions about being physically active and eating nutritious food daily, assist them in developing lasting healthy habits, and to educate participants about media, including producing their own media to educate their peers. Ten structured lessons are directed by adults who run the school or community program. These instructors will follow a curriculum based on lessons structured around the four key focus areas. These areas include media awareness which teaches students to evaluate media messages for accurate health information, media production, physical activity lessons that teach the importance of exercise and engages students in at least ten minutes of such activities per session, and nutrition lessons that encourage students to eat more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and calcium-rich foods and to avoid solid fat and added sugars.
To elaborate, sample lessons were given on the Media-Smart Youth site. Each session would start with an activity that emphasizes one of the four focus areas. For example, “Hurray for Whole Grains!” is a discussion about the importance of eating whole grains accompanied by an activity in which students act out the grain milling process to see the difference between whole and refined grains. Next, tasty and nutritious snacks are served such as “Fruit and Crunch Kebabs” which consist of fruit dipped and yogurt then whole grain cereal. Following snack time, a second activity reinforces the concepts taught in the previous activity. For example, “Cutting Back on Solid Fats and Added Sugars” is an activity in which students discuss the dangers of eating too much of these nutrients and identify foods that have high fat and sugar contents. Sequentially, participants take an “Action Break” in which they have fun with physical activity. At the end of each session, students make a “Mini Production” that uses media to share what they learned in the lesson with their peers. For one production, the youth design a mock web page that includes the nutrition topics discussed that day. Finally, students summarize the day’s lessons and share something interesting or fun that they learned.