The motto, “We Are…Penn State” has been the pride and joy of the Penn State University for as long as any of us can remember. Those of us who attend or are alums of this great university know that this institution already provides numerous amounts of dietary information as well as a ton of physical fitness opportunities for its students, alumni, as well as the residents who live in the area. While researching some different nutrition curriculums, I stumbled upon a very interesting and engaging portion of Penn State Extension website. In the Nutrition, Diet, and Health link on the Penn State home webpage, there is another link to a program called “Family Fitness Curriculum”. This page then introduces you to a program that helps to teach young children and their parents ways to living a healthier lifestyle.
This curriculum is a Family Fitness program and was designed by PSU educators along with nutrition specialists to accomplish multiple goals in regards to improving the health of families as a whole. By basing their teaching materials of the Stages of Change Learning Theory, they have developed a curriculum that provides families with an easy and fun way to achieve a nutritious diet and healthy level of physical activity. The main goals that the program hopes to reach by the end of the program are…
- Increasing fruit and vegetable consumption along with lowering the consumption of fatty and sugary foods.
- Allow parents and children to work together to plan and prepare healthy meals and snacks
- Provide fun ways to get active!
- Increase the value of setting personal goals.
- Help people who have a high BMI, are overweight, or at risk for being overweight.
The course consists of a nine-lesson after-school program for both the parents and children. The children attend an 1.5 hour long lesson every week that helps them learn about how to make healthy food choices and allows them to engage in fun and exciting games and activities to get their hearts pumping! With new, fun games to play with their friends and family how could you not want to be more active?! Parents are also very involved with the program by attending 5 meetings to receive information on how they can guide their children as well as take control of their own health towards a greater future!
The site also provides numerous comments and success stories from kids and parents that show how much the program has changed their habits and lives! Educators around the world have used this program as a unique and different way of getting families as whole to be excited and more motivated into living a healthier lifestyle. As I see it, by getting the whole family involved in working towards a healthier lifestyle, Penn State is giving us all another great opportunity to make sure “WE ALL ARE…HEALTHY!
Check out the programs website and information video!