Ideas for Health Education Project - Anand

After reading the articles by Minkler and the one entitled "Suffering in Silence," I've come up with a few ideas and things to keep in mind when we generate our health education project. These ideas are geared mostly towards the children's health education program but could be applicable to the adults' one as well.

Presentation:
1) Overall, based on the Minkler article, I feel that it is important to stress that health promotion is only successful if an individual is committed to it. While certain "ecological" factors are outside of our control, we do make conscious choices with regards to smoking/drug use, exercise, and diet (to some extent at least). If we can stress personal empowerment, then I feel that kids are more likely to respond rather than if we tell them this is what you need to do to be healthy.
2) Exercise: The Minkler article pointed out that a strategy of "Active Living" has been successful in Canada. Basically, rather than trying to coerce people into setting time aside for exercise (which is preferable - 3/4 times a week for 40 minutes), it might be better to teach kids to generally opt for more healthful behaviors (i.e. take the stairs rather than the elevator, walk to school, ride a bike, do not eat in front of the TV). I teach health education in EPA, and one of the topics that we stress when talking to the kids about exercise is that commercial diet programs don't work (for everyone) and that they are a waste of money.
3)Body image: This isn't something that either article addressed, but I feel that at least briefly talking about body image and what being "healthy" means might provide a framework and perspective for what we're trying to accomplish. This might involve introducing the notion of BMI, but we need not do that (especially since we only have 10-15 minutes). As Minkler pointed out, recidivism rates are rather high when trying to implement behavioral changes. We want to encourage the kids to become healthier individuals and set personal goals that are attainable rather than trying to become the image of someone they've seen on tv or on a billboard. This is also a good time to talk about the effect of advertising on personal choices.
4)NUTRITION: So, I think this is the biggie. The "Suffering in Silence" article talked about high obesity rates, hypertension, and high cholesterol (this is appicable mostly to adults, but kids are at risk, too). I think we should lay it all out for the kids and be honest with them about the fact that not adopting a healthier lifestyle puts them at risk for developing these conditions (visuals would be great like bar graphs). I think childhood obesity is more pertinent to the students. While I'm not a big advocate of the food pyramid, it does provide a good starting point to discussing what our diets should be comprised of. Off the top of my head, I think we should stress concepts such as simple vs. complex sugars (the latter take longer to break down so you feel "full" longer), eating slowly (takes time for your stomach to tell your mind that you've had enough), serving size (nutrition labels!! also something we can include in the handout/pamphlet: how to interpret them), what veggies/fruits/fiber do for us (lots of vitamins/minerals - tell the kids why these things are necessary). I think as part of the handout we can also provide a meal chart to help the kids document what they eat so that way it is easier to realize if they are or aren't eating healthy. The "Suffering in silence" article also pointed out high anemia rates which can be fixed with servings of meat (beef, turkey) as well as beans. Fruits like oranges and veggies such as potatoes/tomatoes can help in iron absorption as well.
5)Sleep - Neither article talks about this, but getting enough sleep can help with mood, weight, and general wellbeing. Plus it costs nothing (with all the benefits)

These are just a few ideas. Whatever we decide to do, visuals and activities are essential. Nobody likes listening to someone talk for 10-15 minutes without a break.

Handout:
1)Nutrition label guide
2)Meal chart to help document what you eat and what nutrients you're getting
3)Part of this could involve a cartoon maybe?
4)For the adults, the "Suffering in Silence" article talked about lack of water; we should encourage them to save and reuse plastic bottles (good for the environment and ensures that they don't become dehydrated). Additionally, build awareness about the "California Workers Compensation Insurance System." Many of the workers probably do not have health care through their employer, but that doesn't mean that if they get hurt on the job that they cannot get money to pay for medical care. The "Suffering in Silence" article talks about how all employers (especially in ag.) must be part of this system, but few workers know about it.