Below are resources, speakers and ideas to help you develop your Lifestyles project:

Speakers and Contacts for your club meetings

• Kathy Talley, WV director of Action for Healthy Kids, 304-558-5363, ktalley@access.k12.wv.us
• Judith Crabtree, Kanawha County Coalition for Community Health Improvement, 304-388-7557, judy.crabtree@camc.org
• Melanie Purkey, Director, WV DOE Office of Healthy Schools, 304-558-8830, mpurkey@access.k12.wv.us
• Don Chapman, Ass Director, West Virginia DOE Office of Healthy schools, 304-558-8830, dchapman@access.k12.wv.us
• Bane McCracken, WV DOE, 304-588-8830, bmccrack @access.k12.wv.us
• Emily Murphy, Pediatric Dept, WVSOM, 304-293-4451, emurphy@hsc.wvu.edu
• Dr. Kerry Gateley,Health Officer,Kanawha-Charleston Health Department,304-348-8069, kerrygateley@wvdhhr.ogr
• Janeene Foster, American Cancer Society, 304-746-9950, janeene.whanger-foster@cancer.or
• Linda St Clair, Cordinator, Office of Child Nutrition, WV DOE, 304-558-3396, lsstclai@access.k12.wv.us
• Stella Young, Child Nutrition in Schools, 304-348-6660, syoung@kcs.kana.k12.wv.us
• Richard McGinnis, Diabetes Educator, 304-766-3431, adrien.mcginnis@thomaswv.org

School Wellness committees

Student input is essential. HSTA students are welcome to join their school Wellness committee. Get on your Wellness committee to help them choose healthy food items for lunches and vending machines. Help your Wellness committee figure out how to schedule a physical education regime for you and your friends. The School Nurse knows when it meets.
Contact your school nurse.

Some Ideas

• Vending Machine Makeovers: Help your peers practice healthy behaviors on a daily basis.
  Gain some marketing savvy and re-configure your school's vending machines to market healthier choices like the pros do. Choose healthier items (see below) or move the "healthier options" to the ‘eye-level’ spots. Bypass those chips and candy bars and get to the good (well, BETTER) stuff!
  
• Trail Mix: high in protein, no cholesterol and low in sodium
  Light Popcorn: low in fat (only if light!), low-calorie, high in fiber, makes you feel full
  Pretzels: a good low-fat option. Scrape off the salt if you want.
  Peanuts: high in protein and high in monounsaturated fats, which can lower cholesterol levels.
  Beef Jerky: high in protein, low in fat and low in calories.

Now that you have become a marketing expert, when someone asks why students seem to be buying more pretzels, you can simply answer, "Location, location, location!"
Look for the publication from Action for Healthy Kids titled: Helping Students Make Better Food Choices in School
School Wellness committees are examining this issue.

Community Outreach

Can take different forms and involve many different community groups, such as religious groups, senior centers, elementary students, your family, your peers at school, etc.
Example of this can be working with Rural Health Education Partnership (RHEP) students who are college students training in a health profession on community rotation. Currently, RHEP students want HSTA students to help them conduct lifetyles related interventions in elementary schools in various communities in Kanawha County.
Contact: Amber Crist, 304-444-2146, acrist@cchcwv.com

Publications that are available on the web

• Healthy people 2010 chapter on educational and community based programs
  Ideas to increase the quality, availability, and effectiveness of educational and community-based programs designed to prevent disease and improve health and quality of life.
  
• Helping Students Make Better Food Choices in School
  Gives some strategies to improve student nutrition choices and some challenges encountered in implementation of these strategies.
  
• Students Taking Charge Massachusetts AFHK.
  A tool to empower students to effect changes in nutrition choices for themselves and among their peers.
  
• Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report Sept 30, 2005; 54(38): 949-952.
  Discusses some identified barriers to children walking to and from school in the USA, and how these barriers can be addressed.
  
• Children and Teens Afraid to Eat: Helping Youth In Today’s Weight-Obsessed World, by Francis M Berg. This book contains advise for schools helping kids deal with size prejudice.
  
• Teaching Tolerance Spring 2007; 39-43
  Offers a fresh perspective on eating healthy, staying active and not worrying about ones size.
  There are tips for teachers as well!

Websites:

• Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK). This website has many ideas and reports on helping students make better food choices as well as school projects that addressed nutrition and physical activity.

• YBRSS Healthy Youth Statistics and Data: Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YBRSS) monitors priority health-risk behaviors among youth and young adults at the national, state and local levels in the USA. Monitoring is done by ongoing data collections using surveys, analysis and interpretation of the data from a generalizable sample population.

• YBRSS Search: tool to search for state statistics and compare to the nation or another state.

• Body positive: provides resources and tools to boost body image at any weight.

• How-to guide on hosting ‘Kids come in all sizes’ workshop at your school.

• Connecting with school leaders for a healthy environment: This website gives you ways of connecting as HSTA students with School Leaders to Create Healthy School Environments

For further information, contact:

Jenny Bardwell,
HSTA Curriculum Coordinator
800-345-4267
jbardwell@hsc.wvu.edu

Cathy Morton-McSwain,
HSTA Education Coordinator
800-345-4267
cathymmc@yahoo.com

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Last modifed April 13, 2007