Health News
- 12 Ky. Schools Recognized For Efforts To Improve Student Health
A dozen Kentucky schools that participate in the Healthy Schools Program have been recognized for creating a culture of health and wellness in their classrooms. Ja'nel Johnson reports for WKMS, Murray State University's radio station. This is...
- Electronic Cigarettes Are 'high On Every School System's Radar Right Now,' Western Ky. School Official Tells Henderson Newspaper
This story has been updated to reflect recent data about teens and e-cigarette use. School officials in northwestern Kentucky are trying deal with an increase in the use of electronic cigarettes by students, Erin Schmitt reports for The Gleaner in...
- Less Than A Third Of School Districts In Ky., Which Has High Child-obesity Rates, Are In Program To Increase Physical Activity
Fifty-four of Kentucky's 173 school districts have joined a national initiative to increase physical activity in schools, and school officials hope other school districts will soon join in. Let's Move Active Schools is a program that encourages...
- Community-based Solutions To Childhood Obesity Show Signs Of Progress Elsewhere; Will Kentucky Pick Up On Them?
By Molly Burchett Kentucky Health News For decades, researchers reported with alarm the increasing trend of overweight children in America, with one in three kids on the way to developing Type 2 diabetes. Across the country, action has been taken to address...
- September Is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month
September has been proclaimed national Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, with President Obama asking Americans to "take action by learning about and engaging in activities that promote healthy eating and greater physical activity by all our nation's...
Health News
Henderson County jumps into the fight against childhood obesity, a major problem in Kentucky
Henderson County is investing in a holistic program to battle childhood obesity, a huge problem in Kentucky, Erin Schmitt reports for the Henderson Gleaner.
Childhood obesity is at 18 percent in Kentucky?one of the highest rates in the country?and 35.7 percent of Kentucky children ages 10 to 17 are overweight or obese, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Nationally, rural children are more likely to be obese than those in cities and suburbs.
Local organizers hope to improve these statistics by implementing the research-based Coordinated Approach to Child Health, or CATCH, to school-aged kids, Schmitt writes. CATCH has been proven to produce lasting results through the promotion of physical activity and healthy food choices. This is accomplished by using a four-pronged approach that includes involving the school cafeterias, home, the curriculum and after school activities.
?Henderson County has the potential to lead the state,? Chase Fulcher of the Community Foundation of Henderson told Schmitt. ?We?ve got the potential to be the first school system and county in Kentucky to adopt this program.? Subway franchise owner Jeff Troxel, a partner of CATCH, approached Fulcher about investing in the program, Schmitt reports, and soon after the foundation agreed to donate $20,000 and lead the cause.
Fulcher has since secured a $10,000 to $20,000 commitment from Methodist Hospital, private donations of $20,000, and $5,000 from the Henderson County Board of Education, and is looking for state and federal grants, Schmitt writes. The money, along with involvement by local staffs, is expected to sustain the program.
A CATCH trainer is scheduled to begin training the local school principals about the program March 12, Schmitt reports. After this training, the program will move into the schools.
Childhood obesity is at 18 percent in Kentucky?one of the highest rates in the country?and 35.7 percent of Kentucky children ages 10 to 17 are overweight or obese, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Nationally, rural children are more likely to be obese than those in cities and suburbs.
Local organizers hope to improve these statistics by implementing the research-based Coordinated Approach to Child Health, or CATCH, to school-aged kids, Schmitt writes. CATCH has been proven to produce lasting results through the promotion of physical activity and healthy food choices. This is accomplished by using a four-pronged approach that includes involving the school cafeterias, home, the curriculum and after school activities.
?Henderson County has the potential to lead the state,? Chase Fulcher of the Community Foundation of Henderson told Schmitt. ?We?ve got the potential to be the first school system and county in Kentucky to adopt this program.? Subway franchise owner Jeff Troxel, a partner of CATCH, approached Fulcher about investing in the program, Schmitt reports, and soon after the foundation agreed to donate $20,000 and lead the cause.
Fulcher has since secured a $10,000 to $20,000 commitment from Methodist Hospital, private donations of $20,000, and $5,000 from the Henderson County Board of Education, and is looking for state and federal grants, Schmitt writes. The money, along with involvement by local staffs, is expected to sustain the program.
A CATCH trainer is scheduled to begin training the local school principals about the program March 12, Schmitt reports. After this training, the program will move into the schools.
- 12 Ky. Schools Recognized For Efforts To Improve Student Health
A dozen Kentucky schools that participate in the Healthy Schools Program have been recognized for creating a culture of health and wellness in their classrooms. Ja'nel Johnson reports for WKMS, Murray State University's radio station. This is...
- Electronic Cigarettes Are 'high On Every School System's Radar Right Now,' Western Ky. School Official Tells Henderson Newspaper
This story has been updated to reflect recent data about teens and e-cigarette use. School officials in northwestern Kentucky are trying deal with an increase in the use of electronic cigarettes by students, Erin Schmitt reports for The Gleaner in...
- Less Than A Third Of School Districts In Ky., Which Has High Child-obesity Rates, Are In Program To Increase Physical Activity
Fifty-four of Kentucky's 173 school districts have joined a national initiative to increase physical activity in schools, and school officials hope other school districts will soon join in. Let's Move Active Schools is a program that encourages...
- Community-based Solutions To Childhood Obesity Show Signs Of Progress Elsewhere; Will Kentucky Pick Up On Them?
By Molly Burchett Kentucky Health News For decades, researchers reported with alarm the increasing trend of overweight children in America, with one in three kids on the way to developing Type 2 diabetes. Across the country, action has been taken to address...
- September Is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month
September has been proclaimed national Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, with President Obama asking Americans to "take action by learning about and engaging in activities that promote healthy eating and greater physical activity by all our nation's...