Childhood obesity a disorder that affects many children in the U.S. has become an important issue to consider. The statistics of childhood obesity are astonishing and bring upon many medical and self-esteem issues in children. For instance, in Duval County 1 in 4 kids are obese or overweight.

In order to reduce the above statistic kids need to be taught in schools the benefits of eating healthy.

Even though, eating healthy has become an overwhelmingly important issue in trying to decrease childhood obesity rates. Consequently, even though kids are taught in schools about the benefits of eating healthy it does not necessarily mean that they will eat healthy at home. Fast food is seen to be more convenient and cheaper for parents which plays a role in increasing the obesity rates.

Furthermore, the obesity epidemic causes many issues in children but yet it can be controlled. I have become very passionate on this topic as it affects a large percentage of kids. So I choose to work  with Katherine Cox, a National Health Corps Florida AmeriCorps member serving at the Duval County YMCA to teach kids about the about eating healthy and ways to accomplish that. The garden tower taught kids about the nutritional value of growing their own food and how important it is to make healthy eating choices. In addition, we taught kids about responsibility since they had to wash the food that they harvested. Furthermore, we taught them new terms such as what cross-contamination means. Also, we taught them about giving back to others. There was a process we used to show the kids how to harvest the food from the garden tower. After they were trained, the kids would harvest the garden tower. Specifically, they would cut the roots of the vegetables and place them in a bag. Then, they would plant a new vegetable to grow. Furthermore, the kids were able to take the food they harvested home. One of the kids exclaimed “Yayy! I get to eat a salad tonight.” This was great to hear because it showed that the kids were excited to eat something healthy. 

As health educators we teach kids why eating healthy is beneficial, why is it important to wash their vegetables and fruits before consuming them, and why it is great to share with others. We gave kids the choice to choose what family they wanted to share vegetables from the garden tower with. When kids are excited about eating healthy and being responsible it puts a big smile on my face, as slowly but surely we are teaching them to live a healthier lifestyle.

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This blog was written by Arbjola Boshti, an MPH graduate student at University of North Florida.