NHLBI, Hearts N' Parks Program - 2003 Magnet Center Sites

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2003 Magnet Center Sites

Kansas City, MO—Youth Programs

Description

The Operation READY summer camps and special events such as the Fun and Fitness Day were designed to be fun and to educate youth on the importance of physical activity and healthy eating. This year’s theme was "Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds." Youth in the children and adolescent camps participated regularly in physical activities such as CATCH games. During the Fun and Fitness Day, they also participated in a special rotation of 7-8 CATCH activities, including some related to nutrition. Each week, the youth attended classes on healthy eating and cooking. The youth also learned about "Go, Slow, and Whoa" foods from the CATCH, 4th grade curriculum book “Taking Off” and participated in activities related to this lesson. The classes were reinforced by field trips: to a local grocery store where the youth focused on food labels, serving sizes, calories, and fat content from common foods; to the City Market where they met farmers and tasted fresh fruits and vegetables; and to the Sweet Tomato Restaurant, where they enjoyed the salad bar. Other activities included nutrition arts and crafts where the participants created recipe books, food pyramids, bookmarks, and “101 Wisdom Keys To Keeping Fit and Fine," a site manual.

Program Information

Name of program	Operation READY	Operation READY
Program start and end date	6/16/2003 to 8/10/2003	6/16/2003 to 8/10/2003
Number of times program met per week	5	5
Number of participants (total)	87	10
Number of male participants	N/A	N/A
Number of female participants	N/A	N/A
Target group	Child	Adolescent
Program focus
Physical Activity
Heart-Healthy Eating
Location of activities
Camp
After School	-	-
Other	-	-
Materials used
Information Handout
Lesson
Activity
Menus
Other	Field trips	Field trips

Public Visibility

Internal efforts to promote Hearts N' Parks programs:

External efforts to promote Hearts N' Parks programs:

Media Coverage: Radio

Special Event(s): N/A
Number of presentations: N/A

Other: Local radio statio promoted programs two times per month.

Partners

Partners who contributed to youth programs:

Partner Name	Partner Contribution
Kid Power Kansas City	Provided healthy refreshments and helped with media outreach for Fun and Fitness Days.
University of Missouri Extension Service	Extension Service program "Kids in the Kitchen" provided weekly classes on healthy eating and food preparation.
Neighborhood and Community Services of KCMO	Provided a network of other youth service agencies, as well as free balanced lunches for camps and special annual events.
Primary Care Association-Chronic Disease Coalition	Provided funds to promote healthy lifestyles through the youth programs.

Performance Measures

Operation READY
Adolescent scores showed improvement in heart-healthy eating knowledge, attitude, and behavior, and physical activity level.

Operation READY
Children's scores showed significant improvement in heart-healthy eating behavior. Other improvements were observed in heart-healthy eating knowledge and intention.