Detecting Healthy Eating Options in Schools

It’s no secret that America is facing an epidemic of obesity, one that is weighing down healthcare costs and, quite literally, people. That’s why the Foundation for Glendora Unified Schools funded one program during the 2010-2011 school year aimed at introducing second graders throughout the school district to healthier eating choices.

The program, which was originally developed by Dr. David Katz, is called Nutrition Detectives. The basic idea behind the curriculum is to overcome common resistance to fruits and vegetables among a younger generation, before their eating habits are set and harder to break. In the United States, approximately 9 million children ages 6 to 19 are overweight.

“We’re kind of busting the myth that all kids want to eat is sugar,” explained FGUS Board Vice president Janet Kidd, who originally heard of the program. “The kids actually really enjoyed the healthier snacks we provided them.”

Nutrition Detectives was taught in GUSD second grade classrooms this past year in three course segments. The first involved viewing a segment of the DVD associated with the program, as well as bringing in a tray of fruits and vegetables for the students to sample. While the second mainly consisted of the last sections of the DVD, the third part of the course involved a game called “Let’s Play With Our Food,” in which the students practiced their knowledge in deciding whether common household foods were “clued in” or “clueless.”

The idea behind introducing the program was one that derived from FGUS, which, in addition to its fundraising efforts within the district, had been looking for additional modes of outreach. Although Nutrition Detectives is not directly related to First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign, FGUS admits that it picked a healthy eating program in part because of the existing national traction.

Clearly, however, for those involved the most rewarding part is simply seeing second graders unabashedly enjoying their greens. However, there is the added benefit that children might take their new knowledge home and impress some of it upon their parents.

“It’s amazing how well they responded,” said PTA Health and Nutrition Counsel Christy Jones, who led the in-class teaching. “They’re really getting the message that ‘This is what my body needs to grow.’”

The school district, too, has been excited by the results of the program. Last year, all the elementary schools in the district except Stanton—who only did not participate because of scheduling—took part in the program, and the goal is to continue teaching it in the future.

“Our teachers are saying the kids are really getting ‘clued in,’ all of them, the teachers and volunteers, too,” said La Fetra Elementary Principal Brock Jacobsen. “Seeing the kids happily and joyfully eating from a big plate of vegetables is a really great sight.”