Sydnie Leroy

ND 536
Summer Session II 2015
Dr. Erin OHora
Final Paper
Obesity is an alarming and serious problem in the United States.
With over thirty percent of the adult population considered to be obese
(Ogden et. al 2010), it is commonly becoming referred to as a national
epidemic (Karnik & Kanekar, 2012) or at the very least a national
health crisis. The most alarming statistic about obesity, in my opinion,
is the now seventeen percent of children who are considered obese
and the thirty percent of school age children and teens considered
overweight Ogden et. al, 2010). Obesity has been shown to lead to an
increased risk of hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, and in some
cases even cancer (Bell et. al, 2011). This is a problem that every
health professional in the country should be addressing, and therefore
the problem that I chose to focus my semester on.
One of the biggest issues we as professionals are facing when
counseling children about their diet and nutrition is that typically these
children have very little choice in what they are actually eating (Holli &
Beto, 2014, p. 204). They are not the agents who do the grocery
shopping or the cooking; therefore they simply eat what they are told.
In a situation in which you are trying to correct the diet of a more

passive individual, it is necessary to educate the person actually

making their health choices, or in this case, the parents and family
members (Holli & Beto, 2014, p. 204.) I attempted to make sure that
the techniques I used in my Power Point presentation were aimed
towards parents, but that children might be able to understand them
too. I believe that for change to take place, it must come from both
parties in this situation. The parent must make it a priority and the
child must be receptive to altering their diet.
I personally think that for this particular scenario, a PowerPoint or
a lecture is not the most effective means of reaching my audience or
parents and their children. The benefits to a lecture include being able
to pass along a great deal of information in a relatively short amount of
time (especially with the help of visual aides such as a Power Point)
and being able to speak to large numbers of people at the same time
(Holli & Beto, 2014, p. 302). The largest limiting factor to the
effectiveness of lecturing is the fact that it is very passive, and may be
considered boring or stuffy. Quite frankly, if something is boring for
an adult, then there is no chance that we will manage to keep a childs
attention for the entire duration of a lecture. Finally, many adults learn
best from self-directed learning or problem solving, which a lecture is
lacking (Holli & Beto, 2014, p. 304).
What I would suggest would be a more fun and inviting situation
in which parents and their children can be involved in hands on

learning. I would suggest a workshop in which a few healthy meals are

introduced, explained, and then prepared by the instructor in a
demonstration. I would encourage both the child and the parents to
partake in this and ask for numerous volunteers to help with various
tasks along the way. This way, they have a vested interest in the
outcome of the meal and will be more excited to try it themselves at
home. I would be sure explain the importance of certain cooking
materials, the best preparation techniques, etc. The benefits of
demonstration include being able to address a large group of people
while still appealing to several of their senses. One of the negatives to
this technique is that the learner is still passive, although the content
may be more interesting to a majority of people (Holli & Beto, 2014, p.
304).
Ideally, I would be able to use a combination of demonstration
and laboratory experiments (in this case, simply cooking) so they could
listen to the lecture and then later be able to practice and put the
techniques to use. This would be a fun and dynamic way to encourage
people to listen during the lecture or demonstration (Pay attention,
you will be trying this on your own soon) and it would also be a
great way to ensure that they understand what you have explained
and they will be better able to implement new practices or habits in
their daily life.

Another fantastic technique when dealing with children would be

to develop a number of games and interactive learning activities that
the children could play, either on their own or with the guidance of a
parent or family member. It has been relatively well established that
children learn best through play and exploration (Holli & Beto, 2014, p.
204). Some ideas I could think of for games would be a version of
Which is Healthier? where you show a child two different snack
images or models and they answer which is healthier. Another game
that might be fun for children could be modeling meal planning or
grocery shopping, where the children is in an environment like a
pretend kitchen or grocery store and asked to assemble the best meal
or grocery shop for their family. At the end of this activity, review their
choices and discuss why they were good or bad, or how they could
have done better. It is important when working with children to
remember to keep things simple and make sure that your words are
clear and understood by your target age group. It is also important to
be positive and keep things fun.
Overall, I think working with children and educating them on
proper nutrition can pose a serious challenge. You want to make
learning fun and interesting, but you must keep in mind that most of
the time, the child is not the one in control of a majority of their eating
habits. It is important to be sure that the parent is also being
addressed and understands the importance of eating healthy for their

entire family. Essentially, the parent must make the choice to change
their childs eating habits, not the child changing their own. However,
when a child ages and they have slightly more autonomy, if they were
well educated in healthy nutrition as a young child, there is a chance
that we will have had a lasting effect and they will make healthier
choices when they are given the freedom to do so.

Works Cited
Bell, J. Et al. CDC Grand Rounds: Childhood Obesity in the United
States. January 21,

2011. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report,

60 (02); 42-46.

Holli, B., & Beto, J. (2014). Nutrition Counseling and Education Skills for
Dietetics

Professionals. (6th ed.). Baltimore, MD: Lippincott Williams

& Wilkins
Karnik, S., Kanekar, A. (2012). Childhood Obesity: A Global Public
Health Crisis.

International Journal of Preventative Medicine, 3(1),

1-7.
Ogden CL, Caroll MD, Curtin LR, Lamb MM, Flegal KM. Prevalence of
high body mass index in US children and adolescents, 2007-2008. JAMA
2010; 303:242-9.