Obesity prevention: Community hospital/elementary school partnerships that promote healthy eating and physical activity

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, in Los Angeles, provides programming and technical assistance to elementary schools to support healthy eating and physical activity among students and their families. Cedars-Sinai's efforts target elementary schools with at least 75% of the students eligible for free or reduced-priced lunch.

Participants will be able to identify how community hospitals can increase healthy behaviors – in this case, healthy eating and physical activity - among children and their families from within a school-based setting.

Healthy Habits, a 10 lesson program, seeks to significantly affect children's behavior in making healthy choices and develop their skills to prepare healthy foods. Complementing healthy eating education, children are engaged in physical activity. The activities build children's motivation, self confidence and skills in order to increase their daily physical activity. Additionally, Healthy Habits seeks to empower parents with tools and information to create a family environment of healthy choices and healthy living. Teachers are also trained in classroom activities to reinforce learning.

Cedars-Sinai's Healthy Habits staff meets with school administrators and teachers on a regular basis. The success of Healthy Habits is determined by teacher feedback, evaluation forms completed by parents, and student pre and post tests.

Healthy Habits is hands-on and equips children with the knowledge and skills to adopt healthy lifestyles. The program takes a holistic approach by working not only with the child, but with the parent, the teacher and the school. Together, families are in an environment that promotes healthy lifestyles.