16.9% of American youth are obese and this number is only increasing
Pediatric obesity is associated with cardiometabolic dysregulation, learning disabilities, and poor stress resilience
Children are developing diseases formerly found only in adults
About 45.4% of all deaths in the United States due to heart disease, stroke, and diabetes, are associated with suboptimal intakes (too much or too little) of 10 dietary factors
Minority and low-income children continue to bear the greatest burden of risk
Team KiPOW’s medical and health professional students serve as cool, high-energy health mentors in schools and model healthy behaviors for elementary school students. They also help schools achieve their minimum health and physical activity minutes and encourage healthy choices as mentors:
- Eat lunch with kids, building bonds over fresh, local veggies
- Play fun, physical games at recess to engage school children in exercise
- Educate students on health topics from nutrition to sleep
A sense of camaraderie is promoted as everyone wears Team KiPOW superhero t-shirts during these sessions. The kids become accountable to their mentors over time and develop healthy habits that will benefit them throughout their lives. In turn, the medical students get hands-on experience in health education and behavioral change that will someday benefit their patients.
