HABIT-Healthy Alternatives & Body Image Tools, Inc. is a newly established (Dec 2005) non-profit organization focused on improving the health of obese and/or body dissatisfied youth through access to health services and information. Our manual Healthy Body Image: Teaching Kids to Eat and Love their Bodies Too! is provided by the National Eating Disorders Association. It is based on widely agreed-upon prevention principles recognized by authorities in the fields of eating, biological science, dietary science, pediatrics, and other health specialties. We strive to be a tool for change that results in youths sustaining life style choices for health.
HABIT's mission is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life of young people with obesity and/or body dissatisfaction through prevention, education, referral, support services, training and advocacy.
History: Using the manual Healthy Body Image-Teaching Kids to Eat and Love Their Bodies Too! HABIT was able to present a successful pilot program at J.A.Y. Outreach Ministries. With Altermease Kendrick, Executive Director and her My Choice organization's support along with the parental support , showed the objective of family and peer support for the healthy body image attitudes and behaviors. HABIT's facilitator Linda Pitts who is a past school psychologist and a recent graduate of Florida Culinary Institute brought and displayed delicious healthy snacks for the parent meeting. This beautiful display led to more modeling healthy snack choices by the families.
What HABIT learned through its pilot program is that the girls loved the program plus they were able to internalize the principles taught. Those principles are:
1. Integrity is valued over appearance.
2. Innate size diversity is accepted and affirmed.
3. Internal hunger regulation is trusted. Dieting is avoided.
4. Hunger is routinely satisfied with food that balances wholesome nutrition, energy, enjoyment, and good taste.
5. Physical activity is part of the daily routine and is maintained throughout life for fitness, self-confidence, and overall well-being.
6. Role models reflect a realistic standard.
The pre and post tests showed the positive growth in knowledge. While the following story example shows the response of the heart or the concept of internalizing by a spontaneous and cherishing action. As Director, I visited one class lesson to take the digital photos, one of the girls came up to me spontaneously and hugged me and said thank you in my ear. Then she was off to her next activity.
Scope of our Services is beginning five after-school programs for under privileged boys and girls ages 9, 10, 11, using the Healthy Body Image Manual. Population served (i.e., children) under privileged boys & girls ages 9, 10, 11 year olds
Fact 2 million adolescents have pre-diabetes- over weight adolescents have tripled in the last 30 years. We're on a dangerous course if we don't make some changes in helping parents, educators and children, understand the very serious consequences of obesity. It's been found that if taught early in life to make healthy choices the more lasting the positive choices will be throughout their lifetimes. Some good strides have been made so far since the Summit on Obesity occurred in June of 2004. HABIT wants to do more. Our program Healthy Body Image - Teaching Kids To Eat and Love Their Bodies Too! teaches that harsh weight-control methods and depression can lead to obesity in adolescent girls.
What we will do. Boys and girls with good feelings about themselves can make informed and conscious positive choices without impairment by outside media or peer pressure. This was accomplished in HABIT's pilot program and recorded in pre and post tests and we will do this in each program. We will teach that good body esteem in connection with critical thinking skills applied to healthy behaviors in respect to eating balanced wholesome foods, and physical activity results in more of an easily sustained life change. We will teach boys and girls how to be empowered to resist unrealistic and unhealthy cultural pressures regarding body image, eating, nutrition, fitness, and weight. We will inspire boys and girls to develop a stake in wholesome eating and physical fitness.
How does HABIT'S program do this? The twelve Healthy Body Image lessons will be given after school three days a week for a total of four consecutive weeks. The lesson organization is as follows:
1. TITLE AND HEALTHY BODY IMAGE BUILDING BLOCK
2. BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR EDUCATORS
a. Lesson objective
b. Background
c. Desired outcomes for students
d. Concepts needed to teach this lesson
e. Critical concepts
f. Vocabulary
g. Materials needed
h. Lesson summary
3. SUGGESTED LESSON SCRIPTS
4. HANDOUTS AND OVERHEADS
The program uses Body Image Building Blocks for the classroom display throughout the Unit. Eleven blocks represent the core objectives for each of the eleven lessons. The 12 th block summarizes the importance of mutual peer support for healthy body image attitudes and behaviors. This concept and objective along with other important objectives were effectively shown in a display used during program's pilot parent meeting. This achieved the parental support and understanding before lessons were begun.
An essential part of our program is the home education. We send home a Letter to Parents and Guardians in introduce this unit to students' families. We alert parents to watch for and read the take-home materials. Family education on this topic is critical. We will do a presentation for each of the program's parents. If this isn't realistic, all the handouts, activities, and worksheets are designed to serve also as family education. We will add incentives for sharing the materials with more than one adult (grandparents, cousins, etc.)
What is HABIT's experience in working with this population? Habit's experience is the successful pilot program at J.A.Y. Outreach Ministries in Riviera Beach. Furthermore as Executive Director, I have had teaching positions in inner city elementary schools. We are also blessed to have one of our six board members with the experience of being the past vice principal of Lincoln Elementary School. As Executive Director I am also a Licensed Mental Health Counselor who specializes in Eating Disorders. My experiences over the past three decades has lead me to conclude that at a time in their lives when students should feel secure about their body's growth and to develop confidence in the habits that will help them to become healthy adults, too many boys and girls are worried that their bodies. They worry that they will not grow in ways that will be socially approved of - or even accepted. In our pilot program the pre and post tests of the Afro-American girls showed consistently 20% improvement in this area of knowing what they can control and what is predetermined genetically. We are effective and successful with the target population of girls. Our boys program will be separate.
In the past three decades negative body image has come to be an expected part of growing up female. In two decades eating disorders, which are related to worries about weight, have become a common concern. At the same time, the "worst fears" of those concerned with weight have come true. Research tells us that the thinner we have tried to be, the fatter (obese) we have become. Eating habits of American adolescents are among the least healthy in the world and the population as a whole has become increasingly sedentary. Concerning this false idea about controlling body size and shape by dieting, HABIT's pilot program showed a 30% improvement in this concept. That is outstanding.
Just about everyone has been affected by, and participated in, an unhealthy shift in body image attitudes and eating behaviors in America. Therefore, all adults will benefit from examining their views about body image in order to teach children a more realistic and healthy alternative. For example, almost no one is immune to an unrealistic fear of fat, in spite of clear evidence that a great deal of the influence for fatness is genetic. By focusing on weight instead of the behaviors that may influence weight, problems are created rather than solved. These lessons will help students learn what they can expect to control about body size and shape. HABIT teaches a proven unique and innovative view that children become unhappy trying to be something they are not. Children are happier and more self assured when they learn to eat well and are physically active for confidence in their natural size and shape. Our pilot program successfully accomplished this principle using the pre and post tests for verification.
When will the programs take place? HABIT will reach five more programs of under privileged girls and boys. Each program will be a month long starting in January, 2007 through the month of December, 2007.
Kathleen Fuller Ph.D. L.M.H.C., Exec. Director |
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