The Building Better Bones Program integrates nutrition information in a standardized, interactive curriculum for fifth and sixth grade students and their teachers in selected low-income schools. The goal of the program is to increase awareness of osteoporosis as a preventable disease by practicing healthy lifestyles including consuming a healthy diet high in calcium and engaging in regular weight-bearing physical activity. The program was piloted in the 1999-2000 school year and is currently taught in 6 counties statewide. In Maricopa County, The Building Better Bones Program was taught in five schools during the 1999-2000 school year and reached 571 students. The data revealed a 57% increase in students recognizing what osteoporosis is, a 71% increase in the knowledge of how much calcium is needed each day for students their age and seventy-three percent of the participating students said that the program helped them become more physically active. At the conclusion of the session, the participant in this session will be able to recognize how early nutrition intervention in children and adolescents may impact health maintenance and disease prevention and will learn how the Arizona Comprehensive Health Education Standards are being incorporated into the Building Better Bones curriculum.
Learning Objectives: The participant in this session will be able to recognize how early nutrition intervention in children and adolescents may impact health maintenance and disease prevention. The participant will learn how the Arizona Comprehensive Health Education Standards are being incorporated into the Building Better Bones curriculum.
Keywords: Adolescents, Nutrition
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Maricopa County Department of Public Health Office of Nutrition Services
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.