A pilot project that’s designed to get kids to eat and live healthier is underway in Cedar Rapids. Doctor David Walsh says the program is called “Switch” and attempts to get families to switch the way they do things in three areas. He says that’s, “Switch down screen time (time spent watching t-v or playing video games), switch up physical activity, switch over to fruits and vegetables.” Walsh says it’s a matter of life and death for today’s kids.
He says risks for obesity have increased 300-percent in the last 30 years. Walsh says it seems like every week there’s a new report out explaining the problem. He says it’s time to come up with a solution to the problem. Walsh says his program helps students by making an overall change in their life. He says the switch program is designed to be a full year program where the whole family gets involved and gets a new packet of materials every month. Walsh says it lets them make changes that are small and achievable. The program in Cedar Rapids involves six elementary schools.
Walsh says three schools are the demonstration schools and three are the control sites as he says this is a research project. He says they want to identify the parts of the project that were successful and those that weren’t. The Cedar Rapids schools and schools in Lakeville, Minnesota are the two pilot sites for the “Switch” program. For more on the program, surf to:www.mediafamily.org.