Health

HEALTH • Spring 2016 19 fast food restaurant," Zereski said, "than to go into the grocery store and purchase fresh food to make a healthy meal for your family." In the inner city, particularly, children have lim- ited access to sports fields and open areas, said Madson, and many are simply deterred from going outside because they live in high-crime areas. "It screams all the more that we need to do these types of programs," she said. Many of the 1,800 girls served by Girls Inc. fit into this high-risk category. Girls, Inc. threads the themes of health, fitness and nutrition throughout its daily initiatives. Through its Fit Girls program, participants are involved in 100 hours of healthy activities over the school year, such as swimming or dance-offs – or hiking or boating in the summer – and are given healthy snacks daily. Various nutrition programs, meanwhile, inform them about reading and under- standing nutrition facts or different ways to get the recommended amount of calcium. "Nutrition can be incorporated into everything," said Madson. "Fitness can be incorporated into everything." One program that organizations have found to be particularly effective is "5-2-1-0 – Let's Go!" Initially developed in 2006 in Maine, the effort stresses a numbers approach: 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, 2 hours or less of screen time, 1 hour or more of physical activity, and 0 sugar drinks. "We did see an increase in healthy eating choices and physical activity," said Cindy Landry, school age director at YWCA Central Massachusetts, which held a 5-2-1-0 pilot last year at Worcester's Roosevelt and Wawecus Road elementary schools. As part of that, 91 students from 14 local schools spent two days a week doing physical activities, learning about nutrition, and making snacks such as guacamole and dairy- and nut-free pesto. Liking broccoli Reliant Pediatrics has teamed up with YMCA Central Massachusetts to offer a similar initiative at its Central Community Branch in Worcester and Boroughs Family Branch in Westborough. According to Dr. Martha Waite, a Spencer-based Reliant pediatrician, over the course of eight weeks, children work with nutritionists and personal train- ers and do daily fitness activities. Participants estab- lish their own goals to eventually work up to the 5-2-1-0 standard; for example, decreasing their soda drinks from three a day to one (and eventually none), or slowly increasing physical activity to 20 minutes a day (and gradually up to an hour). So far, 110 children have participated in seven ses- sions of the program (through which they are required to bring at least one family member) and can maintain momentum with an alumni class. "We really encourage an entire family to undergo a lifestyle change," said Waite. In YWCA Central Massachusetts' Learning 4 Fun After School program children do 45 minutes of physical activity a day, learn ways to wean them- selves off candy and soda, and plant, taste, smell and study the elements of fresh vegetables and herbs. "Maybe they didn't even realize that they would like something like broccoli," said Landry. "It's open- "We really encourage an entire family to undergo a lifestyle change" Dr. Martha Waite, Pediatrician, Reliant Medical ing their minds." This is a key emphasis of the Community Harvest Project's Sprouting Minds initiative. Launched in 2013, the nonprofit based at Brigham Hill Community Farm in North Grafton offers various iterations of the program for different ages (pre-k through 12th grade) throughout the year. Ranging from an afternoon to a full week, Sprouting Minds incorporates a farm tour, seedling plantings, nutrition education lessons, vegetable taste tests and cooking demonstrations. Older stu- dents can also "adopt-a-row" of vegetables that they care for from planting to picking. "We see the excitement build. They change their attitude toward trying new things," said program manager Alicia Cianciola. She joked that parents will sometimes ask, "What did you do to my child? I can't believe they're asking for produce!" The goal is to ultimately get them to not only eat fruits and vegetables, but like them so it isn't some sort of burden, said Tori Buerschaper, Community Harvest Project's education and outreach coordinator. "It's getting kids more involved in cooking and tasting and trying all sorts of different vegetables," Buerschaper said. "Too often you try something once as a kid and you think 'Oh, I don't like that.' Those prejudices follow you into adulthood." And other unhealthy habits can, as well. "Childhood obesity can become a lifelong strug- gle," said Gabrielle Alan, resource development associate at the YWCA Central Massachusetts. "With a healthy start, we can make a much healthier future, make it less of a battle for them when they get older." While much of the focus of programs like "5-2-1-0 -- Let's Go!" are on ways to get enough exercise, many of the goals center around nutritional education and teaching the various ways food impacts the body. PHOTO/MATT VOLPINI

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