Nutrition Mission -
UT Medical Students Target Childhood Obesity
By Sharing Healthy Habits with HISD Fifth-Graders
What:
Celebrating the end of a 14-week pilot study, which medical students from The University of Texas Medical School at Houston conducted at MacGregor Elementary School, fifth graders will participate in a nutritional field day. The event begins with a healthy lunch, followed by nine obstacle station courses designed to test the nutritional understanding and physical strength of the students.
Who:
About 50 students at the UT Medical School at Houston partnered with three fifth-grade classrooms in an effort to fight childhood obesity and promote health awareness. The project, titled “Nutrition Mission,” is designed to measure whether being nutritionally informed makes a difference in the eating habits of fifth-grade students.
With the support of a grant from the American Medical Association (AMA), UT medical students Andrea Elliot and Josh Strommen created the 14-week curriculum for the MacGregor Elementary classrooms. The medical students have received additional recognition and funding from the AMA, allowing them to expand the project for the next school year.
When:
A nutritional lunch and discussion begins at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 5, followed by field day activities at 1 p.m.
Where:
MacGregor Elementary School, 4801 LaBranch Houston, TX 77004
Why:
Childhood obesity, with its health complications, is an alarming national epidemic. The goal of this AMA-sponsored community service project is to educate fifth graders at an inner-city school about nutritional changes.
For information, visit http://www.uth.tmc.edu/ama_tma/nutrition_mission/
For front-lot parking and student interview opportunities, please call 713-500-3030.