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ESC was launched by LCRF and CACS in 2004 as a response to the growing obesity problem among
Boston’s youth. The philosophy behind the program is not simply to teach students the facts about nutrition and fitness, but to empower them to make healthier choices, to effect change in their daily lives, and to take a leadership role in promoting healthful practices among their social groups and families.
ESC addresses contravening environmental forces and the ethnic and racial disparities that increase students’ risk of obesity. It is culturally sensitive to community resources, the cost of healthy food, barriers to grocery shopping, eating pressures on teens, and gender roles within families. The language and activities of the program are designed to resonate with urban youth culture and experiences.
During Phase I (the 2004-2005 academic year), a group of twenty 9th – 12th graders participated in 10 Saturday seminars on nutrition, exercise, food groups, labels, shopping, cooking, and eating out, and prepared healthy meals to facilitate change at home.They identified and strategized about overcoming various eating pressures and learned to recognize advertising techniques that subvert healthy lifestyles.
In a group excursion to a grocery store, they learned how to make cost-effective selections of healthy food. For their final project, they prepared and explained a healthy meal and presented a week of healthy menus the ingredients for which could be purchased within the limitation of state food stamp allocations. The winning team was “hired” to become peer mentors for 2005-2006.
In Phase II (the 2005-2006 school year), ESC became a mandatory weekly class for all 9th graders, totaling 40 students. In addition to the topics and activities that were developed in Phase I, the school models ways to incorporate physical activity into daily life by holding short aerobic fitness breaks featuring activities such as kick-boxing to music.
Outside the classroom, student teams also maintain a nutrition bulletin board for the
Codman
Square
Health
Center (a community clinic that shares the school’s building), survey peers on spending and nutrition, and educate peers about food labels through dance performances and other activities.
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