The American Diabetes Association (ADA) has begun an initiative aimed at slowing down the spread of childhood obesity and diabetes among children aged between 5–12 by promoting healthy nutritive habits, education on nutrition, the need for physical activity, and family involvement.
Project Power applies behaviour change principles to support children in making healthier choices related to nutrition, daily habits and exercise, along with periodic post-session check-ins.
Education sessions are also provided to parents, enabling them to reinforce the healthy behaviors their children learn through the Power. The program is run by volunteers, many of whom are students pursuing degrees in health professions including nursing, nutrition, and pharmacy.
The Project Power transitioned to a virtual format following the COVID-19 pandemic. Digitization helped the ADA to scale the program to reach more students in under-served communities.
Q4HE’s support also enabled the ADA to engage more children through group meetings, hands-on activities, when permissible, partnerships with non-profit community partners, and engage resources for long-term engagement. Thanks to Q4HE’s support, the ADA can engage more children to reduce preventable health risks and enable them to experience a better quality of life.
“To create healthier communities and close this gap, we must start with younger populations. With support from Q4HE, we can empower young people with the information they need to make healthy choices and achieve better outcomes. Even if these children aren’t entirely making their own choices about their health and nutrition, empowering them with information to make healthy choices is critical. As they grow, they can hold on to these messages regarding healthy choices to lessen the risk associated with these diseases.”
Project Power applies behaviour change principles to support children in making healthier choices related to nutrition, daily habits and exercise, along with periodic post-session check-ins.
Education sessions are also provided to parents, enabling them to reinforce the healthy behaviors their children learn through the Power. The program is run by volunteers, many of whom are students pursuing degrees in health professions including nursing, nutrition, and pharmacy.
The Project Power transitioned to a virtual format following the COVID-19 pandemic. Digitization helped the ADA to scale the program to reach more students in under-served communities.
Q4HE’s support also enabled the ADA to engage more children through group meetings, hands-on activities, when permissible, partnerships with non-profit community partners, and engage resources for long-term engagement. Thanks to Q4HE’s support, the ADA can engage more children to reduce preventable health risks and enable them to experience a better quality of life.
“To create healthier communities and close this gap, we must start with younger populations. With support from Q4HE, we can empower young people with the information they need to make healthy choices and achieve better outcomes. Even if these children aren’t entirely making their own choices about their health and nutrition, empowering them with information to make healthy choices is critical. As they grow, they can hold on to these messages regarding healthy choices to lessen the risk associated with these diseases.”