The Effectiveness of Educational Tools on Finding Solutions to Childhood Obesity

The prevalence of childhood obesity is increasing at an alarming rate across the globe, causing negative psychological and somatic comorbidities including diabetes, high blood pressure, depression, and self esteem issues. Several tools aimed at elementary school (kindergarten through sixth grade) students attempt to decrease childhood obesity through education on making healthy diet decisions. For example, some schools have implemented nutrition classes into their curriculum; those that participated found improvements in their students’ nutritional knowledge compared to those that did not. However, researchers disagree on how effective nutrition classes are for all the students, as a “kitchen-sink” method is commonly used. Additionally, social marketing techniques, such as MyPlate and children’s books, are commonly utilized by a child’s teacher or parent. This is not the most effective technique as social marketing campaigns often do not encourage engagement with the material. Parent communication is another influential tool that is important in a child’s life. Young children often base their actions on adult role models, meaning that parents can make a bigger difference in preventing and mitigating childhood obesity through their actions and habits. After evaluating these three tools, our group found a different technique that proves to be the most effective on children’s health: hands-on learning through gardening and cooking. Although not utilized often, a few schools have added these activities to their campus; they have seen significant positive changes among student’s dietary habits by encouraging them to garden or cook using school resources. Children who participate in gardening or cooking programs are more likely to make healthier and nutritious eating choices. Despite school education, social marketing campaigns, and parent communication being somewhat effective tools to educate students, hands-on learning tools are shown to be the most effective and impactful in educating students on nutrition and healthy lifestyles. Our group strongly advocates for the implementation of gardening and cooking programs into children’s weekly routines in order to combat rising childhood obesity rates.