Nutrition talk goes down easy for Minneapolis students

Lectures on diet and exercise may make adults feel guilty, but the kids at Green Central Community school ate them up.

Last week I watched as 20 third-graders at the school got a lesson from Roger Dahmen, a nutrition educator with the University of Minnesota's Extension division.

The kids' eyes lit up when they found multicolored copies of the federal food pyramid near their seats. A few were so excited they couldn't help squirming in their seats.

I sat in a pint-sized chair in the corner and chuckled. Most adults don't become as excited about anything as those students were about a few food pyramid charts.

Dahmen, with help from teacher Cheryl Giddings, reminded them that the activity couldn't begin until they were quiet. Within seconds the room was silent.

Similar scenes unfolded in dozens of Minneapolis schools this summer as part of the U's Simply Good Eating program. Four certified nutrition educators taught more than 1,200 students, most of them from low-income families.

"That's really where we feel the most need is," Dahmen said.

Partnerships like the one between Minneapolis schools and the U are part of a growing effort of schools to help fight skyrocketing childhood obesity rates.

New research published by the Journal of American Medicine shows that between the ages of 9 and 15, kids' average amount of exercise drops from 3 hours a day to 1 hour.

A lesson from the heart

The U's idea was to catch these kids before they start slowing down. The average age in Giddings' class was 8.

Dahmen's visit last week marked his fourth and final appearance in Giddings' class.

"They're just so excited about him coming to class," Giddings said.

Dahmen started his lesson by asking the students to sit quietly for a few seconds with a hand over their chests. What did they feel? "I feel my heartbeat," one boy said.

Dahmen explained that the heart pumps blood through our bodies through tubes called arteries. He showed students a model of four arteries at various stages. One was clear. Two were clogged and one was almost completely clogged.

"Ewwww," Giddings' students said in near-perfect unison. "I don't want my arteries to look like that," a boisterous girl said.

Dahmen couldn't have planned a better segue. He said the clogged artery made it difficult for the heart to pump blood and probably belongs to someone who'd spent years pigging out on doughnuts, cookies and other high-fat and sugary snacks found on the smallest section of the food pyramid.

"What happens when your heart stops pumping?" Dahmen said.

"You die!" one boy said.

"So if I want to keep my arteries nice and clean so the blood flows through, do I want more broccoli or ice cream?" Dahmen said.

"Broccoli!" the kids yelled.

Finding a place for fat

Afterward, the class split into pairs and played a game. They sifted through a stack of food flash cards and found pictures that matched the one Dahmen held up in front of the entire class.

Each team worked to put the picture in the correct "refrigerator" (a small box labeled "high fat," "low fat" or "combination") located at the front of the class. Most teams did well.

"From week to week they remember their food groups," Giddings said. "I even hear them talking about extras [or the foods you should eat sparingly]."

Summer school is over, but the lessons will continue. Dahmen and other nutrition educators from the U will be back in Minneapolis schools this fall spreading the word out about those dangerous extras.

Patrice Relerford • 612-673-4395