April 14, 2008
• Local schools piloting Healthy Happy Kids
• Competition features local chefs
• Charles Barkley, others are judging
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Five chefs, 120 kids and a basketball icon. What do they have in common? The Healthy Happy Kids Iron Chef competition.
Birmingham-area chefs Joannetta Jarman of LaNetta, George McMillan of Daniel George, Ben Leingang of ICON, Antony Osborne of Culinard and Anna Hallman of Kathy G teamed up with students from Gibson Elementary, Leeds Elementary, Cornerstone East K - 3rd grade and Cornerstone West - 4th - 8th grade to see which chef-led team can come up with the tastiest healthy snack.
The Healthy Happy Kids Iron Chef competition, hosted by basketball great and MHRC supporter Charles Barkley, is the brainchild of the UAB Minority Health & Health Disparities Research Center (MHRC). It is part of a nutrition and physical activity program, Healthy Happy Kids, which is designed to help reduce and prevent childhood obesity in minority and underserved children.
For the Healthy Happy Kids Iron Chef event, the five chefs lead teams of 25 children each to prepare a healthy meal. Instructions were given to the students on how to make the healthy snack. Ingredients were selected by each chef prior to the competition. The snacks were judged on health appeal, creative presentation and ease of preparation.
Among the judges were Helen Shores-Lee, chair of the MHRC Community Advisory Board, Barkley and parents representing each school.
"In the United States, obesity occurs at higher rates in racial and ethnic minority populations such as African American and Hispanic Americans. Also, cultural factors influence dietary and exercise behaviors and research has shown these play a major role in the development of excess weight in minority groups," said UAB MHRC Director Mona Fouad, M.D. "We targeted these groups of children for this program in an effort to help them learn early how to lead a healthy lifestyle through diet and exercise."
Health Happy Kids is a hand-on, six session curriculum targeting underserved elementary school children attending after-school programs in inner city institutions across Alabama. Students are taught nutrition, the food pyramid and calorie balance in addition to the importance of daily physical activity. They also get practical lessons including preparation of healthy foods and easy and fun games that promote physical activity. The students then develop a booklet based on lessons being taught and their interpretation of living a healthy lifestyle. To help remind them physical fitness and eating right is important each participant receives a physical activity bag that includes a t-shirt, jump rope with step and calorie counter, a frisbee and refrigerator magnetic take-home health message.
The center hopes to reach 500 children from the Birmingham-area with Healthy Happy Kids Nutrition by October 1, 2009.