UNLV, cities target childhood obesity

Wednesday, June 1, 2005 | 9:37 a.m.

UNLV is teaming up with Las Vegas and Henderson to reduce the growing rate of childhood obesity.

The National Institutes of Health partnership pairs the Las Vegas Department of Leisure Services and the Henderson Parks and Recreation Department with the university to provide educational materials and activities for children age 8 to 13 and their parents.

Childhood obesity is "rampant" and the chronic illnesses associated with being overweight, such as heart disease and diabetes, are showing up at younger and younger ages, said Molly Michelman, director of the partnership and a registered dietician who lectures in the nutritional sciences program at UNLV.

The Southern Nevada team competed nationally to be one of 13 intensive sites working with the Institutes of Health on the new "We Can!" program -- "Ways to Enhance Children's Activity and Nutrition," Michelman said.

UNLV nutrition students will teach the nationally-developed curriculum as part of each city's ongoing youth programs, said Mary Killion, field supervisor for Las Vegas Leisure Services, and Danielle Tyler, assistant recreation coordinator for Henderson.

Las Vegas and Henderson will be offering the program through their SafeKey after school service, and Las Vegas will also be offering classes to parents. NIH is providing the curriculum and technical assistance for the program but no actual money, said Michelman, who is looking for other grants to help bolster the program.

But there is little actual cost associated with the classes because they are being rolled into current services and the teachers are volunteers, Killion and Tyler said.

One goal of the program is to give UNLV's nutrition students field experience in developing and teaching community programming, said Michelson, who oversees that class at UNLV. All of the curriculum involves hands-on activities that teach nutritional concepts in a "fun, exciting and creative way," Michelson said.

At the end of the program students will have the opportunity to film their own nutritional public service announcements that will air on UNLV's cable television channel.

"We feel this is such a great opportunity for children to get involved, (in the curriculum) and not just something they are going to read or something they are going to watch," Tyler said.