December 15, 2006

RODALE SPONSORS NEW WELLER CENTER NUTRITION PROGRAM IN THE BETHLEHEM MIDDLE SCHOOLS

Students at Nitschmann Middle School Discover You Are What You Eat

On Friday, December 15, 2006, 300 sixth graders from Nitschmann Middle School learned the life-long importance of making healthy food choices, when they participated in You Are What You Eat, a new nutrition and fitness program developed by the Weller Health Education Center.

The Weller Center's visit to Nitschmann Middle School was funded through Rodale, Inc.  In cooperation with Rodale, the Weller Center will offer the program at all four middle schools in the Bethlehem Area School District, providing over 1,100 sixth graders in the Lehigh Valley with vital information on nutrition and fitness.

During the 45-minute assembly, students discovered the scary truth about the ingredients in the foods they love; as well as learning how to choose healthy foods based on nutritional guidelines that provide energy to get them through the day.

"With the explosion of childhood obesity statistics and prominence of school district's local wellness policy initiatives, we developed You Are What You Eat to reinforce the importance of healthy choices," said Melissa Lee, President and CEO of the Weller Health Education Center.

You Are What You Eat features multi-media video segments filmed with local filmmakers, K-Studios. Students will follow a day in the life of two kids and how well or poorly they eat--then view the consequences or benefits from their nutrition choices.

"Implementing a prevention program with high impact video segments such as this will hopefully make a lasting impact on the students. It's our goal to help prevent potential health issues which come as a result of being overweight or obese later in life such as asthma, diabetes and an increased risk in heart attacks," Lee added.

You Are What You Eat is the fifth in a series of six K-12 nutrition and fitness education programs developed by the Weller Center to help students learn the importance of healthy food and exercise choices. The program is available to all schools in the Center's 39 county service area and is presented as a 45-minute school assembly or as an in-center program.