Date of Graduation

5-2014

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Human Environmental Sciences

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

General Human Environmental Sciences

Advisor/Mentor

Way, Kelly A.

Committee Member/Reader

Rom, Curt R.

Committee Member/Second Reader

Bailey, Mechelle

Abstract

The target of this study was obesity’s problematic rise in America. It was noted in the research that children developed habits that would potentially last a lifetime and which also dictated their medical fate. The focus of this study was to identify and decrease the factors of childhood obesity through education, healthy eating, and changes in food choices through student-planned, model menus that would target nutrition and healthy choices. Research linked obesity to the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes and chronic diseases in children through decreased physical activity and poor diet due to the lack of essential nutritional knowledge. Other factors in childhood obesity included poor food preparation/creation, deceptive advertising, and an increased demand for fast-paced foods; leaving children’s recognition and desire for healthy food choices clouded. The purpose of this study was to change the children’s perceptions of healthy food items by developing healthy snack menu items for pre-school children. The study also assessed parents’ education levels in addition to parental perceptions and knowledge of healthy eating choices. The framework of the study will potentially become a model for ‘raising a foodie’ in other preschools or any Early Childhood Development Program locally and nationwide.

Keywords

Sociology; Individual and Family Studies

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