FACT Focus Area:
Family and Community Health

FACT invests in research that supports healthy lifestyles for children, youth and families.

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Our focus on health concentrates on preventative approaches to healthy eating and living. We know that tobacco use, diet, alcohol abuse and physical inactivity are the major risk factors for most diseases. With this in mind, FACT projects are exploring ways to improve health by reaching children and their families at an early stage. Our focus area includes issues like healthy eating, nutrition education, parenting and food, breastfeeding, eating disorders, obesity, and food safety.

Hunger in America is a growing problem, with 14 million children living in homes where food is scarce. At the same time, childhood obesity is on the rise; in Michigan, for example, 1 in 4 children is obese.

These conflicting trends point to a need for understanding and improving the relationship between children and food.

These tensions are also compounded by the fact that 21% of children live in poverty. Children living in poverty tend to consume fewer calories and are more likely to be undernourished, which can have a significant impact on physical and cognitive development.

With these issues in mind, FACT's focus on children, youth and nutrition is diverse in scope-- not only addressing hunger issues, and/or physical activity, but also "feeding" children and youth's self-esteem and nurturing healthy behavior.

This section gives a sampling of projects on health and children, youth and nutrition:

Nutrition Education Aimed at Toddlers (NEAT): Nutrition Education for Rural Low-Income Parents/Caregivers of Children, 12 to 36 months of Age
Location: Mecosta, Midland, Clare, Gladwin, and Ingham Counties
MSU Campus Partners: Mildred Omar, College of Nursing; Sharon Hoerr, Food Science and Human Nutrition.
MSU Extension Partners: Gayle Coleman, MSU Extension; MSU Extension's Expanded Food Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP)
Community Partners: Early Head Start; Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program; Mid-Michigan Community Action Agency (MMCAA)

The goal Nutrition Education Aimed at Toddlers (NEAT) is to improve the health of Michigan's rural families living in poverty. The collaborative research team of MSU faculty, Extension staff and community agencies are developing and evaluating the effectiveness of nutrition education programs tailored to meet the needs of rural families with young children. It will teach families about trying new foods, preparing easy, low-cost nutritional meals, and modeling positive behaviors for children.

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Behavioral Change to Increase Fruits and Vegetable Intakes-Refining Assessment Tools and Defining Interventions
Location: Kent and Genesee Counties
MSU Campus Partners: Sharon Hoerr and Sang-Jin Chung, Food Science and Human Nutrition; Ralph Levine, Psychology.
MSU Extension Partner: Gayle Coleman, MSU Extension

Through the MSU Extension nutrition education programs, this project will research the strategies used by those who have successfully changed their eating habits to include more fruits and vegetables and adapt those strategies to a limited income population.

"Eat Healthy, Your Kids are Watching", An Innovative Collaboration to Support the Health and Well-Being of Michigan's Children and Families
Project leaders:
Amy Malow, MSUE Michigan Nutrition Support Network
Karen Martin, MSUE Ingham County
Pat Hammerschmidt, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition
Janet McKeon Lillie, Department of Communication

Youth Development Through Physical Activity and Nutrition Education
Project leaders:
Crystal F. Branta, Department of Kinesiology
Martha Ewing, Department of Kinesiology
Robert Benham, Department of Kinesiology
Sharon Hoerr, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition

Utilizing Interactive Health Communication in Promoting the Health and Well-Being of Children and Youth
Project leaders:
Mark Notman, College of Osteopathic Medicine
Rebecca Collins Henry, College of Human Medicine
Charles Maynard, Center for Advancement of Community Health, MI Public Health Institute
Robert Glandon, Ingham County Public Health

Familial Cardiovascular Risk Factors in an Urban Population: A Survey of Parental Attitudes
Location: Ingham County
MSU Campus Partners: Monica Martin Goble and Ihuoma Eneli, Pediatrics and Human Development.
Community Partners: Pediatric Clinic of the Ingham County Health Department

This research project is determining cardiovascular risk factors of families with young children and assessing parents' willingness to change to a healthier lifestyle. Dr. Monica Martin Goble and Dr. Ihuoma Eneli from the MSU Department of Pediatrics and Human Development will partner with MSU Extension in Ingham County to conduct the research at the Ingham Community Health Center/Sparrow Campus, Pediatrics.

"We have been frustrated by doing too little too late," said Dr. Goble. "Adult cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity, smoking and a sedentary lifestyle may exist due to early environmental influences. We need to reach children at a young age."

Dr. Goble and Dr. Eneli will survey parents of children aged 1-2 months and 6-8 months to determine their cardiovascular risk factors in the family as well as their "readiness to change" to a healthier lifestyle.

"We are looking for a window of opportunity," said Dr. Eneli. "We are looking for the best time for future interventions and for potentially changing parents' health behaviors while the child is still young."

The researchers expect that their evaluation of familial risk factors and families' greatest receptiveness to heart-healthy messages will allow health providers to give guidance to families during routine pediatric care.

"It is an innovative idea to go beyond just the child and look at the whole family," said Dr. Goble. "Working with the Ingham Community Health Center and MSU Extension gives us a unique opportunity to interact with the community and approach the whole family as a psychosocial unit."

Physical Activity/Fitness and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Children Attending MI Charter Schools
Location: Lansing
MSU Campus Partner: James Pivarnik, Kinesiology.
MSU Extension Partner: Randy Bell, MSU Extension
Community Partners: Principals/teachers in Lansing area charter schools.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in Michigan and is higher than the national average. This research team is examining the prevalence of heart disease risk factors in Michigan's charter school population. The study will measure the physical fitness and physical activity levels of volunteers from 5th, 7th and 9th grades.

Dr. James Pivarnik, Professor in MSU's Department of Kinesiology, is conducting the research in partnership with MSU Extension and principals and teachers in Lansing area charter schools. "Physical inactivity is the most prevalent risk factor in this state," he says.

"The charter school population is an interesting environment," Dr. Pivarnik explains. "On one hand they may buy in more readily to increased physical activity for kids, and on the other hand they may not have enough resources at the school to support these changes."

Dr. Pivarnik expects that the study could lead to implementation of curriculum changes and after school activities to improve the schools' physical activity programs. He explains, "We would like to see a real commitment to involving kids in healthy activities and teaching them the benefits of a healthy lifestyle."

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