HEALTHY
LIFESTYLE
INITIATIVE
Making the healthy choice the easy choice
Vision
The University of Missouri Extension Healthy Lifestyle Initiative is working to
create healthy communities that support the availability of healthy, affordable,
locally-produced food and safe, accessible physical activity.
To achieve this, we will work with families,
youth, community members, agricultural
producers, business leaders, healthcare
providers, and others in four demonstration
sites in Missouri.
 Boone County
 Dent County
 Lafayette/Jackson Counties
 Ralls County
We believe that our collaboration will create:
 replicable models to combat overweight,
obesity, sedentary lifestyle and related
diseases
 positive behavior change and impact
lifelong health within the community.
Funding
 Extension
$782,900 over three years
 Outside Sources


Healthcare Foundation of Greater Kansas City

$254,600 over two years
Missouri Foundation for Health
$130,000 over one year
 Team





Human Environmental Sciences
 Ann Cohen & Dale Brigham–Co-Directors
Agriculture/Natural Resources
 Chris Matthews
Community Development
 Jana Porter
4-H Youth Development
 Max Warner
Business Development
 Stanley Woronick

FY-08 Plan

Initial Meetings


Healthy Lifestyle County Councils
 Community Resource Assessments
Community Surveys
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION
Community Resource Identification

Planning Process

Survey - Community Input

Individual Motivators and Support
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION
Survey

Adult Survey Results

Satisfaction with current health status
Dent
 Ralls
 L-J


51.9%
61.7%
60.7%
People attempting to improve health status through
Changing their food choices (currently)
 Dent 70.9%
 Ralls 65.8%
 L-J
68.3%
 Changing their physical activity level (currently)
 Dent 70.7%
 Ralls 65.6%
 L-J
63.7%


Adult Survey Results

Why are you physically active


All Counties
“to look and feel better”
Why do you eat the food you eat

All Counties
“tastes good”

Adult Survey Results

What will help you increase your physical activity level
 Dent
“Health/Fitness Community Center”
 Ralls
“a friend or family member to exercise with”
 L-J
“a friend or family member to exercise with”

What would help you eat more fruits and vegetables
 All Counties
“reasonably priced fruits and vegetables”

Adult Survey Results

What prevents you from getting regular physical activity
 All Counties
“lack of time”

What contributes to unhealthy lifestyles in your community
 Adults
 Dent “not a personal priority”
 Ralls “lack of time”
 L-J
“lack of time”
 Youth
 All Counties
“too much screen time”

Youth Survey Results

Why do you choose to be physically active?
Ralls
 To have fun
 To be healthy
 For Sports
 Dent
 To look and feel better
 To be healthy
 To have fun
 Lafayette/Jackson
 To be healthy
 To have fun
 To look and feel better


Youth Survey Results

Why do you choose the food that you eat?
Ralls & Dent
 It tastes good
 What is at home
 It is easy to prepare and ready to eat
 Lafayette/Jackson
 It tastes good
 What is at home
 It looks good


Youth Survey Results

What would help you be physically active?
Ralls
 Sports teams
 More PE time
 A friend to exercise with
 Dent
 A friend to exercise with
 Dance, Karate, weight lifting or other fitness activities
 Sports teams
 Lafayette/Jackson
 A friend to exercise with
 Sports teams
 Walking and Biking Trails


Youth Survey Results

What would help you eat healthier foods?
Ralls & Dent
 More F&V in school
 Cooking classes
 Parents eating healthy foods
 Lafayette/Jackson
 More F&V in school
 Parents eating healthy foods
 Parents encourage me to eat more F&V

FY-09 PLANS
 Boone

County (Columbia)
Focus: Community Food Project
Urban agriculture/community gardens
 Low-income families
 Food bank


Youth
Education hands-on component of the agriculture
 Youth Entrepreneurship
 Youth coalition

 Dent






County (Salem)
After-school physical activity programs
Trail System
Sustainability Plan for Community Center
Community Food Promotion
 Demonstrations
 Education
School Wellness Policies
 School Food
 Increase physical activity time during day
Locally Grown Food
 Master Gardener
 Partner youth organizations with local gardeners
 Ralls





County (New London)
Healthy Food Awareness
 Demonstrations
 Education
School Food
 School Garden
 FFA/FACS
Local Farmers’ Market
Physical Activity
 Skate Park (portable)
 All-weather track
 Facility use during winter
Youth involvement (voice)
 Youth task force/commission
 Spearhead community promotion campaign
 Lafayette
County (Higginsville)
Food
 Community Event (improve & promote)
 Farm to School program
 Wellness policies
 Kids in the Kitchen – FFA – FACS
 Increase locally grown food
 Mentoring (master gardeners/youth)
 Built Environment
 Trail Development
 Local park policies
 Social Support
 Parental involvement (Family approaches to PA)

EXTENSION COUNCILS

Extension Councils
Healthy Lifestyle Initiative is your resource
 What “healthy lifestyle” projects are going on in your
county?

Key Stakeholders & Local Champions
 Planning – Long Term Process


Planning Process
Step 1
Creation of local committee to spearhead a community-driven approach for Healthy Lifestyle
Initiative
Step 2
Identification of assets, resources, successes and challenges within the community
Step 3
Solicitation of community input to assess the issues in the community – understand barriers and
perceptions of population
Step 4
Develop measurable objectives and evaluation criteria to assess progress in addressing the
identified issues in the community
Step 5
Select effective interventions that focus on changing the local environment and policies to achieve
objectives
Step 6
Implement the selected interventions
Step 7
Integrate the process and interventions
http://extension.missouri.edu/healthylife/
THANK YOU!