Four AU students are taking on childhood obesity in D.C.’s poorest neighborhoods.
Students from AU’s chapter of the Public Relations Student Society will fight childhood obesity throughout February as part of a national public relations competition.
The campaign, “Youth for Choice: Challenge Yourself to be a Champion of Health,” combines social media like Facebook and Twitter, to target childhood obesity in Wards 7 and 8, according to the team’s website.
The team believes they must fight the stigma of childhood obesity in order to fight it. The campaign encourages youth to make their own decisions about exercise and nutrition.
“We’re not trying to change behavior completely,” Jett Choquette a senior in the School of Communication said. “Our main strategy is raising awareness and encouraging young kids to make small choices that will together add up.”
The students are sending print materials about their campaign to local organizations in Ward 8, like the Boys and Girls Club and fitness centers.
Members of the team include:
• Jett Choquette;
• Kevin Sutherland, junior in the School of Public Affairs;
• Kate Froehlich, sophomore in the Kogod School of Business;
• and Kelsey Balimtas, sophomore in SOC;
Wards 7 and 8 attracted the group’s interest because both wards have a lack of grocery stores, according to Choquette. Only four grocery stores operate in Wards 7 and 8 combined.
“It’s a really huge area,” Choquette said. “It’s basically everything east of the Anacostia River.”
In the U.S., about 20 percent of youth are obese, and obesity rates in Wards 7 and 8 are double that, according to the team’s website.
“Not only is it difficult to find nutritious foods, people oftentimes cannot afford to do so or do not actively make the choice to eat healthfully,” Balimtas said.
The team members will enter their plan in the National Public Relations Student Society’s annual Bateman Case Study Competition.
Teams from colleges across the nation develop and write campaign plans “encourage children, teenagers, parents, educators and community organizations to improve their individual health and the health of their community,” according to the competition’s website.
The teams present the “research, planning, execution and evaluation” of their plans, according to the competition’s rules.
Case Study teams nationwide implemented their plans to fight childhood obesity on Feb. 1. The competition ends Feb. 29.
The team will then report their results to the National Public Relations Student Society of America, which judges entries based on their effectiveness. The Society will announce the winner in October at the organization’s national conference.
Later this month, the team will run an assembly at Stanton Elementary School in Ward 8, featuring Mary Beth Albright, a former Food Network star. More than 85 percent of the school’s students rely on free or reduced lunch.
“As not only a local celebrity, but also a D.C. resident and public health advocate, [Albright] was a clear choice,” Balimtas said.
Ward 8 Councilman Marion Barry has also agreed to help with the assembly, according to Balimtas.
While the team will eventually compete against other college teams, right now Choquette said their mission is more about being directly involved in the local community.
“It’s so rewarding to be working with our very own community here in D.C.,” Balimtas said.
