Dr. Mehmet Oz is in Sacramento, to empower high school students. He's visiting students as they tend their Luther Burbank High School or Sacramento Charter High School community vegetable and fruit garden. The doctor's mission is to launch his Health Corps program in Sacramento to fight childhood obesity. Dr. Oz is visiting numerous high schools across the nation to promote health through nutrition and exercise. See the October 24, 2010 Sacramento Bee article by Chris Macias, "Dr. Oz brings garden program to Sacramento's Burbank High."
The HealthCorps is being initiated locally at Burbank High and Sacramento Charter High School. Produce from Burbank's garden will ultimately be used in the school's lunch program and donated to homeless shelters. Dr. Oz's plan is part of the national movement to fight childhood obesity. Note that not too many promotional materials are touted in the mainstream media on childhood anorexia or bulimia. It's obesity that's being emphasized in this national movement.
Last February you saw first lady Michelle Obama launching the "Let's Move" campaign in to promote healthy eating habits and encourage exercise. If you're interested in the Sacramento HealthCorps, it also is up and running in 41 other high schools in 11 states.
The program is modeled after the Peace Corps, recruiting college graduates who've deferred medical school enrollment to coordinate HealthCorps for two years at a high school, according to the Sacramento Bee article.The program at Sacramento's Luther Burbank High School is being run by Chioma Enweasor, a graduate of Pomona College. According to the Sacramento Bee article, she will teach 10 classes a week as well as operate an after-school club and oversee health-related events.
Sacramento mayor, Kevin Johnson cited Sacramento County as being the state's third most obese county as a reason for recruiting HealthCorps. Luther Burbank and Sacramento Charter High School were chosen for HealthCorps because they were in communities that were among the most in need of this type of empowerment, according to the Sacramento Bee. The Sacramento HealthCorps program is being funded locally by the California Walnut Board for $150,000.
Sacramento is one of California's largest growers of vegetables, nuts, grains, and fruits. And there are research studies on the health benefits or effects of various fruits and vegetables ongoing at UC Davis. One possible reason why Sacramento is so high on the obesity list is the lack of vegetarian fast-food eateries, vegetable-and-fruit emphasis informational or cooking instruction, clubs, or gatherings, and the proliferation of regular fast-food places in some areas of Sacramento nearly on every corner.
The irony is that Sacramento has good access to fruits and vegetables, several community gardens, and yet, so many high school students and their parents just don't eat vegetables or fruits. Are children being taken to visit farmers' markets in Sacramento on a regular basis?
Instead of having fast food eateries serving raw foods or vegan foods on nearly every corner, you have the opposite--deep fried foods or foods that tout bread, cake, fatty foods, and sugary items. You're not going to find many eateries in Sacramento that are affordable and set up like some fast-food places every two blocks on some Sacramento streets with heavy traffic.
Where are the affordable eateries open for lunch or breakfast that serve vegetable juices, raw foods, fermented foods, or fruit juices not loaded with sugary mixes to sweeten them more? How many eateries serve smoothies filled up with mixes or ice instead of fresh, frozen fruit without added sugars, mixes, or syrups?The more community gardens thrive, the higher Sacramento gets on the obesity lists. Why?
There's a disconnect between the people eating the foods that tend to promote obesity and the foods they might be choosing instead. It's a communication problem that may be passed on from family to family. Saturday, October 23, 2010 the HealthCorps in Sacramento launched a community garden.
Sacramento high school students transformed a a patch of dirt on their high school grounds into a community garden. This type of work should be done at most public schools in Sacramento, starting at the elementary school level. It's about the health of Sacramento's kids. Most children follow a habit of eating as they have been shown by their parents, peers, or role models.
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