Pepperidge Farm, Inc., Norwalk Hospital, Norwalk Health Department and Jefferson Elementary School Join Forces to Combat Childhood Obesity

NORWALK, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Two hundred second and third graders at Jefferson School are ending the school year on a very healthy note. These students now have a significantly broader knowledge base about the importance of good nutrition and physical activity. Furthermore, they have made behavioral changes that will improve their long-term health. This is all due to the instruction they received from Project L.E.A.N. (Learning with Energy from Activity and Nutrition), a childhood obesity prevention program being offered at Jefferson School in Norwalk. The pilot program was started in 2010 through collaboration between Pepperidge Farm, Inc., Norwalk Hospital, Norwalk Department of Health, and Norwalks Jefferson Elementary School.

In particular, the principal at Jefferson School, John Reynolds, and the teachers deserve much of the credit for this programs success. From the very beginning, everyone including the students, teachers, parents and partners embraced the Project L.E.A.N. approach to improve the childrens health.

Project L.E.A.N. was designed to improve the overall health of children by teaching them lifelong habits of healthy eating and exercise. The program includes a breakfast boot camp, in-school nutrition classes taught by Cindy Sherlock MS, RD, CD-N, a dietician at Norwalk Hospitals Clinical Nutrition Department, and after school family events.

At the end of the second year, the program results are excellent. The students who have gone through the program have demonstrated a significant increase in their knowledge about good nutrition which has led to positive behavioral changes, says Ruthann Walsh, Director, Corporate Citizenship at Pepperidge Farm and one of the programs organizers. For example, the vast majority of the children now understand that it is unhealthy to be overweight and furthermore, they can cite specific chronic medical conditions that can arise from being overweight such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. The children who have not gone through Project L.E.A.N. are not nearly as aware of these potential health risks. Additionally, Project L.E.A.N. students have dramatically reduced their consumption of sugar sweetened beverages, replacing them with water and milk, they have increased their consumption of fruits and vegetables and they have increased their level of physical activity. Furthermore, the BMI (Body Mass Index) profile of the Project L.E.A.N. students is better than all other classes at Jefferson.

Project L.E.A.N. stemmed from a desire to combat the national obesity crisis, starting on a local level. National and local statistics reveal a dire need for change:

Jefferson Elementary was chosen as a pilot school for the program because it is the largest elementary school in Norwalk, serves the largest minority population (83%) of elementary schools in Norwalk, and has a large population of children who receive free or reduced rate lunchesan indicator of financial need.

Pepperidge Farm is proud to be one of the founding sponsors of Project L.E.A.N. Its an innovative approach to combating childhood obesity and could not have gotten off the ground without the partnership between the hospital, school, health department and the business sector, said Walsh. In particular, the principal at Jefferson School, John Reynolds, and the teachers deserve much of the credit for this programs success. From the very beginning, everyone including the students, teachers, parents and partners embraced the Project L.E.A.N. approach to improve the childrens health.

Project L.E.A.N. will start up again in the fall at Jefferson School, but in the meantime, the students will be invited to attend three Project L.E.A.N. Summer festivities, keeping everyone in tip-top shape for the fall.

About Pepperidge Farm

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Project L.E.A.N. Childhood Obesity Prevention Program Shows Excellent Results at the End of Its Second Year