Our intervention, Eating Affordable Together provides young adults and their families with education and skills to achieve a healthy lifestyle while reducing the obesity in adolescents within Portage County. The obesity rate since the 1980’s in teens has gone from 5% to over 20%. In Portage County 15% of youth are considered obese. Obesity increases risk for anxiety, depression, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and stroke. We are focusing on adolescents and their parents because adolescents depend on these parents or legal guardians for guidance and resources such as food. We would like to implement workshops consisting of healthy cooking demonstrations, budgeting classes, different diet options, portion sizes, and culture meal substitutions. With the series of classes for an after school program, overtime we will implement every aspect we feel necessary to have within an individual’s lifestyle to be as healthy as possible. After this intervention we would like to see the participants implement the resources and skills to continue a healthy life style.

Portage County Health Assessment. (2016) Community Health Status Assessment. Examining the Health of Portage County. Childhood Obesity. Retrieved from http://www.kentpublichealth.org/Portage%20FINAL%20Health%20Assessment%20with%20Cover%203-3-16.pdf