Pajaro Valley High students campaign to fight obesity
by daniel lopez
sentinel staff writer
WATSONVILLE — A group of students at Pajaro Valley High School have joined in an effort to cut the fat.
Twelve students brought their campaign to their peers earlier this month, aiming to draw awareness to obesity, the need for proper nutrition and exercise among youth.
"Obesity affects so many people in the U.S. I want to get the word out there about what people are putting in their bodies each day," said Peter Ortega, the sophomore who is leading the campaign.
To promote healthy eating habits among their peers, organizers such as Ortega serve as educators to their classmates, putting on workshops where students can guess how much fat and sugar is in those cheeseburgers and french fries they so often reach for.
Students at the school were shown "Super Size Me", a film that chronicles a man who eats nothing but McDonald's food for an entire month.
"We have to be straight up with them," Ortega said. "We can't just say 'Don't eat junk food.' We have to show them what they're eating."
A 2002 survey by California Healthy Kids showed 30 percent of seventh-graders in Santa Cruz County were overweight or at risk of becoming overweight.
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The findings of the survey also indicated that only 56 percent of seventh-, ninth- and 11th-graders in the county eat the recommended five daily serving of fruits and vegetables.
Those are trends that Jacqueline Thompson, a dietician and diabetes educator at the Diabetes Health Center in Watsonville, knows well.
Thompson said the lifestyle Americans live contributes to the problem.
"The biggest contributors are the decrease in the amount of physical activity children have had over the past 10 to 15 years," she said, "and the way we eat, what we eat, how often we eat out, our food choices. Those have changed dramatically."
Pajaro Valley High is no exception.
Athena Barrios, 15, who participated as one of the peer educators, said she often saw classmates eating chips, pizza and pastries.
"Sometimes they have no choice but to eat that," said Barrios.
Ortega said it can also be a matter of preference.
"They pick their food by taste, not how healthy it is," he said.
However, the ENRG campaign, which was created by Watsonville nonprofit Strategic Health Communications, has started to change some unhealthy habits.
"They don't have to be drastic diet changes; it just has to be little choices," Barrios said. "I've seen a lot more students eat fruit instead of chips."
Pajaro Valley High Principal Pancho Rodriguez said he appreciates the student efforts.
"There has been a push from these kids all year long," said Rodriguez. "That's really great that the kids take the initiative and we try to support them."
Fitness buff and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger also has garnered support for healthier food.
Last September he signed two bills will ban the sale of junk food on school campuses in July 2007 and the sale of sodas in July 2009.
Giving kids healthier choices couldn't come soon enough, said Pajaro Valley High student Edgar Toledo.
"If they start off now, they will be better off in the future," he said.
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