Grants To Aid NSU Health Outreach

     Staff Reports -- Obici Healthcare Foundation has awarded Norfolk State University a $93,188 grant to fund a two-year faith-based initiative which is designed to lower heart disease risks in 160 African-American teens enrolled in the Boys and Girls Clubs in Franklin and Suffolk, and targeted communities there.
Aimed at overweight teens, the grant will fund NED, a nutrition, education and dance program which will help teens reverse habits that lead to obesity.
      It is “a pioneering first step in addressing one of the leading behavioral health concerns among our youth today,” said Denise Blakney, a representative with Obici Healthcare Foundation’s senior program office.
“Healthy lifestyle habits, including healthy eating and physical activity can lower the risk of becoming overweight and developing related diseases such as hypertension-heart disease, depression and various cancers,” Blakney said.
     

     The program’s development partially stems from the “staggering number of overweight teens,” which were observed
by Veronica McMillian, NSU’s director of Let’s Talk, who was conducting a domestic-violence-prevention program in Franklin and Suffolk Boys and Girls Clubs.
So, NED aims to help overweight teens develop healthy habits.
      For example, NED will help teens identify obesity-creating habits. Working with a dietitian to identify healthy food choices, teens in the program will also learn how to plan healthy meals and use journals to track daily food intake. In addition to participating in aerobics, teens will weigh and measure monthly.
Also, to promote health-prevention habits in African-American families, the Obici Healthcare Foundation awarded $149,878 to Norfolk State University’s Let’s Get Real program, a faith-based initiative designed to lower heart disease risks.
      The two-year grant which starts Oct. 1 is aimed at 1600 churchgoers who will participate in cooking light classes, health screenings, exercise classes, genealogy seminars and mental health workshops.

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