Programs Help CT Families Build Better Eating Habits

Connecticut doctors and health care workers are helping low-income families make healthier food choices and coaching busy parents on fast, but healthy ways to feed their children. Understanding the reality of life for low-income families is key to helping their kids get to a healthy weight, said Melissa Santos, a pediatric psychologist and assistant professor at UConn’s School of Medicine. Helping these families eat healthier is a process, according to Santos, because their lives are already overwhelming.

At Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, Patricia Esposito, clinical nutrition manager, shows working parents how to pull together easy meals for busy days. She steers them to items like pre-washed salad greens and pre-cooked chicken—and stresses that though these may be among the pricier items in the grocery store, they end up being cheaper than fast food. In New Britain, PhotoVoice, a community grassroots project, is teaching young teens about healthy lifestyles, including making good food choices and incorporating exercise daily. For one project, teens took streetscape photos in their neighborhoods full of fast food restaurants, convenience stores, and torn-up sidewalks.

Source: New Haven Register, 1/27/17, Healthier Eating