COVID-19 Rapid Response: Utilizing Food Strategies and Obesity Prevention Measures with Under-served Youth

With schools closing in March due to COVID 19 students are at increased risk of practicingsedentary lifestyles. It is well documented that overweight obesity and excess abdominal fathave a direct relationship to risk factors related to obesity and cardiovascular disease.These riskfactors include high levels of total cholesterol LDL-cholesterol triglycerides blood pressurefibrinogen and insulin and low levels of HDL-cholesterol.Overweight obesity and abdominalfat are related to increased morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular heart disease.TheAmerican Heart association estimates that 75% of hypertension stems directly from obesity. In2018 the prevalence of obesity in youth in the US was already at a staggering rate (CDC 2018).In addition to this fact there is the added reality that numerous low income children in the US donot have access to home gym equipment the internet and/or motivational videos linked tohealthy activities.For these children the sedentary lifestyle has increased due to COVID 19 andas we focus on the disease infection rates (as needed) relatively little is being done concerninghow these changes in lifestyle are influencing eating habits nutrition ideas of health and healthbehavior relating to obesity prevention within our low income youth.Project objectives are:1. Build community capacity and mobilization by developing and disseminating communitytoolkits that contain healthy snacks and address attitudes knowledge beliefs of exposureand vulnerability linked to COVID 19 and behaviors associated with the understanding ofhealthy nutritional choices designed to combat obesity among youth2. Develop interactive virtual reality modules (that will NOT require internet - with theability to take to different locations) and/or learning environments linked to the toolkitsfocused on disease vulnerability and preparedness in general and increased understandingof the physical chemical and biological properties of food food quality and food safety.3. Evaluate the effectiveness of the virtual reality modules with the toolkits in improvingknowledge about COVID 19 prevention measures food science attitudes and behaviorsincluding positive changes to dietary energy intake increases in physical activitypatterns and improving community techniques to reduce obesity.It is hypothesized that these innovative virtual reality based modules will provide (i) a differentperspective for educators to understand and conceptualize basic ideas in virtual reality moduleusage related to the educational environment and (ii) the needed background and nexus forsuccess in the commercialization of scientific and technological based virtual education systemsto increase student understanding in health concepts and education related to food science.Thiswill result in the private commercialization of virtual training in educational environments toinclude both public and private institutions; home-based learning; and community settings.