The Epidemic of Obesity: Personal Choice or Environmental Consequence?

Fourth Graders Learning to Make Healthy Choices

From The Collaborative, a publication of the Bexar County Community Health Collaborative, summer, 2000

Fourth graders in seven schools across San Antonio are eating better, thanks to the Bienestar program, which is being partially funded by the Bexar County Community Health Collaborative. Bienestar, which is sponsored by the Social and Health Research Center of San Antonio, is a multi-pronged program, which includes a classroom curriculum, after-school activities and parent education. The Health Collaborative's support funds a training program for the cafeteria staff, educating them on purchasing and preparing more healthful foods, presenting meals in an attractive manner and encouraging the students to make good choices. The director of the Bienestar program is Dr. Robert Trevino.

The goals of Bienestar, which means well-being in Spanish, are to decrease dietary fat intake, increase dietary fiber intake and increase physical fitness. Some 70 cafeteria workers were trained in the program this spring, increasing to almost 200 in the fall. The entire programs reached 500 students in the spring, expanding to 17 schools and 1,200 students in the fall. The seven schools in the San Antonio Independent school District that are participating in Bienestar are: J.T. Brackenridge Elementary, Strom Elementary, Ruiz Elementary, Barkley Elementary, Sarah S. King Elementary, DeZavala Elementary and Rodriguez Elementary.

J.T. Brackenridge was the site of a successful media event in May, where reporters spoke with students and school officials about the benefits of the Bienestar program. The event featured an end-of-the-semester outcomes study. Researchers gathered data on the quantity of fruits and vegetables the students put on their lunch trays, and compared that with quantity of fruits and vegetables found in the trash. Results of the initial study will available this summer. The Health Collaborative decided to target nutrition and fitness as they relate to diabetes and other chronic conditions after conducting a comprehensive community needs assessment two years ago.

View a video about Bienestar