Head Start program takes aim at childhood obesity
By María Cortés González / El Paso Times
Posted: 12/08/2008 12:00:00 AM MST
EL PASO -- With big smiles, 5-year-old Victoria Navar and her classmates dance and sing loudly to a CD, "I am moving, I am learning."
For the children in the James R. Vasquez Head Start program on the East Side, it's another fun day at their preschool, where they're learning their ABCs and other skills in preparation for kindergarten.
The musical number is just one element of the I Am Moving, I Am Learning obesity prevention program, which is incorporated into the curriculum of Education Service Center Region 19's 31 Head Start sites.
Head Start officials said the program is a proactive approach to deal with childhood obesity, which is becoming an epidemic in America.