1. [Press Release for Home Sweet Home Alabama]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Mary Katherine Shreves
mkalsip@ua.edu
New Program Aims To Reduce Obesity In Greene and Sumter Counties
A new program for helping families get healthy together is coming to Greene and Sumter
Counties.
The Home Sweet Home Program will take place in communities in Greene and Sumter
Counties. The team running the project includes Debra Clark, founder of the Health and
Wellness Educational Center in Livingston, AL; Yawah Awolowa, Founder of Mahalah
Farm in Cuba, AL; and Darlene Robinson, a health advocate in Eutaw, AL. They will be
directing the program along with professors from the University of Alabama. The
partners all met through Project UNITED, a grant-sponsored University of Alabama
initiative.
The program aims to find ways to reduce the rate of childhood obesity in these counties.
According to a recent Alabama Obesity Task Force study, 40% of children entering
Kindergarten in Greene and Sumter Counties are considered overweight or obese.
Obesity in children and adults can have serious health implications, such as heart disease
and diabetes.
During the program, families who have at least one child between the ages of 2 and 5
years old will take part in three informative group dinners. They will learn to prepare a
healthy dinner with locally-available foods, practice mindful eating, and take part in
games that will help them to develop healthier habits. They will also spend time with
researchers, who will talk to them about the eating and exercise habits they have now and
give them some practical advice on how to make changes that will improve their family’s
health.
The Home Sweet Home dinners and interviews will take place in the Spring of 2015, and
will be absolutely free for participating families. Researchers will also collect
information about the communities where families live, and how the home life of a child
can affect their weight and health. The team hopes that this information will help bring
this program and others like it to more families throughout Sumter and Greene Counties,
and ultimately the Alabama Black Belt. For more information on the study, you may call
Harriet Myers at University Medical Center at the University of Alabama at 205 348-
6863.
![[Press Release for Home Sweet Home Alabama]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Mary Katherine Shreves
mkalsip@ua.edu
New Program Aims To Reduce Obesity In Greene and Sumter Counties
A new program for helping families get healthy together is coming to Greene and Sumter
Counties.
The Home Sweet Home Program will take place in communities in Greene and Sumter
Counties. The team running the project includes Debra Clark, founder of the Health and
Wellness Educational Center in Livingston, AL; Yawah Awolowa, Founder of Mahalah
Farm in Cuba, AL; and Darlene Robinson, a health advocate in Eutaw, AL. They will be
directing the program along with professors from the University of Alabama. The
partners all met through Project UNITED, a grant-sponsored University of Alabama
initiative.
The program aims to find ways to reduce the rate of childhood obesity in these counties.
According to a recent Alabama Obesity Task Force study, 40% of children entering
Kindergarten in Greene and Sumter Counties are considered overweight or obese.
Obesity in children and adults can have serious health implications, such as heart disease
and diabetes.
During the program, families who have at least one child between the ages of 2 and 5
years old will take part in three informative group dinners. They will learn to prepare a
healthy dinner with locally-available foods, practice mindful eating, and take part in
games that will help them to develop healthier habits. They will also spend time with
researchers, who will talk to them about the eating and exercise habits they have now and
give them some practical advice on how to make changes that will improve their family’s
health.
The Home Sweet Home dinners and interviews will take place in the Spring of 2015, and
will be absolutely free for participating families. Researchers will also collect
information about the communities where families live, and how the home life of a child
can affect their weight and health. The team hopes that this information will help bring
this program and others like it to more families throughout Sumter and Greene Counties,
and ultimately the Alabama Black Belt. For more information on the study, you may call
Harriet Myers at University Medical Center at the University of Alabama at 205 348-
6863.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/81be8a39-2973-4ca4-949e-d953e63d8b1d-161013230244/85/home-sweet-alabama-press-release-1-320.jpg)
