Health Education: Teach for America Theory of Change

After 2 years in a middle school Classroom, I came across an issue within the school system that needed to be addressed for the long term health trajectory of black and brown kids

The Post Traumatic Slave Diet

Dating back to 1618-1865, African American Health has suffered at the hands of enslavers who in today’s terms are the ancestors of our current lawmakers. While enslaved blacks typically met their carbohydrate and protein needs they still lacked the necessary vitamins and minerals their bodies needed to maintain health and fight chronic inflammation. A once vibrantly strong group of people are now the sickest people in the country. African Americans are disproportionately affected by heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. When affected with illnesses and discomforts people of color also express distrust in the healthcare system.

As stated by the Registered Dietician, Alexander Ford, “Following their integration into Western culture, African foods were significantly modified. Many adaptations made by necessity during slavery to traditional African foods decreased their nutritional value and compromised their inherently nutritious properties, starting relatively unhealthy dietary patterns. Many of these unhealthy adaptations have persisted across generations and have helped contribute to the development of chronic diseases and decreased life spans in many African Americans, who currently suffer higher rates of some chronic diseases over Americans of other races. It is helpful for physicians to understand the history of soul food and how it evolved over the years as it relates to chronic disease and health in African American populations” ( Ford RD, 2022).

The social determinant of health acknowledges the physical and non-physical factors of one's life that may predispose them to health issues. The social determinants are: Economic stability, Education access and quality, Health care access and quality, Neighborhood and built environment, and Social and community context. Students in the North Tulsa community are living in food deserts (Neighborhood and Built Environment), stressed from the responsibilities in their households (Social and Community Context), Poverty (Economic Stability, health care access and quality) and Underfunded schools (Education access and quality). The impact of these issues have led to increased obesity in younger children, increased risk of prediabetes diagnosis at a young age , heart disease, and ADHD diagnoses, which food dyes have been discovered to be a factor of. The negative impact of food and illness affects a students ability to focus, their self-esteem, attendance rate, and ability to engage with peers without the risk of being exposed to alienation or bullying. In my personal experience, it took seeking higher education and being diagnosed with prediabetes to learn about the negative impact of these determinants I experienced in my everyday life. Seeing the same predeterminants affect the students I serve in the North Tulsa community lead me to this Theory of Change.

Policies in place

Current policies that are centered around nutrition and wellness are not mandatory for schools to actually implement. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020–2025 recommend that people aged 2 years or older follow a healthy eating pattern that includes the following: A variety of fruits and vegetables, Whole grains, Fat-free and low-fat dairy products, A variety of protein foods and Oils. The Healthy people 2030 goal is to increase the proportion of adolescents who participate in daily school physical education. In 2017 29.9 percent of students met this goal but it has steadily decreased by 21 percent since last assessed in 2021 with the target being 39 percent by 2030. Within the healthy people goal the need for health education has been identified as a high-priority public health issue which has led to evidence based research on how to Increase the proportion of schools requiring students to take at least 2 health education courses from grade 6 to 12. There are bills that require students in elementary school to get at least 60 minutes a week of physical activity and it is required for students to take at least one class of gym or physical education during the entire duration of middle school.

Action Steps

The government is taking steps in the right direction. It is just imperative that schools implement these efforts when data driven evidence is supplied. It should not be an option. Students need to know their body systems, what inflammation is and how food with poor nourishment levels contributes to that inflammation. Students need to learn coping mechanisms that help them manage stress because stress leads to poor decision making which can have adverse effects on one’s health. I notice the lack of health knowledge in students when they eat processed foods like chips, and drink high sugar drinks like soda and Gatorade. This issue is persisting and contributing to the obesity crisis and early onset of chronic illness. I think the best solution would be to increase the incorporation of food education into every curriculum like the work of Pilot Light, a food education program that gives teachers the professional development they need to align food education into their curriculum. Students should also be required to take health science and education classes throughout grade school (k-12). Lastly, getting the community and family involved with being good stewards of health, so that children have people to replicate in healthy ways would make a world of s difference.

Sources

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Healthy Eating in Childhood and Adolescence." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n.d.,

U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. "2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans: Babies, Toddlers, and Preschoolers.” DietaryGuidelines.gov, December 2021,

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. "Increase the proportion of schools that require students to take at least 2 health education courses in grades 6 through 12 (AH-R06)." Healthy People 2030, health.gov,

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture. (2015). 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.