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The OrganWise Guys (OWG) was created in 1993 in Duluth, Georgia, to teach young children about the importance of making healthy choices in their lives through learning about their internal organs. The goal of OWG programming is to educate children and adults about nutrition and healthy living, and to prevent childhood obesity.[1]
| Available in | English, Spanish |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Suwanee, Georgia |
| Area served | Early Childcare Centers, Elementary Schools, Communities, Summer Camps, Faith-based Sites, Supermarkets, Doctor's Offices |
| Founder(s) | Dr. Michelle Lombardo and Karen McNamara |
| Industry | Healthcare, Education |
| Products | Childhood Obesity Prevention |
| Services | Nutrition Education, Health Education |
| URL | http://www.organwiseguys.com |
Concept
editRather than learning about organs through textbooks, OWG uses fictional animated characters and puppets to teach children about their bodies in an age appropriate manner.[2]
OWG's messages rely on the theme of empowerment, encouraging children to understand the importance of their health at a young age. The main "rules" of the OWG Club are to: eat a low fat and high fiber diet, drink lots of water, and get plenty of exercise. Characters like the Kidney Brothers discuss the importance of drinking water to keep the blood clean, and Peter Pancreas explains how he controls sugar levels in the body by making insulin.[3] The OWG school-based nutrition and healthy living education curricula is matched to the Common Core State Standards Initiative for grades pre K-5.
Research
editThe Healthier Options for Public Schoolchildren (2004–2009), a quasi-experimental study in elementary schools, was designed to test the efficacy of 1) changes to meals served to children at school, 2) nutrition and healthy lifestyle curricula linked to the core subject requirements, monthly food-based social marketing and education, and daily physical activity (including OWG), and 3) other school-based wellness activities such as school gardens. HOPS resulted in statistically significant improvements in program children's weight, blood pressure, and waist circumference measures, as well as significantly higher average standardized test scores, as compared to outcomes of children in non-program schools.[4][5][6]
Areas of work
editOWG materials are used in early childcare centers, elementary schools, communities, summer camps, faith-based institutions, supermarkets, and clinics throughout the United States. From 2009 to 2012, a $2 million grant funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to the Mississippi Food Network provided funds to a land-grant university cooperative extension service to carry out OWG programming in Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Michigan, and New Mexico. The concept of schools as "hubs" of obesity prevention was further developed through the work made possible by this grant, and this is the approach that OWG takes in its childhood obesity prevention efforts.[7][8]
References
edit- ^ "Miller School Researchers Publish Findings on Obesity Prevention Intervention". Archived from the original on 2019-09-04. Retrieved 2010-12-21.
- ^ Getsinger, Annie (November 3, 2009). "OrganWise Guys deliver inside information on the body and making healthy choices". Herald Review. Retrieved 2010-12-21.
- ^ "Wise Guys' Wise Advice: Eat and Live Healthy" (PDF). USA Today - The Magazine of the American Scene. September 2010. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
- ^ Hollar, Danielle; Sarah Messiah; Gabriela Lopez-Mitnik; T. Lucas Hollar; Marie Almon; Arthur Agatston (April 2010). "Effect of a Two-Year Obesity Prevention Intervention on Percentile Changes in Body Mass Index and Academic Performance in Low-Income Elementary School Children". American Journal of Public Health. 100 (4): 646–653. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2009.165746. PMC 2836343. PMID 20167892.
- ^ Hollar, Danielle; Sarah Messiah; Gabriela Lopez-Mitnik; T. Lucas Hollar; Marie Almon; Arthur Agatston (4 September 2010). "Healthier Options for Public Schoolchildren Program Improves Weight and Blood Pressure in 6 to 13-Year Olds". Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 110 (2): 261–7. doi:10.1016/j.jada.2009.10.029. PMID 20102854.
- ^ Hollar, Danielle; Michelle Lombardo; Gabriella Lopez-Miknik; Theodore L. Hollar; Marie Almon; Arthur Agatston; Sarah Messiah (2010). "Effective Multi-level, Multi-sector School-based Obesity Prevention Programming Improves Weight, Blood Pressure, and Academic Performance, Especially among Low-Income, Minority Children" (PDF). Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved. 21 (2 Suppl): 93–108. doi:10.1353/hpu.0.0304. PMID 20453379. S2CID 37796657. Project MUSE 380463.
- ^ "Childhood Obesity Prevention with The OrganWise Guys". YouTube. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
- ^ Hollar, Danielle; Messiah SE; Lopez-Mitnik G; Almon M; Hollar TL; Lombardo M (2010). "Combining Nutrition Education, Foodservice (Feeding Programs), and Physical Activity Obesity Prevention Interventions for Children: Significant Improvements in the Health and Academic Achievement of Young Children". In Debasis Bagchi (ed.). Global View on Childhood Obesity: Current Status, Consequences and Prevention (1 ed.). Elsevier. p. 364. ISBN 978-0123749956.