September 09, 2010 - Working to UPLIFT Chicago Youth

Last week, President Obama issued an official proclamation that dubbed this September the first-ever National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month. In the proclamation, the president noted the fact that childhood obesity (and the attendant chronic health conditions) disproportionately affects underserved populations, and urged “all Americans to take action to meet our national goal of solving the problem of childhood obesity within a generation.”

Schweitzer Fellows Courtney Driscoll and Sara Rosenthal are doing their part. Recognizing that childhood obesity rates are particularly high in Chicago, these two DePaul University graduate nursing students are partnering with UPLIFT Community High School/Health Center to create and carry out a year-long health education program aimed at empowering Chicago youth to make healthy lifestyle choices.

They’ve been overwhelmed by both the generosity of community sponsors, and the degree to which their young students have embraced the program – and in this week's installment of Five Questions for a Fellow, they share their thoughts on the urgency of addressing childhood obesity in collaborative, community-based ways.

Click here to read our interview with Driscoll and Rosenthal.

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