Children in Tennessee and four other states will soon learn how to cook healthfully and live a healthy lifestyle thanks to a new 4-H research project.
Assistant Professor of Nutrition Sarah Colby leads the Tennessee team for iCook, which is being developed and tested through a USDA-funded research project.
iCook is designed to prevent childhood obesity through a family cooking intervention and is taking place in Tennessee, Nebraska, South Dakota, Maine, and West Virginia. The 4-H approach to “learn by doing” is at the heart of this project. Children nine to ten years old will learn the importance of a healthy lifestyle by cooking healthfully and engaging in physical activities that contribute to good health. Children will collaborate with their primary meal preparer to develop cooking skills and learn ways to increase and enhance family mealtime and family activity.
iCook was successfully pilot-tested in the fall of 2012 and will be implemented this fall with 500 families across the five states.