USDA offers school program to help adolescents

The increasing number of adolescents with weight and body image problems is being addressed by the USDA's Team Nutrition through the positive message program called yourSELF. A complete kit for the program is being mailed to every school in the nation with a 7th and 8th grade.

Aimed at 11 to 14 year-old adolescents, the yourSELF program encourages healthy eating, active living, positive self image, appreciation for size diversity, and personal responsibility for lifestyle decisions. The goal is to help adolescents learn to be their best as their bodies grow and change.

Every school in the nation with a 7th and 8th grade is currently being mailed a complete yourSELF kit. The kit includes a video that can be shown in the classroom, a poster, a set of student activity guides, and copies of a full-color magazine written for adolescents.

Dr. Dennis Bier of the USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center was an advisor on the project.

Learn more about Team Nutrition