(image: Media-Smart Youth logo, wecan! Logo, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services logo)

• Average child sees more than 40,000 commercials a year
• Commercials are quick, fast-paced and entertaining
• Commercials try to convince child that eating a certain food will make a child happy or popular

• Strong evidence that marketing foods and beverages to children influences their preferences, requests, purchases, and diets
• Most foods marketed to children are high calories and low in nutrients
• Candy, soft drinks, salty snacks and chips are the top items that teens 13-17 purchase with their own money
• Marketing has become more sophisticated, pervasive, invasive, and effective
• More than $10 billion per year is spent on marketing foods and beverages that kids buy and eat.

• Overweight increases in proportion to the number of hours children sit in front of a screen
• A study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that children aged 8 to 18 years had an average media usage time of 6 hours and 21 minutes.
• Obesity among preschool children more than doubled in the last 30 years ... more than tripled for children 6-11

• Origin and basis for program
• Acknowledgement of AED – Academy for Educational Development
• Features and materials
• Formative research and pilot test
• Where the program is being used
• Evaluation: preliminary results

• Create awareness of media's role in influencing choices about physical activity and nutrition
• Build critical thinking and media analysis skills to help youth make informed choices regarding physical activity and nutrition
• Encourage youth to establish healthy habits now to last into adulthood

• Facilitator's Guide includes 10 highly interactive and fun lessons for youth ages 11-13 y.o.
• Lessons include snack and action breaks
• Guide youth toward creating their own media project

(image: cover of Media Smart Facilitator's Guide)

• Content includes:
  • Media analysis
  • Nutrition
  • Physical activity
  • Media production skills
    
    
• DVD/Video and poster to supplement the lessons

(image: "6 Media Questions" poster)

Critical thinking skills

• Access information
• Analyze & explore message construction
• Evaluate implicit and explicit messages

• Work with Media Partner to create messages
• Communicate messages to peers ages 9-13 y.o.

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• Girl Scouts of Greater Minneapolis: Minneapolis, MN
• Girl Scouts of Rolling Hills Council: North Branch, New Jersey
• YMCA of Westfield: Westfield, New Jersey
• Sports and Arts in Schools Foundation: Long Island City, New York
• Logan Square Neighborhood Association: Chicago, Illinois
• Spartanburg Terrace Tenants Association/Save the Children: Spartanburg, South Carolina
• Latin American Youth Center: Washington, DC

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• Flexibility
• Structure & organization of lessons
• Youth involvement/ "after-school feel"
• Guidance for media partners
• Link to educational standards

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A national education program involving youth, ages 8-13, and their parents and caregivers in home and community settings to meet the overall goal of preventing overweight and obesity.

• Turn key! Science-based program for the entire community
• Flexible! Variety of settings
• Fosters collaboration!

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NHLBI, NICHD, NIDDK and NCI

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• Parks & Recreation: Benton County, Oregon
• Coalition for Healthy Active Youth: Lane County, Oregon
• University of Nevada Las Vegas: Las Vegas, Nevada
• The Children's Hospital at Scott and White: Temple, Texas
• Alabama Department of Public Health: Mobile, Alabama
• Parks & Recreation: Roswell, Georgia
• Gary Youth Services Bureau and Park Recreation: Gary, Indiana
• Springfield-Green County Park Board: Springfield, Missouri
• University of Michigan Health System: Ann Arbor, Michigan
• Montgomery County Recreation Department: Silver Spring, Maryland

(image: US map of We Can sites using Media-Smart Youth)

Looks at whether or not the Media-Smart Youth program increases knowledge, intentions and skills in media analysis, nutrition and physical activity.

• First formal evaluation of the curriculum using trained facilitators.
• Conducted with sites in DC, Fairfax County, VA, and Montgomery County, MD
• Evaluation Report to be published in early 2007

Promote the materials through partnerships

• Regional chapters of youth-serving organizations
• NIH partners - WE CAN!
• BET Foundation Summer Camp

Media-Smart Youth is…

• Well-researched and tested
• Grounded in communications and youth development principals
• Exciting and fun for young people
• Used by youth-serving organizations across the country

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(image: photos of Media-Smart Youth event in Times Square)

www.nichd.nih.gov/msy

http://wecan.nhlbi.nih.gov

mcgrathj@mail.nih.gov

(image: photo of happy children, Media-Smart Youth logo and HHS logo)