Healthy choices for life

By Crystal Schelle / Journal staff writer

MARTINSBURG — Carol Wilkins of Martinsburg knows how important healthy eating and exercise can be. Since April, she has shed 55 pounds.

That’s one reason she and her daughter, Sallie, 12, are attending BodyWorks, a program that is geared to give adolescent girls and their mothers the tools to be healthy.

Moms can play an important part in how their daughters perceive their bodies. And, more importantly, moms are often the person a young girl looks to when it comes to healthy living.

BodyWorks, a new program offered through West Virginia Kids in Action, pairs adolescent girls with their mothers and encourages exercise and healthful eating habits.

The 10-week program started Sept. 18 and runs Tuesdays through Nov. 20 at the West Virginia University Extension Office, third floor in the Dunn Building. The cost is free and families are still able to sign up.

For Wilkins, the program was also a chance for a little bonding. “We like doing things together, and this was such a great opportunity,” she says.

Robin Truax, director of W.Va. Kids in Action, says the curriculum for BodyWorks was designed by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Office on Women’s Health.

BodyWorks targets adolescents from age 9 to 13 and their mothers. Truax says the program is to encourage mothers and daughters to spend time together. But more importantly, the program helps to give the girls tools on how to be healthy, and it was especially developed for girls at this particular time in their lives.

“Body image in young girls is so critical,” Truax says.

The program trains community presenters who in turn hold weekly classes for mom and daughter groups on how to eat healthy or how to increase exercise. Presenting classes for BodyWorks are Dana DeJarnett, dietician with City Hospital; Sue Flanagan, WVU Extension agent; and Angela Gray and Cara Harding, both with the Berkeley County Health Department.

Class subjects include serving sizes, shopping for meals, setting goals, meal planning and physical activity. The classes aren’t designed to be a lecture — instead classes are hands-on and activity-driven. The Sept. 2 class on healthy eating, taught by Flanagan, had interactive activities as well as a healthful snack at the end.

“We want to promote and to enhance healthy lifestyles,” Truax says.

The program also shows moms and daughters that they don’t have to be gymrats to be healthy, instead showing them exercise alternatives. “Not everybody wants to go to the gym,” Truax says.

The program supplies each family with a toolkit, and homework is assigned from books, including some reading.

One of the lessons BodyWorks teaches the families is to keep a food journal. “I learned that you have to write down everything you eat no matter how much,” Sallie Wilkins says.

Her mother says the program has helped to build on what she’s already learned through her own healthful lifestyle changes.

For Sallie, the program has taught her a lot. “I’ve learned that change is possible,” she says.

In fact, she’s enjoying the program so much that she’s looking forward to another 10 weeks. “I would definitely do this again,” she says.

Selina Meehlieb of Martinsburg brought daughter Savannah Brooks, 8, with her to BodyWorks. She says she was encouraged by her pediatrician to bring her daughter as a way to help with weight management.

Selina says she likes the small classes and “it’s a positive environment.”

Her daughter says she’s enjoying the program, too. She says one aspect she enjoyed learning about was the food chain, which explained the food groups in colors.

“It’s a good way to deal with your weight,” she says.

Savannah says she likes that it’s a team effort with her and her mom. “I like it because it helps me and my mom get off our bad habits,” she says.

Becca Rohn, 12, of Martinsburg, came with her mom, Stacie, to the class. She says one of the most important aspects she’s learning has been how to eat. “I’ve learned that quantity is more important,” she says.

Becca says she’s hoping the class will teach her how to be healthier. “I want to learn better eating habits and to get my weight down,” she says.

Cheryl Anderson of Martinsburg and daughter, Rebekah, 12, have also taken part in the BodyWorks program. Cheryl says the program really is just another reason for some mother and daughter bonding.

But, more importantly, it’s about the lessons that can be taught to not only her daughter, but herself. “We had some health issues in our family and we want to change not only the way we eat, but also what they eat,” she says.

Cheryl says the program has really made the two of them more conscious of their eating choices. “We’re eating more vegetables and less red meat,” she says.

Rebekah says the program simply teaches her how “to eat healthy.”

Flanagan says it’s unrealistic for us to think that people have to give up french fries or other treats. “We shouldn’t have to, but it’s a balancing act,” she says.

The classes, she says, encourage moms and daughters to make different choices. “Maybe they’ll want to select an apple or a banana,” she says.

—Staff writer Crystal Schelle can be reached at (304) 263-8931, ext. 213, or cschelle@journal-news.net.