Truth In Nutrition

The goal of the project was to raise awareness about nutrition within young teens and adults who’ve been misinformed due to social media, with its false claims and misinformation. I wanted to help them build a strong foundation for healthier eating habits early in life, and I wanted to have an impact on the confused and numerous different ideas of diets and what “healthy” eating really is. I wanted to learn this myself, and then pass my information on by teaching others. To do this I organized interactive lessons for kids, and young teens. To gain information on fun activities and evidence based nutrition facts, I interviewed a nutrition expert with over 1 Million followers on tiktok and instagram. I also raised funds for nutrition-related causes. To achieve this goal, I planned a basketball tournament to bring people and friends in an engaging way to support the mission financially. Each part of this project, the educational sessions, expert interview, and fundraiser, combined to create an initiative that taught people about nutrition and fostered community engagement.

This project has had a significant personal impact on me, as I already had prior interest in nutrition. Teaching kids about nutrition required me to break down concepts like macronutrients, portion sizes, and the difference between natural and added sugars into simple, clear language. While preparing lessons, I learned more about vitamins and minerals that support different body functions, why fiber is essential for digestion, and how to read nutrition labels critically. I also became more aware of common myths, such as the idea that all fats are bad, and learned how to explain the role of healthy fats in brain and hormone health. This process made me reflect on my own eating habits, encouraging me to choose more whole foods and eat less processed snacks so I could model healthy choices for others. On a deeper level, this project gave me a sense of purpose beyond my academic goals.

Throughout the project I positively impacted both individuals and the community. The children I taught learned not only about which foods are healthy but also how to think carefully about their food choices, and what those foods have on their health and lifestyle. Using real-life examples, I showed them how to spot misinformation online with a bias checklist. Which included examining the source of the information, checking for scientific evidence, and recognizing misleading language or exaggerated claims. They also became more aware of how online influences, such as influencers or ads, can change and warp their views of what is “healthy” without always being accurate. Many parents asked for copies of the handouts I provided, saying they wanted to use them at home to use the lessons themselves. The basketball tournament brought together teens, creating an environment where community members could connect while supporting a cause. Through the event, we raised money for charity, ensuring that the project’s benefits extended beyond its official end date.

One of the key takeaways from this project is that change in nutrition and wellness behavior can start with small, incremental steps taken consistently. While teaching the nutrition lessons, I understood that the ability to describe something as simple as reading a nutrition label or being able to compare sugar content among beverages might teach teens with information to which they hadn’t previously had access. I also learned that preparation and flexibility is important to teach effectively. I spent a lot of time developing lesson planning documents for the specific nutrition lessons and the organization for the basketball fundraiser activity, however, challenges still presented themselves unexpectedly, such as sudden changes to the gym schedule, participants arriving late, or young participants needing more hands-on activity to stay engaged. It forced me to think on my feet and be flexible, while still keeping my focus on the participants. I eventually understood that flexibility is a crucial component of making any partnership work when groups consist of participants with different attention spans, schedules, and needs.

For this project, one of my earlier team members stepped away at the beginning, leaving myself and my other teammate to take on all the work. I took the lead on reserving the basketball court for our fundraiser and coordinating the logistics for the event while my teammate worked on contacting potential participants and registering. We spent hours brainstorming together, finalizing the ideas for nutrition lessons, planning the different age group activities, and determining what supplies we would need. We also worked through the tournament format and ultimately decided on a round-robin style to keep participants engaged, while allowing everyone to visit the nutrition information table. After our planning sessions, we got together to put the teaching materials together, create flyers, and visuals for the lessons. We then visited courts to figure out where the event would take place.

One of the largest struggles was when one of our teammates left. We took on primary responsibility, which caused some loss in follow-up. Coordinating interviews required extensive emailing and slow responses. Additionally, we had a hard time deciding on the charity for the fundraiser because we wanted to contribute to charity that we believed would have a meaningful impact in their nutrition education. Lastly, this project and the commitments demanded a lot of time considering the project’s long timeline and at times we found it or felt it hard to stay on top of the project.

I’m hopeful this project will develop beyond these 2 months, I’m sure it would be nice to incorporate the learning elements into local community organizations, or schools, to help regularly reach more children. We could make this fundraiser annual and expand it, with different sports or activities, to continue and engage the community. I see potential to create even more opportunities for partnerships with nutrition-related organizations to provide continued support and updated resources.