Healthy Body: Obesity/Overweight
The Obesity epidemic has hit communities across the country, and ours is no exception. Elkhart, Marshall and Saint Joseph County have all witnessed a higher percentage of adult obesity compared to the national average. The percentages of obesity for the adult population in 2017 were 14.5% in Elkhart County, 15.2% in Marshall County and 14.3% in Saint Joseph County. According to the Indiana Youth Institute, 1 in 3 Indiana children ages 10-17 are overweight or obese (33.9%) and 5.7% of Indiana children ages 10-17 are underweight.
Due to the overwhelming body of evidence that obesity rates are on the rise, Beacon Community Impact has placed an emphasis on three focus areas that are known to reduce obesity:
Focus 1
Improve nutrition, physical activity and weight-related outcomes of children.
Focus 2
Increase parent/guardian engagement in promoting health, wellness and academic learning.
Focus 3
Decrease the number of diabetic/pre-diabetic children and adults.
Community Partners
Community partners within this priority represent a wide range of programming aimed at improving the health of mothers and their children. Below is a list of our current partners with details on the programming they offer.
- Provide League Cycling Instructor training that allows newly trained instructors to teach bicycle safety to all ages, enabling both youth and adults to feel
- The Diabetes Alliance Program was initiated in the fall of 2018 to meet community needs related to obesity and diabetes–and the connection between the
- Programming: Provide a mobile exam unit that will screen students in the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 8th grades (4,000+ students annually). The unit will
- La Casa de Amistad strives to find ways to help youth succeed, families develop, and communities strengthen through educational activities and advocacy programs that
- Michiana VegEDU educates the community, specifically at-risk communities, on the health benefits of a plant-based diet through educational lectures, cooking demonstrations, and displays by
- Through lectures and hands-on activities, this six-session program aims to prevent childhood obesity by empowering students with the knowledge needed to make healthier decisions
- Unity Gardens’ Health Over Hunger Youth Program uses food and gardening activities to attract neighborhood children to their garden in South Bend. Each summer,
- The HEAL program aims to decrease chronic diseases in the community by empowering residents of Upper Room Recovery Community to select, prepare, and eat
Beacon Community Impact Programs
In addition to our externally funded community partners, Beacon Community Impact provides the following programming within our Healthy Body Priority:
- School program in collaboration with the Boys and Girls Club that delivers practical knowledge on nutrition and exercise by making healthy snacks and engaging
- School program in collaboration with the Boys and Girls Club that delivers practical knowledge on nutrition and exercise by making healthy snacks and engaging
- Programming: Provide a mobile exam unit that will screen students in the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 8th grades (4,000+ students annually). The unit will
- 574.647.2100 or 574.647.2175 WIC provides supplemental foods, health care referrals and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding postpartum women and to infants
