Every now
and then the Saint Louis University dietetic interns step outside of
the hospitals and clinics to impact health and well-being within the Saint Louis community. The 4th annual Let's Move! STL – So You Got Moves Expo provided
just such an opportunity.
The Let's
Move! STL event orchestrated by the City of
St. Louis Department of Health and inspired by the national Let's Move!
Initiative of our First Lady Michelle Obama was held on February 8th. The "So You Got Moves Expo" was held at two
main locations this year, the O'Fallon Park
and Carondelet Park Recreation Complexes. Both locations included lots of free activities for the entire family to
enjoy including an open gym, a golf simulator and high-energy dance
classes. While the O'Fallon park
location was breaking a sweat with a Zumba lesson, SLU Dietetic Intern Morgan
Schulte led guests at Carondelet in the official Let's Move! Move your
Body dance.
In between activities,
guests were able to view cooking demonstrations. Saint Louis University dietetic interns, Victoria Glatz
and Gabby Pruchno demonstrated how to make two, simple healthy snacks to eat before and after a workout. Glatz' quinoa protein bites were kid-friendly,
and several little helpers were available to help roll them. Pruchno's protein-powered veggie quesadillas
made a great post-workout meal that was delicious and easy on the wallet at
only $1.87 per serving. All the samples were
snapped up quickly!
Regional
initiatives like Let's Move! STL can make an impact.Let's Move! is a national campaign to
combat childhood obesity and it is important to extend the message behind this
initiative at a regional or even community level in order to make an
impact. I spoke with Lauren Landfried, a
Nutrition Coordinator with the City of St Louis Department of Health and the
Missouri Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics' Let's Move! Coordinator,
and posed the question: What do you
think sets the Let's Move! campaign apart from other initiatives to
encourage healthier lifestyles for kids? Landfried shared, "The Let's Move! STL initiative does a
great job of incorporating strategies from the national Let's Move! initiative
to address whole family health. Since its inception, the initiative has
reached thousands of people from the St. Louis region and strives to
reach even more in the upcoming years. Physical activity is an important
component in achieving and maintaining overall health, and this initiative
provides ways for people to get started and sustain the activities through
different events and programs year round. While the anniversary event is
held once a year, there are various ongoing Let's Move! STL -sponsored activities
throughout the year."
National
campaigns are a great starting point to inspire change but it is necessary to
use that momentum to create initiatives within each community to promote
lifestyle change and then sustain that change with ongoing activities and
events. Lifestyle change isn't a
one-time event but a continual process!
The
Let's Move! STL event was a great way
for this group of future dietitians to support families within the community as
they strive for a healthier lifestyle. If you would like more information about Let's Move! STL activities, please
contact Melissa Ramel at 314/657-1571. You can also keep up with Let's Move! and Let's Move! STL via the Health
Institute website (www.healthinstitutestl.org) or
the Health Institute-STL Facebook page.
Department of Health
City of St. Louis
GOV
