Eat Smart. Play Hard. with College Wrestling

The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service is excited to partner with the National Wrestling Coaches Association in efforts to help “pin” childhood obesity.

Eat Smart. Play Hard.™ is a USDA campaign that stresses the importance of healthy eating and physical activity. It’s about making America’s children healthier. It’s about practical suggestions that will help motivate children to eat healthy and be active. See www.fns.usda.gov to learn more about the campaign and USDA’s nutrition assistance programs and initiatives.

Why College Wrestling? Children need the positive role models and Wrestling needs opportunities to educate and help shed its past stigma on poor eating habits. It’s a win/win effort!

What’s Involved? USDA would like to facilitate opportunities for college wrestlers and coaches to make visits to local elementary schools or nearby summer feeding sites to promote Eat Smart. Play Hard.™ messages. (A summer feeding site is a place where children can get a certified school lunch when school is not in session.)

A visit could include activities such as playing a game with the children, serving them lunch, eating lunch with them, telling or showing some things about wrestling, and then having a brief discussion on the importance of healthy eating and physical activity. Here are examples of basic points wrestlers and coaches could mention when talking with the children:

• Your body needs nutritious foods to stay healthy and have engergy.
• You need to eat good foods to feel like running and playing
• Healthy foods help your body grow as it should.
• When you Eat Smart, you can Play Hard?

The discussion could also include one or more of these health principles: eat a variety of foods; eat more fruits, veggies and grains; eat lower fat foods more often; be physically active; and get your calcium-rich foods.

To Participate: Please contact Bart Bushman (with USDA) at 303-844-0310 or bart.bushman@fns.usda.gov.