Richmond, Virginia – How do you teach healthy habits to kids? With CATCH, of course! And the same thing goes for adults over 50. According to Fifty Plus – a magazine that aims to reflect and enhance local 50-plus lifestyles, something fantastic happens when you bring kids and adults together.

(That) something…stands to benefit both groups. The little ones - kindergarten through fifth grade - will learn about nutrition, prepare and eat healthful snacks, and participate in physical exercise. The adults - aged 50 or thereabout and beyond - will learn more about nutrition, direct the assembling of healthful snacks and enjoy them with the children, and coach physical activity sessions.

These efforts at improving health come to Richmond through a program called CATCH Healthy Habits. It operates under the OASIS program (OASIS is not an acronym, but the official title), and is funded by Anthem. Dr. Nicole Lee, instructor at the VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University) School of Social Work, directs the program for the area.

OASIS began in 1982 to promote successful aging through lifelong learning, good health, and volunteer engagement. Its goal, Lee quotes from the organization’s material, is ‘to see that adults aged 50 and older across the country have opportunities to pursue vibrant, healthy, productive, and meaningful lives.’ Further, it ‘seeks to impact the lives of the seniors positively through partnerships to share knowledge, offer research-based programs, conduct evaluations and adapt to meet the needs of diverse populations.’ Those objectives have become closer to reality as OASIS works in cooperation with CATCH Healthy Habits, formerly the Coordinated Approach To Child Health, established by the University of Texas 20 years ago.

In short:
• Kids Learn About Nutrition
• Kids Prepare and Eat Healthful Snacks
• Kids Exercise
…and
• Adults Learn About Nutrition Too
• Adults Direct the Preparation and Eat Healthful Snacks with Kids
• Adults Coach Kid Exercise

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