Friday, February 13, 2009

Last Meeting

Now that we've gotten this blog rolling a little bit, I feel like it's a good idea to explain a little about what we do. As stated in the title, we are two groups of students working together to increase our understanding about food and the effects of proper nutrition on our overall health.

In the age of fast food, eating an unhealthy diet of cheeseburgers and pizza is far and away the easiest way to consume our calories. The convenience of strolling into the local McDonalds and ordering off the value menu is quick, satisfying, and instantly gratifying. Going out to the grocery and spending time buying veggies and fruits and other "healthy stuff" is challenging and downright time consuming. Finding the time to make those trips (especially with the current school environment I find myself in) is some times a futile effort.

As the American trend of obesity and other diet related health issues continue to rise, I think the overall perception of the public is going to change. People are starting to see the effects of those Big Macs on their waist lines, and they want to do something about it. That's where our groups come in to play.

I think our groups are particularly cool because we span a broad range of ages. We have students from middle school to med school who are all interested in gaining awareness about the current situation, and making adjustments in our own lives to be healthier and happier.

As an example, I want to share some pics from our latest meeting. During the last interaction between the Keen Society and the Urban Tree Connection, we did a little bit of schooling on the anatomy of digestion. What did we look at? Well, we checked out the digestive track, the brain that controls it, and the skeletal system that supports it. Going in order, here are some pictures that detail some of our adventures:



This is a picture of Ben doing some teaching on the finer points of the digestive track.



Here you see the awe inspiring power of the brain!



And here you can see Brian giving a little lesson on endochondral ossification. OK, just kidding. But he did confirm that bones are cool for the body :)

As you can see, our two groups are making some progress and moving in the right direction. This was one of many meetings we have planned with the Urban Tree Connection, and I'm looking forward to working with this enthusiastic group of like-minded individuals in the future. Thanks guys for a fun meeting, and I look forward to the next one!

2 comments:

  1. THIS WAS A GREAT EXPERINCE. I ENJOYED MYSELF.


    :)

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  2. Hey my name is Domonique and I'm a memeber of
    Y.A.N and the experience I had with Jefferson was a good one. I enjoyed learning about the different parts of the body and with the things I learned I may be able to help others with what i know. I hope to see you soon.

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