STEP UP LOUDOUN is a non-profit organization in Loudoun County, Virginia, that encourages teens to identify a problem, risk, or concern facing Loudoun youth...and to do something about it!

Our team, STEP UP...to Better Teen Nutrition, has accepted this challenge by raising awareness among our middle school classmates regarding the ill effects of poor teen nutrition and the long term benefits of a healthy diet. For the very first time, the CDC is recommending that teens and children begin annual cholesterol testing because of the rise in coronary disease in increasingly younger patients. Unfortunately, teens living in Loudoun County are no exception to the unhealthy national trends in obesity, heart disease, and diabetes associated with poor eating habits.

Our team started working on this issue in February, and in the past two months we created an online nutrition survey to administer to our classmates. Over 600 students, or 56% of our school, took the assessment. We compiled all of the test results and compared the data to the USDA’s recommended nutrition guidelines (www.myplate.gov). We invited a motivational speaker, who is a leading health and fitness expert, to our school to address the benefits of healthy eating to over 100 students in their PE classes. We collected easy-to-make, teen-friendly, healthy fruit and vegetable recipes from our friends and classmates. We compiled all of the recipes in a healthy recipe booklet that we sold to raise money for Loudoun Interfaith Relief's food pantry. We sold several hundred booklets and raised $350 to help local families in need. We also uploaded our healthy recipe booklet to our school website so all of the 1,134 students at SHMS could have FREE access to our healthy recipes online.

Our team, STEP UP...to Better Teen Nutrition, looks forward to participating in Youth Fest 2012 in June!