UNA Student Lauren Schifano is more than just passionate about Childhood Obesity
Apr. 8, 2015
Bryan Rachal,
University Communications
FLORENCE, Ala. –Lauren Schifano is passionate about childhood obesity. Of course passionate can be a relative term. So let’s say Schifano is seriously passionate, like “ride her unicycle across the state to raise funds and awareness for childhood obesity” passionate. So when we sat down to chat, it was no surprise that we were talking about childhood obesity and what she’s currently doing to try and solve this problem.
For Schifano, a senior Health Promotion major at the University of North Alabama, childhood obesity is more than just a passion; it’s something she’s dealt with as well. “I feel that it’s become such an epidemic,” she said. “I’m very interested in the ecological factors that lead to that. I also feel invested because I was overweight and lost that weight, so not only do I have the research background but also an emotional connection to the issue.”
That connection led Schifano to her newest endeavor in the fight against childhood obesity, an internship with Childhood Obesity Prevention and Education (COPE) in Savannah, Georgia. Schifano said COPE sets up programs for kids and parents to work on childhood obesity.
“They have a program in the schools in Savannah and a program at COPE’s home base facility,” she said. “The great thing is that my work has been multifaceted and multi-dimensional. The first week I was there we went to Washington D.C., and lobbied for money.”
Schifano said the D.C. trip also involved a congressional staff meeting where they educated congressman on the causes of and best practices to reduce childhood obesity. And that was all in her first week on the job; since then Schifano said she’s worked on many other projects, including press releases and programming, to name a few.
COPE is unique to Savannah; and Schifano said that had it not been for her fiancé, she probably wouldn’t be interning for the non-profit.
“Sandy Baker is the CEO and founding director of the organization, and she’s developed a great infrastructure in the city to help treat childhood obesity. It just so happens that my fiancé is from Savannah and his mother already knew Sandy, so I actually got in touch with her through my future mother-in-law,” she said.
Schifano said it was the way COPE offers its programs that truly drew her in: COPE offers free programming. “A big problem with childhood obesity,” said Schifano, “is that low-income families are often the ones affected, so it’s great to offer a free program that’s funded through the community.”
COPE works with nutrition and fitness, but they also look at the behavioral component as well, said Schifano. Licensed health counselors come in and do group therapy to really get at the underlying issues, which can include bullying in the schools and different family issues.
“Because we have both parents and kids involved, we really get to tackle these issues,” she said. “You listen to their issues, their barriers and it’s such a cool experience to be able to form programming and educational components around their needs.”
Schifano said that while there are many ways to combat childhood obesity, one thing is very clear, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. “You need a holistic family approach, I believe; and you have to be able to work with people at an individual level as well.”
One of the programs Schifano developed was an evidence-based fitness component. COPE already had a fitness program that had personal trainers working with the families; however, Schifano added different procedural tests to see what actual changes are being made in fitness, and she also added some health promotion tools like posters and goal setting. “So that was really fun for me,” she said, “because in health promotion you get a really strong exercise science background as well. So it was to be able to use those skills to build programming.”
Of course none of this would be possible without the flexibility of UNA’s Health ,Physical Education and Recreation department (HPER). Schifano is able to work in Savannah while still getting credit for her internship at UNA. “Our internship program through HPER works by submitting documentation of your internship via live text and doing a major project. Everything is submitted electronically, so you have the ability to go wherever you want, which is fantastic,” Schifano said.
Schifano is set to graduate in May; she has been applying for graduate school and is considering UNA. She said that COPE has offered her a position doing satellite work, should she choose to pursue her master’s. Regardless of the path she chooses, Schifano will always be passionate about helping others.
For more information on UNA’s HPER program: https://www.una.edu/hper/