Exploring the Experience of Older Adults Volunteering with an Intergenerational Program to Prevent Childhood Obesity

Abstract

Over the past three decades, obesity rates in the United States have increased dramatically among both children and adults. A variety of programs have been created to prevent and intervene in the obesity epidemic but few are intergenerational. This article explores volunteers’ experience with an innovative childhood obesity prevention program called Active Generations. Active Generations benefits both children and seniors by utilizing older adult volunteers to implement a version of the evidence-based childhood obesity prevention program, CATCH (Coordinated Approach To Child Health) in out-ofschool settings. Understanding that social and civic engagement maintains or improves the health of older adults, this article reviews the stories and preliminary experiences of older adults volunteering to help reverse the trend of childhood obesity.