The Hip Hop for Health Program is a health education project that promotes good nutrition and physical activity for middle school youth. The program is sponsored by the Saint Louis County Department of Health in partnership with local schools. The Hip Hop for Health Program recognizes that young people are more likely to make healthy food choices and participate in heart-healthy physical activity if ideas are easily understood and presented in a fun, music-filled atmosphere.

The goal of the Hip Hop for Health Program is to help students develop healthy eating choices and a physically active lifestyle. The Department of Health provides onsite staff the twelve-session interactive curriculum on nutrition that includes the food pyramid, label reading, fast food options and the importance of dairy, fruits and vegetables in the daily diet. In addition to the curriculum, the Department of Health works closely with the food service staff to analyze the nutrition content of the cafeteria choices and provide a simple red – yellow – green food coding system. This system educates students and helps them choose nutritious foods. Throughout the program, parents also receive information on healthy food choices and fitness so that the ideas can be reinforced at home as well.

Students take part in heart healthy aerobic hip hop dance with assistance from professional dancers and choreographers to demonstrate the benefits of a physically active lifestyle. At the end of the Hip Hop for Health Program, the students present a program for parents, school faculty members and their peers to showcase what they have learned and achieved in the Hip Hop for Health Program.

Funding for this project was provided in part by the Missouri Foundation for Health. The Missouri Foundation for Health is a philanthropic organization whose vision is to improve the health of people in the communities it serves.