http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_15291194?nclick_check=1

Student group creates life-size bar graph to illustrate deadliness of obesity

Students take over a city park and — using a life-size bar graph — show the toll of obesity.

By Maricella Miranda 

mmiranda@pioneerpress.com

Updated: 06/13/2010 11:10:57 PM CDT

Denzel Kingsbury knows firsthand the effects of an unhealthy diet.

His grandmother, who was an overweight smoker, died five years ago from a heart attack at age 57, Kingsbury said. The 17-year-old now is educating others through the youth group Catalyst on making healthy eating choices.

A dietary disease is "one of the most preventable, but it's definitely the most overlooked" causes of death, Kingsbury said. "It's heartbreaking to see that it can be changed — and it hasn't. I want to make a difference."

The 11th-grader from Minneapolis South High School joined more than a dozen other Minnesota students Sunday in downtown St. Paul to make life-size bar graphs showing dietary-related deaths — compared with deaths from murder, car accidents and alcohol and drug use. The demonstration was part of Catalyst's annual student summit.

The bar graphs were Kingsbury's brainchild.

"(Catalyst members) came to me and said they wanted a way to show how significant obesity was," he said. Nationwide, thousands of people die every year from obesity and inactivity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Kingsbury serves on Catalyst's youth board and interns for the organization.

The group formed three years ago with the state's tobacco settlement dollars for smoking prevention, said program director Andy Berndt. Today, it also helps high school students and school districts fight childhood obesity.

The group's work has influenced schools to add healthier food options, Berndt said. At Farmington High School, students recently pushed to remove some energy drinks and candy from the school store — replacing the unhealthy snacks with healthier foods such as beef jerky and string cheese.

Along with Farmington and South, 12 other schools participated in last weekend's summit, including Henry Sibley High School in Mendota Heights, St. Paul Central High School and White Bear Lake High School.

The students spent Saturday and Sunday at the University of Minnesota's St. Paul campus sharing strategies on how to change food policies at their schools, make healthy meals for themselves and spot fast-food advertising tactics.

"We learned a lot of different recipes to make," said Miriam Snyder, 18, a recent Henry Sibley graduate. She joined the group when it started and also serves on the youth board.

"I guess, I just wanted to make a difference in the community," she said.

Maricella Miranda can be reached at 651-228-5421.