Students and faculty at are drinking up the benefits of the best sugar-free beverage—water—thanks to a partnership between the University of Â鶹´«Ã½ at Mānoa and , one of the state’s largest health-care providers.
On October 26, the Windward Oʻahu school unveiled a water bottle filling station and presented each child with a water bottle to promote healthy beverage consumption. The project is part of a coordinated school wellness strategy led by the (HICORE), a health initiative of the School of Medicine to help reduce health disparities and childhood obesity.
“Eating and drinking habits, like exercise patterns, begin in early childhood,” said May Okihiro, School of Medicine pediatrician and HICORE director. “Drinking water regularly is essential to good health.”
The filling station, unveiled at an event this morning at °¨¡²Ô±ðʻ´Ç³ó±ð Elementary, was attended by fourth-grade students, administrators and first lady Dawn Ige, an elementary school vice principal and longtime champion of children’s health and educational initiatives.
Developing healthier habits
“Simple changes to diet and exercise can help our children develop healthy habits that will stay with them throughout their lives,” said Mary Ann Barnes, president of Kaiser Permanente Â鶹´«Ã½. “We’re happy to partner with HICORE as part of our Thriving Schools initiative to improve the health of our keiki.”
An estimated 25 Â鶹´«Ã½ schools and 31,000 students are expected to benefit from the water bottle filling stations, supported by a $92,000 grant from Kaiser Permanente Â鶹´«Ã½, the first organization to partner with the School of Medicine to lead the Be Well at School initiative. Other partners include , and .
Participating schools will also incorporate healthy beverage consumption as part of school wellness policies.
—By Tina Shelton