Flipany Battling Obesity In South Florida

MIAMI (CBSMiami.com) – The Florida Introduces Physical Activity and Nutrition to Youth, or Flipany, is trying to stem the tide of obesity among both children and adults.

Flipany and their volunteers of dietitians and chefs went to a North Miami youth center to teach teens the importance of eating healthy. Once there, Flipany gave the kids a crash course on nutrition and cooking.

The group of kids was first taught about nutritional guidelines, food groups, and about the new "My Plate" from a registered dietitian.

"I think it is very important especially kids at a young age to get familiar not only with fruits and vegetable but explain and understand why to eat these things," said Keri Louati, a dietitian with Flipany.

Once they got passed the first part of the course, they put to practice what they learned in the kitchen. A professional chef taught them how to incorporate different fruits and vegetables into easy to cook meals while exposing them to new ones.

"A lot of people say we need to teach parents but there is nothing like educating a child to make them change lives," said Lynne Kunis, executive director of Flipany.

Flipany serves low-income families from Dade to Palm Beach County and they have been doing so for six years. Last year alone, they served more than 10,000 families.

For more on Flipany or how you can be a volunteer log on to their website by clicking here.