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GATESVILLE – A fun way to learn how to live longer by developing healthy eating habits is coming to Gates County.

The Speedway to Healthy program was created as a resource to fight childhood obesity and poor health among elementary age children in North Carolina.

The program uses a 1,200 square foot structure that represents the human body. The exhibit consists of 11 “pit stops” where students learn how the food they eat affects their bodies and their health. Children learn healthy lifestyle choices to reduce their risks of obesity related health problems.

Helen Eure, Gates County Cooperative Extension Director, introduced the program to the county’s Board of Commissioners at their scheduled meeting on Feb. 26.

Eure pointed out that the pit stops – and the educational info shared at each stop – include the brain, the mouth (where children learn about proper brushing and flossing their teeth), the heart, the stomach, the small intestine – where they are “squeezed” into tiny nutrients that go into the blood stream en route to the heart, the lungs, kidneys, bone, muscles, and skin.

Eure noted that the Speedway to Healthy program is designed for students in grades K-5. The program, created by the Cooperative Extension program at North Carolina A&T State University, is scheduled to visit Gates County on March 18-20.

“We will have a day designated for students in each of our three elementary schools to visit this exhibit,” Eure said. “Time will also be set aside for homeschoolers to visit the exhibit.

“We can’t do this alone,” Eure continued. “We collaborate with our public library, with Merchants Millpond, and with the Gates County Community Center. We rely on volunteers, about 25 per day, to run this exhibit. These volunteers help to strengthen our communities and communities across North Carolina.”

The program’s end goal is to help the students develop healthy lifestyle choices now, allowing them avoid bad eating habits that may have an adverse effect in childhood and continuing into adulthood.

“We would love to have any of you to drop by on the days the program is here,” Eure told the commissioners. “If you wish to join us as a volunteer, that would be great or you may choose to walk through the exhibit.”