California State University, Chico:

Graduate student Skye “The P.E. Guy” Dunn is talking the talk and walking the walk when it comes to promoting physical fitness as part of the solution to the nation’s obesity problem. Over the last six months, Dunn, who is pursuing a master’s degree in kinesiology, has biked, walked, skated and skateboarded across the country, talking to children along the way about physical fitness. His six-month P.E. jaunt started with a swim in the Pacific Ocean on June 4 in San Francisco and ended with a visit Nov. 19 to The Children’s Storefront School in Harlem, where he encouraged students to take at least 10,000 steps every day and presented the school pedometers for two classes. Dunn is working with CASPER (Center for Advancement of Standards-based Physical Education Reform) at CSU-Chico to empower parents, school administrators and elected officials to demand quality P.E. classes that include nutrition information.

California State University, Long Beach:

First-generation Latino students enrolled in nutrition science and health science at CSULB will be on the front lines in the fight against maternal and childhood obesity in the Long Beach Latino community. A new program, “Comienzo Sano: Familia Saludable” (Healthy Start: Healthy Families), will rely on students to work with participants in the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, encouraging breastfeeding, introducing them to foods and liquids to alleviate the development of asthma and allergies and providing nutrition and wellness instruction to prevent obesity. The new program is funded with a U.S. Department of Agriculture $295,000 Hispanic- serving institutions grant to the National Council of La Raza/CSULB Center for Latino Community Health, Evaluation and Leadership Training.