By JODEE TAYLOR
TRAVERSE CITY -- A fun family production takes on a serious topic -- childhood obesity.
"The Jack Sprat Low-Fat World Tour" is part of the Dennos Museum Family Day Saturday.
The musical production was commissioned by the American Cancer Society. It drives home the message of healthy eating to fight heart disease and obesity.
Jodi Jocks, a registered dietitian with the Traverse City Area Public Schools and Munson Medical Center, thinks it's great.
Traditionally the message of healthy eating can be too negative, she said.
"It's too much drudgery about food pyramids or it's all about diets," she said.
Something that shows kids how to do it on their own, teaches them what healthy food is and where to get that food is a great lesson, she said.
The play, put on by Two Beans Productions, uses nursery rhymes and pop culture to spread the message.
Jack Sprat and his wife (now called "Gloria") work on their own diets of no fat and no lean. Much of the action takes place in a grocery store, where the couple learns to shop for healthy food.
"A second act, where they learn to prepare it, would be great," Jocks said.
The 60-minute show includes audience participation (the Vitamin C conga, for instance) and messages about vegetables ("The Okra Winfrey Show"), fighting off disease through nutrition and even heart disease.
Jocks said taking the message in as a family -- then acting on it as a family -- is the most powerful tool in teaching kids about healthy eating. She said the environment children are raised in influences how they eat, talk, read and more.
A healthy lifestyle has to become "part of their everyday life," she said.
She said Munson Medical Center has a Youth WOW (Working on Wellness) program that helps kids ages 10 to 18 with weight management.
"The kids themselves have to interested," she said. "If the parents push them into it, it doesn't work. It helps a lot that the family changes (lifestyles), too."
Dennos Museum Family Day
-- When: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday
-- What: 11 a.m. "Jack Sprat Low-Fat World Tour" musical production about the importance of healthy eating, good for kids in K-5
-- How much: $10 adults, $5 children 17 and younger, includes performance, art activities and gallery hunts
-- Where: Dennos Museum Center, 1701 E. Front St., Traverse City
For more information, call 995-1553 or visit www.dennosmuseum.org.
