Healthy Living

Head, Heart, Hands, and Health - healthy living is part of the 4-H program and identity. We believe that healthy habits begin in families and communities. We strive to equip young people with healthy living knowledge and skills to physically, emotionally, and socially prepare them to meet today's challenges. 4-H Healthy Living programs address nutrition, fitness, substance abuse, safety, and social and emotional wellness.

4-H Healthy Living Events & Competitions

Virtual 4K Race

Arkansas 4-H Virtual 4K Race results are in! Thank you to everyone that took the time to participate in this year's race. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd winner medals will be mailed to you. Don't forget to take a selfie with your medal and tag #AR4H on social media!

Girls Division Winners

1st place - Oakley Martin, Newton County (Time: 25:55)
2nd place - McKenna Austen, Saline County (Time 29:13)
3rd place - Adeline Ruff, Newton County (Time 34:09)
4th place - Teegan Henry, Arkansas County (Time 42:22)
5th place - Allison Ruf, Arkansas County (Time 50:42)

1st place - Cecilia Mora, Logan County (Time 23:30)
2nd place - Rylea Martin, Newton County (Time 24:44)
3rd place - Kylee Ruff, Newton County (Time 39:18)
4th place - Charlotte Roberts, Garland County (Time 47:26)
5th place - Amy Swafford, Newton County (54:35)

1st place - Abi Graham, Boone County (Time 33:56)
2nd place - Brendle Roberts, Garland County (Time 47:26)

1st place - Allison Howell, Clay County (Time 37:04)
2nd place - Cheyenne Dowell, Jefferson County (Time 44:18)
3rd place - Shelby Nix, Dallas County (Time 48:38)

1st place - Dana Austen, Saline County (Time 32:14)
2nd place - Corrie Roberts, Garland County (Time 40:37)

1st place - Jessica McCollum, Independence County (Time 27:40)
2nd place - Heather Henry, Arkansas County (Time 34:32)

1st place - Launa Simmons, Pike County (Time 22:10)
2nd place - Nancy Wilson, Independence County (Time 28:11)

1st place - Martha Traylor, Sebastian County (Time 47:24)

Boys Division Winners

1st place - JT Nix, Dallas County (Time 48:38)

1st place - Ryder Austen, Saline County (Time 32:14)
2nd place - Jase Shepherd, Hot Springs County (Time 47:53)

1st place - Connor Henry, Arkansas County (Time 34:18)
2nd place - Reagen Ruff, Newton County (Time 49:25)
3rd place - Austin Swafford, Newton County (53:18)

1st place - Jon Martin, Saline County (Time 18:33)

1st place - Greg Davis, Saline County (Time 18:33)
2nd place - Justin Austen, Saline County (Time 29:13)

4th H Meeting Challenge

The 4^th H Club Challenge is back again with some new chances!

Are your 4-H'ers ready to commit? The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service would like to invite your club to participate in the 4th H Club Challenge! Each club that completes the challenge before the deadline will enter into the $100 gift card drawing for their district! Each district will have three $100 gift cards to win! The first 25 clubs that complete the registration and pre-survey will get an extra entry. How does it work? Apply the 3 healthy practices (serve water as main beverage, had fruit or vegetable snack, and did 15 minutes of physical activity) at 6 or more 4-H clubs/meetings from January - December 2023.

Why is this important? We pledge our “health to better living” and in order to learn, practice, and advocate for healthy choices we are challenging clubs to practice healthy choices during their meetings. Learning these healthy habits early can have lifelong effects on the health of 4-H’ers. How does a club get started?

1. Register and complete pre-survey

2. Record the dates and activities in the 4^th H Tracker link. (The tracker link will be provided after registering.)

3. Share a picture of the physical activity and/or healthy snack demonstration from the meeting on social media. Be sure to use to include official hashtag #AR4HHealthyLiving

4. Submit all activities by December 31st, 2023.

Resources for Leaders and 4-H'ers
Club Challenge Curriculum
Snack Recipes Ideas
4th H Parent Letter

Arkansas 4-H Food Challenge

The Arkansas 4-H Food Challenge will be held on Friday, August 4th, 2023 at the Pulaski Technical Culinary Arts College in Little Rock, AR. This is a great facility for young future chefs to get a taste for the culinary life.

Registration is available through your local County Extension office. There will be a $160 TEAM FEE which will cover the cost of cooking ingredients and 4 team members to compete. Each team member will receive the 2023 Arkansas 4-H Food Challenge t-shirt. Payment must be made on or before the registration deadline.

Listed below are helpful resources to get your team started. Feel free to contact your local county extension office with any questions.

Helpful Resources

Healthy Living Programs & Activities

Coming Soon!

We all know that we need at least 60 minutes of moderate to intense activity every day, but how do you know that you’ve reached that intense level? It’s all about heart rate, but not everyone has a heart rate monitor with them, so we have some ways for you to recognize when you’ve hit that moderate to intense level!

Levels 1-2 are relaxation or easy walking, something you could do all day long.
Levels 3-4 are like fast walking or jogging, you’re still comfortable but breathing a bit harder.
Levels 5-6 are getting out of your comfort zone, starting to sweat and getting breathless when talking.
Levels 7-8, you can still talk but it’s getting really hard, you may grunt in response to questions, sweating hard, and can only keep up the activity for a short time longer.
Level 9-10 is the intense activity! You cannot speak, breathing really hard, sweating a lot; you will need to cool down or stop soon.

Check out this video to see the activity heart rate levels in action!

This fun physical activity dice game is an excellent way to get out of your normal routine and spice up your physical fitness game! Create your own die or use dice you have; write physical activities on one of them, and numbers on the other one! Watch the video for more instructions & an alternate way to play if you cannot print out or make your dice.

Dice Fitness Video

Healthy Living Projects

Foods and Nutrition projects help participants learn to make healthy food choices and to reduce the risk of illness and disease. Learning experiences center on nutrition, menu planning, and food buying. Food preparation techniques and food safety are also emphasized in this project area.

Projects in Food Preservation and Food Safety involve participants in learning and applying scientific principles of safe food handling to prevent foodborne illness. Participants also learn food preservation skills and methods.

Health and Fitness projects focus on activities promoting healthy lifestyles and a healthy self-image. Social, emotional, mental, and physical health are emphasized equally. Participants learn nutrition and exercise principles as they relate to health, appearance, lifelong fitness, and wellness.