Healthy Buddies

In 2009-2010, Manitoba’s Healthy Schools Initiative introduced the Healthy Buddies™ Program as a pilot project in 20 elementary schools across the province. Healthy Buddies is a peer mentoring initiative that pairs younger students with older students who teach the younger students about nutrition, physical activity and positive self-image.

First implemented in British Columbia, Healthy Buddies™ was developed by physicians and educators as an early intervention resource beginning in kindergarten and continuing through grade 7. Older students spend half the program learning the lesson and half the time teaching it to younger students. This process helps older students become role models and to better understand the lessons themselves.

Each participating classroom receives resources such as games, videos, and music to assist in the teaching and learning process. The aim of Healthy Buddies is to complement existing healthy schools programming such as expanding physical education and smoking reduction efforts.

The purpose of this pilot was to evaluate the effectiveness of Healthy Buddies in Manitoba and determine the value of offering and implementing this program at a provincial level.  Read a short form report summarizing the key findings of the evaluation (PDF)

More information about Healthy Buddies can be found on their webiste.

Additional information pertaining to Manitoba can be found at:
https://www.gov.mb.ca/asset_library/en/newslinks/2009/april2009/HealthyBuddies.HL.doc (.doc)
and https://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/press/top/2009/04/2009-04-09-115300-5653.html