Water is K'e: A Community-Based Intervention to Increase Healthy Beverage Consumption by Navajo Preschool Children
Report Publish Date: December 2022
This research brief describes a pilot project that used Navajo cultural traditions to influence parents and kids to drink healthier: more water, fewer sugary drinks, and less juice.
Primary Takeaways
Water is K’e resulted in kids drinking 21% fewer sugary drinks. It also doubled the number of parents reporting an understanding of their culture’s relationship to water and more than doubled the number of parents who said their traditions influenced what they offered their children to drink.
Overview and Objectives
People in Navajo Nation have disproportionately high rates of chronic diseases that have been tied to consuming more sugar than is healthy. They also face barriers to drinking more water. Water insecurity is a problem for many Navajo Nation households; many people worry their tap water is not clean.
The authors wanted to know if an early childhood curriculum rooted in both Diné culture’s relationship to water and Western scientific knowledge of the health benefits of water could encourage families to drink more water and less juice and soda.
Hypothesis or Approach
To design the curriculum and the intervention, the authors worked with a community advisory group made up of members of Navajo Nation. For the study, the researchers recruited participants from 21 households with young children (ages two to five) who attended Bureau of Indian Education-run preschools on Navajo Nation. The community advisory group and others from the community helped the researchers distill their findings and pinpoint next steps.
How This Influences Change
“This small pilot suggests promising approaches for increasing the healthfulness of Navajo children’s beverage intake,” the authors write. Next steps could include conducting a larger study and integrating Water is K’e into nutrition security programs.
Research: Go Deeper
Water is K’é is a community-based, culturally grounded intervention designed to increase water consumption and reduce sugary drink intake among Navajo preschool children. The intervention integrates Diné traditions concerning water with Western nutrition science through four monthly lessons engaging children and caregivers in activities, health education, and family goal setting. A Community Advisory Group guided curriculum development and interpretation of pilot findings. The pilot included 21 households with children ages 2–5 enrolled in four Family and Child Education preschools on Navajo Nation. At baseline, 38% of households experienced food insecurity; although 86% had tap water at home, only 38% trusted its safety. More than 70% of children drank water several times daily, but sugary drink consumption exceeded recommendations. Following the intervention, children consumed 21% fewer sugary drinks, representing an average decrease of 26 calories per day, and 16% more water. Consumption shifted toward unflavored rather than flavored milk. Caregivers reported that their knowledge of Diné water traditions doubled and that these traditions’ influence on the beverages they offered their children more than doubled. These findings suggest that culturally grounded beverage education may support healthier beverage intake among Navajo preschool children. Larger community-based participatory studies are needed to assess effectiveness and inform broader implementation, alongside efforts to address water trust and access.
Research Team
This study and report was conducted and created by the following:
- Brigham and Women’s Hospital and University of California Nutrition Policy Institute
Similar Research to Explore
Water is K'e: Learning from the Navajo Community to Promote Early Child Health
Teacher and Caregiver Perspectives On Water is K'e
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