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For some, capturing an Oscar is the culmination of a career.
In the music industry, a Grammy is the high point.
For Elisabeth Perez-Luna of the 200 block of Fitzwater Street, her 2009 Gracie Award is the mark of a job well-done. The executive producer/editor won the Outstanding Documentary-Long Format category for the radio program "Growing Up Big." The work, which was first broadcast September ’08 on WHYY 91 FM, examines the medical and psychological effects of childhood obesity. It also addresses the outcome of sedentary lifestyles and what children, parents, communities, schools and researchers are doing to move the scale’s needle back.
"With more than 500 public radio stations nationwide, winning one award is tough," Perez-Luna said. "The amount of women doing great work is fantastic. I have a whole universe of people to thank. Winning once is great; winning twice is like nirvana."
In ’07, she took home the same prize for the documentary "Childhood Lost and Found" about young cancer patients. She collaborated with producer Maiken Scott on both projects. This year’s trophies are being handed out June 4 in New York City. The ceremony is presented each year by American Women in Radio and Television, a national nonprofit organization.
Perez-Luna’s main purpose in constructing the work was to examine how eating habits have changed and advertising has warped the understanding of proper nutrition.
"People often feel as if they have heard everything on obesity. This work became my attempt to personalize the issue," Perez-Luna, a native of Venezuela who relocated to the United States in 1970, said. "Our nutritional dilemmas do not have to become fixtures. We have so many resources, especially in South Philly, to help this city quell the crisis."
A year in the making, "Growing Up Big" is an hour-long examination of the harrowing nutritional statistics that plague the city’s families. According to Public Health Management Corp., 51.5 percent of area children are at risk for childhood obesity.
Perez-Luna’s documentary is part of the Little Bites, Big Steps outreach programming that WHYY’s Children’s Service created to help parents and educators teach healthy eating habits.
To see the documentary, visit www.whyy.org.
