Bold Movement in the Face of Obesity
By: Lisa Perry, NBCT Early/Middle Childhood PE , National Physical Education & Physical Activity Manager

Childhood obesity is one of our nation’s leading health threats. Today, 25 million kids are overweight or obese. The obesity epidemic is clearly taking its toll as more and more kids are developing conditions and diseases that we would typically not see until adulthood, such as high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, and type-2 diabetes.

Some experts believe that if childhood obesity rates continue to increase, the current generation could become the first Americans in history to live shorter lives than their parents.

To combat this growing epidemic, the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation joined together in 2005 to form the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. The goal of the Alliance is to stop the nationwide increase in childhood obesity by 2010 by taking bold, innovative steps to help all children live longer and healthier lives.

In short, the Alliance’s mission is to “Eliminate childhood obesity and inspire young people in the United States to develop lifelong, healthy habits.” To achieve this mission, the Alliance has four multifaceted initiatives which are positively affecting the places that can make a difference to a child’s health including homes, schools, restaurants, doctors’ offices and other places throughout their community:

• The health care industry spends $61 billion a year to treat obesity-related ailments. The Alliance’s Healthcare Initiative is working to broker voluntary agreements with health insurers and self-insured employers to reimburse for diagnosis and treatment directed at reducing or preventing childhood obesity.
• The Kids Movement is empowering kids across the country to take charge of their own health. Kids can access tools and resources at www.igohugo.org. The Movement aims to make healthy lifestyles “cool” for tweens and teens through collaboration with media celebrities and grassroots partners. At the forefront of the Movement is the “myGo Healthy Challenge,” an online game-like learning experience to get kids excited about healthy eating and active living.
• The Industry Initiative has collaborated with several leading companies and trade associations in the food and beverage industries to develop and implement guidelines for beverages and competitive foods sold in schools. To date, the Alliance has brokered agreements with 30 companies and trade associations in the beverage, food and dairy industries, resulting in a 58 percent decrease in calories in the beverage products shipped to schools.
• The Healthy Schools Program provides real tools and solutions for schools to become healthier places for the 53 million students and staff who learn and work in our nation’s schools everyday.

A Closer Look at the Healthy Schools Program

The Healthy Schools Program provides support to schools in their efforts to engage the entire school community (administrators, parents, and school vendors) in increasing access to physical activity and healthier foods for students and staff. In addition to providing schools with best practices, resources and support, the Healthy Schools Program helps schools celebrate their successes through a national recognition program.

The Healthy Schools Program Framework provides guidance to schools on implementing the best practice, sustainable changes in the school environment. A major tenet of the HSP Framework includes addressing and reinforcing the critical link between access to improved nutrition and physical activity and increased academic performance. For example, the criteria on physical education addresses time spent in physical education classes, licensure requirements for teachers, instructional strategies, curriculum, and student/teacher ratios. The physical activity criteria includes recess, integrating opportunities for physical activity throughout the school day, and working to promote safe walking and biking to school. Other areas of focus for HSP members are: School Meals, Competitive Foods and Beverages, School Employee Wellness, Health Education, and Before & Afterschool programs.

Building healthier school environments is one of the most efficient and effective ways to shape the lifelong health and well-being of children and adolescents. Any school in the nation can join the movement to build healthier schools by joining the Healthy Schools Program at no cost. Here are a few things the Healthy Schools Program has to offer its member schools:

• National Recognition to help celebrate small victories and big successes
• Customized Support to help create a healthier school environment through a liaison available by phone and email
• Implementation Support and Tools that are robust and informative to help schools to achieve lasting change
• Networking Opportunities with schools across the country on the quest for a healthier school
• A Resource Database that includes quality resources and grant opportunities to suit every school’s work to implement healthy changes that promote physical activity and healthy eating

The Healthy Schools Program is currently active in all 50 states, reaching nearly 3,000 schools and 1.66 million students. Any school - public, private or charter - in the country can join the Healthy Schools Program online at no cost. To learn more about the Healthy Schools Program and to find out if there is a program in your district and/or school, visit www.HealthierGeneration.org/Schools or call 1-888-KID-HLTH.

The Alliance for a Healthier Generation wants to celebrate and share innovative solutions that schools around the country have successfully implemented to improve school health. Here are some great examples:

A Dedicated PE Teacher Champions Physical Activity
Kennedy Elementary School
Green Bay, WI

At Kennedy Elementary in Green Bay, Wisconsin, great things are happening when it comes to student health and wellness. PE teacher Mary Buchholz has been hard at work finding ways to increase students’ physical activity time during the school day. For example, she worked with the principal to increase students’ weekly PE time from 60 to 90 minutes. She did this by adding a 30-minute weekly PE class to the classroom teachers’ schedule, which is in addition to the 60 minutes per week that students spend in PE with her already. Under this arrangement, Ms. Buchholz provides the curriculum, and the teachers deliver the lessons in their classrooms. Ms. Buchholz has also formed a recess walking club, in which students walk in laps around the field during the post-lunch recess, and she goes out of her way to encourage students to join in. Students are excited about the changes, and they often ask for their special monthly reward events to focus on more health and physical activity time.

President Clinton Inspires Sweetwater to Take Bold Action
Sweetwater County School District
Green River, Wyoming

When members of the Sweetwater County School District (SCSD) #2 School Board heard Former President Bill Clinton speak at last year’s National School Board Association Annual Conference, they were inspired to promote a strong wellness policy in their district. The President’s remarks on childhood obesity and the need for school districts to take a strong stand for their students’ health resonated with these leaders, and they have been implementing some broad changes - especially within the school nutrition environment.

At school athletic events where adults are present, soda is now only available in 12 ounce servings and is the same price as a 20 ounce bottle of water. The board is confident that by using a price incentive many more people will make the healthier choice. A proposal to sell only healthy snacks at afterschool athletic events was met with some hesitation by community members concerned about the potential loss of revenue. The board showed just how committed it is when it stepped up and offered $10,000 to offset the potential loss because they felt it was a small price to pay for school health!

Participation in the school meal program has been on the rise and menus have shifted to more whole grain and lower-fat options. The district has adopted the Alliance’s School Beverage Guidelines and has removed all sodas from school vending machines. The district’s wellness policy urges students to “receive consistent nutrition messages throughout the school, classroom, and cafeteria,” and calls for the cafeteria to offer a “learning laboratory” to link the lessons learned in class with the practice of making healthy choices.

In addition to its progress in the nutrition arena, SCSD #2 also purchased a large-sized Dance Dance Revolution video game stage and 30 mountain bikes, upgraded its weight rooms, and gave every student a pedometer. The district’s focus this year is on staff wellness, with several activities scheduled, including monthly jogs. A point system has been set up so staff members can earn T-shirts or other rewards for every 100 miles logged. Sweetwater County is definitely on its way to becoming a healthier community.

Mini-Marathons for Students and Staff
Delaware Valley Middle School
Milford, Pennsylvania

Last summer, Pete Ioppolo, the wellness coordinator for the Delaware Valley School District and the principal of Delaware Valley Middle School, attended the Healthy Schools Forum in Little Rock, Arkansas. He was quite impressed with the forum, and while there, he and a colleague took the opportunity to interact with many of the guest speakers.

His conversation with Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, about the governor’s experiences running marathons, was especially meaningful. How, the coordinator asked, could we get the students in our district involved? Governor Huckabee suggested mini-marathon runs in two-mile increments to achieve the goal of completing 26.2 miles—a whole marathon.

Upon his return to school, Principal Ioppolo acted on Governor Huckabee’s suggestion. This year, approximately 40 middle school students, along with several staff, meet on Tuesdays after school. They’re currently in week eleven of their quest to complete the 13-week mini-marathon. The marathon will culminate on Saturday, April 9, in conjunction with the Delaware Valley Health Advisory Council sponsoring the Delaware Valley School District’s first annual 5K Race/Walk. Principal Ioppolo believes that his experience at the Healthy Schools Forum created a life-long impression. He and the entire Delaware Valley School District team continue to be ardent supporters of the Healthy Schools Program.

Walking the Green
Flagami Elementary
Miami, Florida

Every Friday at Flagami Elementary, students, staff, and even some neighbors, don green t-shirts and incorporate more physical activity into their daily routine by “Walking the Green.” This event began as a one-time activity where the school community walked around their large field showing solidarity for eating healthy and participating in physical exercise but it was so popular they decided to continue it.

Students report that they enjoy the walk because it gives them more energy and makes them feel healthy. Teachers say they wish they could walk even more. They also comment on how the walk invigorates the students and prepares them for learning in school.

In addition to the weekly walk, every day after the school’s morning announcements, students and staff stretch together with an exercise video produced by the School Wellness Council, with help from the school media specialist.

The principal from Flagami Elementary attended the Healthy Schools Forum in 2006 and came back enthusiastic about making big changes in the school environment. Her excitement has spread to students, the PTA, and the surrounding community. Flagami Elementary plans to keep working on making changes to improve the health of their school.

Captions for Photos:
Earhart: Amelia Earhart Elementary School, Miami, Florida
Bell Bell Ave Elementary School, Yeadon, Pennsylvania
Perry Perry Meridian High School, Indianapolis, Indiana
Longleaf Longleaf Elementary School, Pensacola, Florida

For any questions or comments please contact Lisa Perry at lisa.perry@healthiergeneration.org

(pelinks4u home)