School Wellness: A New Opportunity for Parents

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School Wellness A New Opportunity for Parents

• Susan Jordan, MS,RD
• Angela Urbaniak, WPSD Nurse

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No Child Left Behind Act Does Not Address Health
and Wellness
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School WellnessA New Opportunity for Parents

• New Federal Law Child Nutrition and WIC
  Reauthorization Act of 2004 for schools with
  federally funded school meals program improve
  physical activity and nutrition in schools
• healthy school environments
• 2006-2007 school year
• The law also requires that each district involve
  specific people, e.g., parents, students, school
  food authority representatives, school boards,
  school administrators, and community members, in
  developing the policy, that it address how the
  policy will be evaluated, and that at least one
  person, at the district level or in each school,
  be designated as responsible for meeting the
  policy.
• source www.nsba.org

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Why do We Need a Wellness Policy?

• Increase in overweight children
• Decrease in physical activity
• Implications of health trends
• Diabetes, hypertension and heart disease children
  now developing
• Impact on academics
• children need to present, safe and healthy to
  learn
• Financial implications
• health care costs
• National Security
• Less youth are eligible for military service due
  to overweight and poor physical condition

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Prevalence of Obesity by Hours of TV/Day
NHES Youth Aged 1217 in 19671970 NLSY Youth
Aged 1015 in 1990
NHES National Household Education
Surveys NLSY National Longitudinal Survey of
Youth From http//www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/burden_pres/
bcd_30.htm
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TV Viewing, 6-11 Years, per Day
198894
199900
200102
80
Kids watch 20-30 hours of TV a week
70
60
50
Percent
40
30
20
10
0
2 hours
3 hours
SOURCE NHANES II, NHANES III, NHANES 1999-2000
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Trends in Overweight for Children
Percent
Boys 6-11 y
Girls 6-11 y
Boys 12-19 y
Girls 12-19 y
BMI 95th percentile of BMI-for-age, 2000 CDC
growth charts SOURCE NHES II III, NHANES I,
II, III, NHANES 1999-2002 Ogden et al., JAMA
2002 Hedley et al., JAMA 2004
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Fort Peck Youth Diabetes Prevention 2001 School
Screening results
63 Family HX 27 AN 31 At RiskBMI
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HT/ WT Data 9/05
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What Can Parents Do?

• Do a Status Check?
• What are kids eating at school?
• Is junk food readily available
• How much time is provided for physical activity?
• What can be done to make your school environment
  healthier?
• Get Involved
• 83 of parents are completely unaware of Local
  School Wellness Policy Mandate
• www.pta.org

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What Can Parents Do?

• Who is working on the wellness policy?
• Are they reaching out to parents as required by
  law?
• Build Support
• work with PTA and recruit new members
• parents, teachers, principals, students,
  administrators, food service personnel,
  dietitian, school nurse
• Spread the Word

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Nutrition Standards Schools and Districts
Featured in Making It Happen

• Bozeman School District
• Removed vending machines and increased healthy
  foods
• Ennis School District
• Removed Pop and fried foods
• East Middle School in Great Falls,
• Whitefish Central School in Whitefish
• Removed Candy and Pop
• Rocky Boy Reservation
• Removed vending and increased healthy foods
  school meals
• Crow
• Removal of all vending machines
• Implement Recess Before Lunch policy
• More than 50 schools in Montana already have

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Nutrition Standards Schools and Districts
Featured in Making It Happen

• Establish Nutrition Standards for Competitive
  Foods
• Ensure schools adhere to healthful content and
  portion size
• Prohibit the use of foods of minimal nutritional
  value (e.g. soft drinks, gum, and candy) in
  schools as fundraisers.
• Adopt a fruits and vegetables only snack policy
  for snacks brought from home.

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Healthy Choice Perspective
Personal Choice Perspective
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Nutrition Standards Schools and Districts
Featured in Making It Happen

• Influence Food and Beverage Contracts
• Schools can cancel, not sign and not reward or
  negotiate contract that promote healthy eating.
• Ronan, MT
• 1,252 Flathead Indian Reservation
• 64 percent eligible for Free/Reduced meals
• Fresh fruit bar at breakfast and salad bar at
  lunch
• Healthful snacks now offered After School Program
• Fresh Fruit/Vegetable Program offered at every
  meal
• Increased sales and reduce waste by allowing
  students the choice among healthy options

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Nutrition Standards Schools and Districts
Featured in Making It Happen

• Example of Schools healthful foods/beverages
• water
• 100 fruit juice
• milk
• cheese
• yogurt
• fresh fruits and vegetables
• vegetables with dip
• vegetable salads
• whole grain breads
• bagels
• trail mix
• granola bars
• air popped popcorn

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Nutrition Standards Schools and Districts
Featured in Making It Happen

• Influence Food and Beverage Contracts
• At the same time removed
• candy
• soft drinks
• sweetened drinks
• fried chips
• deep-fried foods
• snack cakes

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Nutrition Standards Schools and Districts
Featured in Making It Happen

• Adopt marketing techniques to promote healthful
  choices
• Identify offer healthy products
• Placement
• Promotion
• Price

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Nutrition Standards Schools and Districts
Featured in Making It Happen

• Limit Student access to competitive foods
• Currently Federal regulations prohibit the
  sale/access to foods of minimal nutritional
  value during meal times.
• Limit number of snacks that elementary students
  can purchase
• Reduce size of desserts
• Reduce number of soft drink vending machines
• End student access to junk foods throughout day
• No vending machine in elementary schools

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Nutrition Standards Schools and Districts
Featured in Making It Happen

• Use fundraising activities and rewards that
  support student health.
• Reward students by organizing walks rather than
  pizza parties.
• Add juice, water, cheese trays, and fresh fruit
  and vegetable trays to classroom parties, and
  remove soft drinks and chips.
• Switch from selling from a candy cart to a
  breakfast cart to raise money.

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Indian Education For All

• 1972- A promise and proclamation for Montanas
  tribes.
• The state recognizes the distinct and unique
  cultural heritage of the American Indians and is
  committed toward its educational goals to the
  preservation of their cultural integrity.

At Frazer School
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Revitalization of Traditional Indian Games
Traditional Indian Foods

• Provide classroom teachers, physical education
  instructors, parents, and Tribal leaders to learn
  and lead traditional games in our community and
  tribal activities.
• Practice structuring and supplying needed
  equipment for traditional games.
• Promote research and revival of traditional games
  for Assiniboine and Sioux tribes.

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The national trends impact academic achievement --
It is no longer acceptable to profit from poor
health. Schools educate kids when healthy
choices are available. Health is academic.
Unhealthy children are absent more. Children
profit from healthy choices. source Adapted
from USDA audio conference 16 November 2005
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The national trends impact academic achievement --
If we are serious about saving a generation of
kids, ensuring that not one of them is left
behind, we must see that health and achievement
go hand in hand. Only when children are healthy
and safe will we be able to focus on improving
their academic performance. -- Pat Cooper,
Superintendent McComb Separate School
District, Mississippi