Incorporate nutrition education, healthy snacks, and physical activity into after-school programs. Students who stay after school can do more than finish homework, play board games, and watch television. Time should be set aside for physical activities that engage students in fun and innovative ways. In addition, after-school programs should provide access to healthful snacks and hands-on opportunities to learn about food and nutrition. Turnkey programs, including one sponsored by Action for Healthy Kids and the National Football League, can assist schools with implementation.
Encourage staff to model healthy lifestyles. A wellness program for faculty and staff can enhance school effectiveness by strengthening morale, reducing absenteeism, and cutting insurance costs. By exercising regularly and eating healthful foods, staff can also set a powerful example for students.
By taking these fundamental steps, schools can create healthy environments and, at the same time, promote student achievement.
Resources for Improving the School Health Environment
Model school-based approaches, a school wellness policy tool, statistics relating to childhood nutrition and physical activity, and information on joining a state team are available at www.actionforhealthykids.org.
For an overview of issues relating to foods and beverages in schools and for strategies to improve school health environments, read Making It Happen: School Nutrition Success Stories. To download a free copy, go to www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offer a tool that schools can use to identify the strengths and weaknesses of nutrition policies and programs and to develop an action plan for improvement. School Health Index: A Self-Assessment and Planning Guide is available at http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/shi.
References
Action for Healthy Kids. (2004). The learning connection: The value of improving nutrition and physical activity in our schools. Available: www.actionforhealthykids.org/special_exclusive.php
Alaimo, K., Olson, C., & Frongillo, E., Jr. (2001). Food insufficiency and American school-aged children's cognitive, academic, and psychosocial development. Pediatrics, 108, 44–53.
Brown, L., & Pollitt, E. (1996). Malnutrition, poverty, and intellectual development. Scientific American, 274, 38–43.
California Fitnessgram correlation with SAT scores. California Department of Education. Available: www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr02/yr02rel37.asp
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (1999). Youth risk behavior surveillance. Atlanta, GA: Author.
Hoelscher, D. M., Day, R. S., Lee, E. S., Frankowski, R. F., Kelder, S. H., Ward, J. L., et al. (2004). Measuring the prevalence of overweight in Texas schoolchildren. American Journal of Public Health, 94, 1002–1008.
International Life Sciences Institute. (1997). Improving children's health through physical activity: A new opportunity.
National Association for Sport and Physical Education & Council of Physical Education for Children. (2001). Physical education is critical to a complete education. Available: www.aahperd.org/naspe/pdf_files/pos_papers/pe_critical.pdf
Ogden, C., Flegal, K., Carroll, M., & Johnson, C. (2002). Prevalence and trends in overweight among U.S. children and adolescents, 1999–2000. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 288(14), 1728–1732.
Pollitt, E., Leibel, R., & Greenfield, D. (1991). Brief fasting, stress, and cognition in children. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 34, 1526–1533.
President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. (1999). Physical activity promotion and school physical education. Physical Activity and Fitness Research Digest. Available: www.fitness.gov/digest_sep1999.htm
School Nutrition Association. (1989). Impact of hunger and malnutrition on student achievement. School Board Food Service Research Review, 1, 17–21.
Schwimmer, J., Burwinkle, T., & Varni, J. (2003). Health-related quality of life of severely obese children and adolescents. Journal of the American Medical Association, 289, 1818.
Shephard, R. (1997). Curricular physical activity and academic performance. Pediatric Exercise Science, 9, 113–126.
Shephard, R., Volle, M., Lavalee, M., LaBarre, R., Jequier, J., & Rajic, M. (1984). Required physical activity and academic grades: A controlled longitudinal study. In J. Limarinen & I. Valimaki (Eds.), Children and sport (pp. 58–63). Berlin, Germany: Springer Verlag.
Symons, C., Cinelli, B., James, T., & Groff, P. (1997). Bridging student health risks and academic achievement through comprehensive school health programs. Journal of School Health, 67, 220–227.
Thorpe, L. E., List, D. G., Marx, T., May, L., Helgerson, S. D., & Frieden, T. R. (2004). Childhood obesity in New York City elementary school students. American Journal of Public Health, 94, 1496–1500.
Tufts University School of Nutrition. (1995). Nutrition and cognitive development in children. Medford, MA: Author.
Tyre, P. (2004, Nov. 3). Reading, writing, recess: Is jump-rope the answer to the obesity epidemic? Newsweek [Online edition]. Available: www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3339666/site/newsweek
U.S. Department of Agriculture. (1994–1996). Continuing survey of food intakes for individuals (CSFII). Washington, DC: Author.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2001). The surgeon general's call to action to prevent and decrease overweight and obesity. Washington, DC: Author.
Originally published in the September 2005 issue of Educational Leadership, 63(1), pp. 26–30.
Finding Our Way Back to Healthy Eating: A Conversation with David A. Kessler
by Amy M. Azzam
Our kids eat too much—and what they're eating drives them to eat even more. In this interview with Educational Leadership, David A. Kessler, former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton, discusses why so many people overeat and what we can do to help children develop better habits.
In his new book, The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite (Rodale, 2009), Kessler describes how processed food and changing lifestyles
