Childhood Obesity Forum, August 17^th, 2005

Schools Discussion Group

Themes:

Physical Activity

PE in schools

- Need more time for PE in schools in secondary as well as elementary, needs to be structured PE daily. Accomplish by legislation.

- Need certified PE teachers in schools (elem), classroom teachers are not trained

- Intramural/ lifestyle exercise vs. competitive sports

Walk to School

- Not walking due to safety, walking school buses would help

Recess Time

- Students are having recess taken away for bad behavior; not good at academics so they take away recess time or lunch time

-

Nutrition Environment

- Problems: vending; fundraising; food rewards in classrooms; inconsistent messaging between health classes and environment; school lunch not healthy; branding to kids; trying to cut labor costs so less staff to cook, creating less healthy cooking methods necessary; not enough time for eating lunch; food service has to make a profit; USDA reimburses for school lunch, should change to HHS

- Solutions: teach kids how to cook; get back to making fresh food, instead of just reheating, make sure sufficient time to eat lunch; recess before lunch; farm to cafeteria programs; school breakfast-universal and served in classroom; take out vending-create the political and social will- parent driven

What volunteers and community can do to help and additional ideas:

- School Wellness Policies- address the gaps, need to involve all types of people in the school and community

- Achievement vs. whole child- exercise and nutrition help get to better scores

o Report card on the whole child-nutrition, BMI, PE

- Volunteers help with intermurals, running groups after school

- PTA organize walking school buses

- EPNEP to help teach cooking classes

- Service organizations adopting the school

- Tax restructuring- schools get more $

- Find out what is changeable at a state level

- Look at innovative things other states have done, i.e. grow your own foods

- Schools that have made changes mentor other schools

- Principal should eat a school lunch/breakfast everyday

- Teachers should be good example

Organizations that signed up to be in the workgroup:

Centro De La Familia

SLVHD

UDOH

Bear River Health Department

Dairy Council

School Nutrition Association of Utah

Utah PTA

Bear River Head Start

State Board of Education

Utahans Against Hunger

Action for Healthy Kids

Regence BlueCross BlueSheild

Utah State Office of Education

Utah Athletic Foundation

Murray Pediatrics

Weber-Morgan Health Department

Primary Children’s Medical Center

Utah State University

American Heart Association

IHC