Archive for the ‘Child Obesity’ Category

Cheerleaders are Athletes – Politicians are Athletic Supporters

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

Oh we Californians. We’re proud to talk about our beautiful beaches, mountains, deserts and diversity, but when the topic turns to politics, we deflate like a leaky balloon.

That’s because when you google “budget crisis,” you see a big picture of the Golden State with a black hole where Sacramento used to be. California was in terrible economic shape BEFORE the great recession hit. We even heard our Governor talk about closing state parks, selling the Del Mar Fairgrounds and racetrack, and other extreme measures to make up for the revenue shortfall. California is beyond broke, we’re in debt, big debt, all the way up to the top of our surfboards.

You know the cycle. Budget woes affect schools, school budgets effect teachers and students, and if your image is the one on the bottom of the educational totem pole (read, you’re a physical education teacher) you have to tolerate yet another battery of low blows to your professional mid-section. I’m embarassed to say, that a local, former Assembly-person, Mary Salas, was the ringleader for one of the worst physical education inspired ideas since picking teams for dodgeball. She drafted and tried to pass a bill (AB 351) that would allow high school students to take band, ROTC, cheerleading, et. al, in lieu of their PE requirement.

This concept was popular with some parents and students, who unfortunately, don’t know the difference between today’s physical education (a standards-based, progressive, sequential, and evaluated course of study) and physical activity. And it became painfully obvious Ms. Salas and her staff didn’t either. Either that or the idea of upsetting some influential parents was just too hard a stand to take. I personally spoke on the phone with one of her assistants, and while he listened to reason, I was quite certain his boss’s mind was made up.

My argument? Students are physically active (at times) in band, ROTC, and cheerleading, of course; but to draw a parallel to those programs and today’s physical education is simply wrong. It’s the equivalent of allowing students to take band instead of Math (after all, in band they march in formation, count the number of instruments?) or ROTC instead of Science (wait, guns are made of metals and consist of elements don’t they?) or cheerleading instead of English (but our students read and write routines, why would we make them read AGAIN for English class?). You get the idea.

Now look, we all love giving students choices, and ROTC, band, and cheerleading in and of themselves, should absolutely be a part of every high school’s program. There is no disrespect or devaluation here, I believe ALL learning and moving opportunities are important. It’s more an apples to oranges approach when you talk about equivalent substitutes. So while I agree 100% with Patrick Henry High students Dickerson and Szabo (Aug. 15, 2010 “Cheerleading isn’t physical? Get real.”) that cheerleaders are athletes and should receive the same support and opportunities as other athletes, I’m saying, athletics is to physical education as math is to science.

And, with the CA high school PE requirement already limited to freshman year — and one more before graduation — presenting more “opt out options” represents a move in the wrong direction. Students need MORE quality physical education daily; not less. Fortunately, Michelle Obama understands the link between childhood obesity and our rising high care costs.

So, what happened to the Salas bill? Logic and reason prevailed. The bill was killed. And what happened to Mary Salas? Let’s just say, good luck Juan Vargas.

Well, California is a great place to live. We still have our budget crisis, our crazy politicians, a Governor who has trouble pronouncing our state, but that’s OK. When cornered, our people pull together, fight the madness, and do what’s best for our kids. Let’s all hope we have a few parks and pennies to leave them when our latest financial mess is behind us.

-Paul Rosengard

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Posted in CA budget crisis, California budget crisis effects on physical education, Child Obesity, PE, Paul Rosengard, Physical Activity, Physical Education, Physical Education News, SPARK, SPARK Blog | View Comments

Physical Education and Parent Involvement

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

Parents play a vital role in the health of their children and can strongly influence the choices they make at school. Making good choices regarding physical activity and nutritious food leads to improved student health — and healthier students are better learners. So encourage the parents of your students to play an active role in supporting a healthy school environment.

What can parents and families do? Here are a few ideas:

Provide Opportunities for Activity
  • Enroll their children in after school sports, classes or recreational activities
  • Expose them to a variety of physical activities
  • Identify ways to be active around your home or neighborhood
Encourage Healthy Eating Habits
  • Provide healthy snacks
  • Prepare meals with food from all of the food groups
  • Cook with your children
Be a Role Model
  • Be active regularly — and invite your child to join you
  • Reduce your own television and computer time
  • Cook more and eat out less
Monitor Screen Time
  • Limit the time spent each day using computers, video games and television
  • Avoid eating in front of the television
  • Provide alternate activities for children to enjoy
Advocate for a Healthier School
  • Daily physical education taught by qualified, credentialed physical educators — hopefully SPARK trained!
  • Healthier school lunches in all school environments (cafeteria, a la carte line, student body sales, etc.)
  • Using non-food related items for fundraisers and rewards

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Child Obesity Research Studies and Facts

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010

In February of this year, First Lady Michelle Obama presented her ambitious Let’s Move campaign to battle the terrifying childhood obesity epidemic. Lady Obama was inspired not only from her family and children’s lifestyle, but also by some startling obesity statistics that have been gathered by medical researchers over the past thirty years.

A child is considered obese if their BMI (Body Mass Index) is 30 or higher, and this BMI level in anyone, especially children has the potential to cause very severe health issues. Recent studies using DEXA scanning devices show that this number is probably much higher than originally thought. There is no better time to solve the obesity issues among America’s children, and the adults of every generation.

  • Childhood obesity has tripled in the past 30 years. In 1980, the obesity rate of 6-11 year olds was 6.5%, in 2008 had tripled to 19.6%. For toddlers and preschoolers aged 2-5, the obesity levels have risen from 5% to 12.4% in the same amount of time.

Child Obesity Research Studies and Facts
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  • If both parents are overweight, a child’s likelihood of being overweight is increased by 60-80%. The chance of an obese child growing into an obese adult is about 70%. Children perceive the number one immediate issue of being overweight is social discrimination, as reported by overweight children. This has the ability to prevent them from exercising with other children, which leads to antisocial and depressive tendencies, as well as lifetime psychological effects.
  • There are a number of serious health conditions that arise from obesity, especially when a person’s joints and arteries are being challenged at such a young age.  Some of the main illnesses that become incredibly more likely to occur due to childhood obesity include heart disease, type 2 diabetes, arthritis, gall bladder disease and asthma.

Child Obesity Research Studies and Facts
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  1. Heart Disease: One of the biggest killers in America today, heart disease prevention is very important in early life. Obese children that grow to obese adults carry the increased risks of heart disease with them.
  2. Type 2 Diabetes: Also known as adult-onset diabetes, the two main causes of this disease are related to an unhealthy lifestyle: lack of physical exercise, and obesity. Unlike type 1 diabetes, type 2 does not generally have a genetic cause.
  3. Arthritis: While most arthritic patients are older, obese children can develop this disorder due to excessive weight and pressure on growing joints and bones.
  4. Asthma: Obesity often affects lung capacity, which can create dangerous and disconcerting asthma attacks.
  • The cost of obesity is high. Not only are there lifelong health issues to consider, but those who are obese pay an average 30% more in health costs, and 77% more in medication costs. It requires more foods that are high in “empty” calories to provide energy, and larger meals in general are much more expensive.

Reasons Behind the Numbers

Many studies on current lifestyles have drawn a number of conclusions. It is generally accepted that a combination of poor lifestyle choices has greatly contributed to these disturbing numbers.

  1. Kids are eating more empty calories than ever before. Rather than healthy fruits and veggies and nutritious snacks and lunches, parents are serving processed snacks and various forms of high fructose corn syrup. Schools do not generally provide healthy food options, and kids with meal assistance plans have no choice but to consume unhealthy food items. Even kids with options often have an array of processed snacks, fried foods, sweets and sodas to purchase, and very few healthy options.
  2. Forms of entertainment have drastically changed. Just a few decades ago, kids spent the majority of their time playing outside with other kids from their neighborhood, or with their siblings in the backyard. Now they spend their time playing video games, watching television, and sitting in front of their computers.
  3. Physical education budgets in many school districts have taken huge hits. Programs such as the No Child Left Behind Act have begun to engulf exercise and activity time such as PE and recess. Low budgets have led to fewer teachers and less equipment for gym class and after school physical activities. Many schools now have to charge nominal fees for the students to participate in school sports. The less fortunate cannot afford these fees and are forced to opt out. The old strenuous and fun PE games for adolescents are being replaced by less-stimulating games that do not require the active involvement of all participants.
  4. Today’s children spend much more time in cars than ever before. They are much less likely to walk to school, the bus stop, or the park. They don’t bike a few miles to get to the pool in the summer, and they don’t jog to the local ballpark. Parents no longer walk their kids to their friends’ houses anymore, but rather drive them a few blocks away due to time constraints or safety reasons.

Child Obesity Research Studies and Facts

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SPARKfamily.org Update 07/10: Physical Education and the iPad

Monday, July 19th, 2010

New Dynamic Rubric for iPad:

It’s mid-summer and although we’re not trying to get you back to school too soon, we do want you to be prepared when the time comes. So, we’ve added the first of our new iPad features for a handful of 3-6 Instructional Units. Check out our new Dynamic Rubrics and Class Roster templates.

Each Rubric and Roster template is given in XLS format and has been designed to look great and function well on iPad and laptops alike. Currently, we’ve posted these tools in the following units (3-6 Instructional Media Library): Aerobic Games, Chasing & Fleeing, Group Fitness, and Racquets & Paddles.

Here’s the quick-tips version on how they work:
(Numbers App is required for iPad)

  1. Visit SPARKfamily.org and download a Dynamic Rubric and Class Roster.
  2. Open the files in Microsoft Excel or Apple Numbers.
  3. Type student names into the Class Roster for quick cut-and-paste into each rubric. See tabs along the bottom of the spreadsheet for 8 separate classes.
  4. Save the rubric in an organized Rubrics folder.
  5. After names are entered into your rubric, connect iPad, select your iPad device in iTunes and select the Apps tab.
  6. Click on the Numbers App, then click “Add…” below the Numbers Documents listing.
  7. Choose the rubric you’d like to work with and click open.
  8. Sync your iPad and you’re ready to work!

Look for detailed iPad tutorials this Fall in the SPARKfamily .org Resource Center.

Enjoy the rest of the summer. We’re looking forward to serving you in the 2010-11 school year!

Aaron Hart
Development Director
SPARKfamily.org

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Four SPARK Schools Win National Award for Healthy Schools

Monday, June 28th, 2010

Each year, the Alliance for a Healthier Generation awards  the Healthy Schools Program National Recognition Award to schools around the country that have reached an important benchmark in improving the learning and working environments of students and staff.

By making significant changes in the areas of healthy eating, physical activity and staff wellness, these schools have joined a growing movement of committed individuals and organizations that are working to combat childhood obesity and foster healthier communities

This year, four schools were awarded because they implemented a SPARK program in their school!

Wilkerson Elementary School – El Monte, California

Wilkerson Elementary School has made student health a priority. They started by upgrading their physical education program by providing SPARK training for all the classroom teachers. This was supported by the purchase of new physical education equipment that would encourage teachers to implement active participation and non-competitive activities as part of physical education. The next step was to provide awareness of the value of healthy food choices, introducing students to new fruits and vegetables and the “Caught Eating Healthy” campaign which provided rewards to students that selected healthier options in the cafeteria.

North Beach Elementary School – Miami Beach, Florida

The PE department made significant changes to its curriculum this year. It was one of 40 pilot schools in the county selected to adopt and train teachers in the SPARK program of inclusive, easy to learn PE activities. In support of this change, the PTA granted the PE department $6,700 to purchase new equipment to be used for the SPARK program. Members of the school’s student wellness council came up with a way to put a healthy spin on the traditional career week this year: they invited local health and wellness experts, including speakers from the Pritikin Longevity Center, Miami Heat Basketball Team and the Coast Guard, to lead discussions and conduct hands-on demonstrations for the students, staff and community.

Cortada Elementary School – El Monte, California

Teachers were trained in the SPARK program and began incorporating more structured, active play during physical education classes. The school participates in the annual Walk to School Day as well as the California Nutrition Network which provides healthy recipes in English and Spanish. The Harvest of the Month program provides classrooms with produce for students to sample as well as materials for incorporating the food into lessons. They also offer a Guest Chef program where teachers can sign up to have a chef come in to make something special with the produce, which everyone has enjoyed.

Le Gore Elementary School – El Monte, California

Le Gore started by looking at their physical education program. After providing training in the SPARK program, the teachers are energized about PE and what was once only playtime for students has become a true physical education program. The school wellness council meets during the school site council every two months; together they plan and coordinate other activities to benefit students. By working together, they have made other significant improvements at Le Gore including replacing traditional chocolate and candy fundraisers with healthier alternatives.

Congratulations to these schools and all the others that won! You should be proud of your accomplishments and thank you for helping fight childhood obesity in this country!

-SPARK

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Good News About Active Physical Education

Wednesday, June 16th, 2010

To those of us at SPARK, and certainly to me, active classes is a hallmark of quality Physical Education (PE). A PE class in which students are standing or sitting most of the time cannot be a good PE class. PE is about teaching through the physical. The goal is to teach movement skills, teamwork, and positive social interactions, as well as improve fitness and promote the joy of movement by getting students active. Right? In my view, teaching facts about physiology, bio-mechanics, sociology, history of sport and other content is a lesser priority. If you can teach facts while the kids are active, that’s great. Otherwise, I would prefer the students learn useful knowledge in health education, which should have a strong component on physical activity and effective behavior change methods. Physical activity is the heart and soul of PE.

The Healthy People objectives for the nation have included goals for active PE since at least 1990. The health objective of ensuring at least 50% of PE class time is spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) is specific and measurable. This objective, and others recommending sufficient quantity of PE, demonstrate that the Department of Health and Human Services sees school PE as an important partner in improving children’s health. It looks like these objectives will be carried over into Healthy People 2020. The rationale for these objectives is simple. Many or most young people are endangering their health by not meeting physical activity guidelines, and PE is the only part of the school day that can ensure ALL students get some physical activity. It is well documented that, too often, only a small portion of PE class time is spent in MVPA, so meeting the MVPA objective could help the health of millions of children. During the obesity epidemic, it is essential to use every opportunity to help kids be active, and PE is at the top of the list—again, because it is the only opportunity that can affect all kids.

I have been lamenting in talks and conversations for many years that I do not know of any national, state, or local educational agency that has adopted the 50% MVPA guidelines. For 20 years, the public health field has asked, encouraged, and begged education agencies to make sure kids are active in PE. NIH has spent many millions of dollars on SPARK, MSPAN, CATCH, Pathways, TAAG, and LEAP to demonstrate that active PE is feasible and effective in elementary, middle, and high schools. Yet for 20 years the education field has ignored public health’s pleas, and those of us in public health do not really understand the resistance to helping kids become healthier.

Here is the good news. The barrier has been broken. A ray of hope is shining that may mean public health and education can work toward the shared goal of adopting policies of 50% MVPA in PE. I heard a presentation of results from Bridging the Gap, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-supported research program. Bridging the Gap reviewed written school wellness policies in a national sample of schools. They reported what percent of students were in districts that had a strong policy to require 50% MVPA. A strong policy required action, had an implementation plan, and used words like shall, must, and enforce. To my surprise, the result was not zero. The number was only 6-7%, but it was above zero. This looks like a good outcome of the federally-mandated school wellness policies. However, now someone needs to check on whether these strong policies are actually leading to improved PE. Note that I am ignoring the 22-29% of students in districts with weak policies, because they don’t mean anything. Download the Bridging the Gap report on wellness policies.

These few districts are leading the way to healthier and higher quality PE. My hope is that other districts will follow their lead. Then state departments of education will decide this policy is worth adopting. Then state departments and districts will provide staff development, curriculum, and equipment to ensure all the teachers can reach this goal and the other goals of PE. Then perhaps we will meet the Healthy People 2020 objective, PE classes across the country will be more active, and children will be healthier. This is what we are working toward with SPARK.

Jim Sallis
www.drjamessallis.sdsu.edu

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More good news!

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

After my excitement about the President and First Lady announcing multiple strategies for combating childhood obesity on February 9, I did not imagine the next good news would come so soon. Two weeks later, on February 24, 2010, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger held a summit on health and obesity. He was joined by Bill Clinton, which made it a star-studded and bipartisan event.

The real action came at the press conference after the summit. The Governor announced new bills and executive actions that again place California at the forefront of public health efforts to improve physical activity, eating, and obesity. There were several important policy initiatives introduced, as explained in a press release: http://gov.ca.gov/press-release/14519/. Most of the policies were designed to increase children’s physical activity! This focus on getting California kids active is very welcome. The policies cover a wide range of issues, including simplifying funding for joint use agreements, targeting Safe Routes to Schools funding to disadvantaged communities, and requiring 30 minutes of daily physical activity in after-school programs.

Of particular interest is the proposed law to require 50% of PE classes to be spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) by 2013. This has been a public health objective for decades, but has never been adopted by a state. If passed, this bill could start a national trend to align public health and education goals. The goal of PE has always been to “teach through the physical” so I expect this law to help PE meet its multiple goals. Requiring 50% MVPA will stimulate teachers to find ways of teaching skills and knowledge through activity, in a way that will meet the current health needs of children.

Even when the bill passes, there is a long way to go to effective implementation. Between now and 2013, the PE community and public health advocates will need to work hard, work smart, and work together to obtain the funding needed to train teachers, adopt curricula, and develop practical accountability systems required to bring highly active PE classes to all California students. We will have to be sure that improvements are made in the low-resource schools that have the poorest quality PE now. But the effort will be worth it. More-active PE will be great for California children’s health and academic performance. This will be a big step toward defeating childhood obesity. I believe that highly-active PE classes will be seen as an improvement in quality by school administrators, parents, and legislators. Improving quality is a strong foundation for increasing PE minutes per week and bringing PE to all high school students.

Please write to the Governor and your representatives in Sacramento expressing your support for these bills that will help California children become more active and healthy. Make sure the professional and civic organizations you belong to support these bills. This is a great opportunity for California physical activity and physical education advocates, so let’s make sure the bills are passed, then work for the funding and support to implement them throughout the State. If you are not in California, then recommend your state’s leaders adopt the same, or even better, measures to improve children’s physical activity. Let’s see which state will win!

Jim Sallis
www.drjamessallis.sdsu.edu

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