Posts Tagged ‘nutrition’

SPARK Supports White House Task Force Report on Childhood Obesity

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010

In February, First Lady Michelle Obama launched the Let’s Move! campaign to solve the childhood obesity epidemic within one generation. As part of this effort, President Barack Obama established the Task Force on Childhood Obesity to develop and implement an inter agency plan that details a coordinated strategy, identifies key benchmarks, and outlines an action plan to end the problem of childhood obesity within a generation.

The report, titled Solving the Problem of Childhood Obesity Within a Generation, includes Early Childhood Education, Physical Education and Physical Activity recommendations. SPARK is already well aligned with the recommendations in this report!

Click Here for the full report.

Early Childhood Education

“Young children need opportunities to be physically active through play and other activities. Physical activity assists children in obtaining and improving fine and gross motor skill development, coordina¬tion, balance and control, hand-eye coordination, strength, dexterity, and flexibility—all of which are necessary for children to reach developmental milestones.
Preschool years, in particular, are crucial for obesity prevention due to the timing of the development of fat tissue, which typically occurs from ages 3-7…. Features of the child care center environment, including policies regarding activity and provider training, as well as the presence of portable and fixed play equipment, influence the amount of physical activity children engage in while at child care.”

  • SPARK Early Childhood is designed specially for children ages 3-5 years to increase physical activity and development
  • SPARK EC was one of the first large-scale, urban efforts to evaluate a comprehensive physical activity program for the 3-5 age group. The project concluded in winter 2004, and showed the SPARK EC program was very well received by the Head Start teachers, increased students’ moderate to vigorous activity levels to over 50% of class time, and improved the number of minutes children engaged in activity throughout the day.

School-Based Approaches to Increasing Physical Activity

“Schools are a key setting to focus on, given the significant portion of time children spend there. Schools can undertake a combination of strategies and approaches to help children be more active including:
- Creating infrastructure and policies that increase access to and encourage physical activity for all students;
- Collecting valid and reliable data and using analytical tools and systems to understand student needs and fitness levels, and promoting approaches that are effective in changing physical activity behaviors and, ultimately, health outcomes;
- Maintaining strong physical education (PE) programs that engage students in moderate to vigorous physical activity for at least 50% of PE class time;
- Providing a variety of activities and specific skills so that students can be physically active not just during class but throughout the day and year; and
- Providing qualified school professionals who are trained in teaching methods to engage stu¬dents in PE, including for students who face greater barriers to activity.”

  • SPARK physical education and activity programs have been proven to increase levels of MVPA, physical fitness, motor skill development, student enjoyment of the program and academic achievement
  • SPARK was recently identified as a successful model for combating childhood obesity in the report, “Fighting Obesity: What Works, What’s Promising” by the HSC Foundation. The report speaks of SPARK’s history, practice, and methods. SPARK was the ONLY program recommended for physical education AND physical activity.
  • SPARK is the ONLY National Institute of Health (NIH) researched program available providing coordinated curriculum, training, follow up support, and equipment for Pre-K through 12th grade teachers.
  • A Child Trends report titled “What Works for the Prevention and Treatment of Obesity Among Children”, highlights SPARK as a program that has proven to increase physical activity among students.

Physical Education

“Physical Education (PE) is considered the cornerstone of a school-based comprehensive physical activity program. It provides the basis and opportunity for young people to gain the knowledge and skills needed to maintain physically active lifestyles throughout childhood and into adulthood. A quality PE program can increase student participation in physical activity, increase their physical fitness, and enhance their understanding about the purpose and methods of physical activity. Participation in daily PE is associated with an increased likelihood of participating regularly in moderate to vigorous physical activity.”

  • SPARK Physical Education is an award-winning, research-based program that has been proven to increase activity levels, knowledge, skills, and fitness. SPARK elementary physical education is the ONLY nationally-disseminated program that positively affects ALL of these student outcomes:
    • Academic Achievement
    • Activity levels (moderate to vigorous surpasses 50% of class time)
    • Fitness achievement
    • Sport Skills development
    • Enjoyment of PE
  • SPARK’s the only PE program that has data to show students statistically significantly increase their Fitness gram scores.
  • SPARK activities can be integrated throughout the school day to help your school provide physical education daily

Nutrition Education

“More, and better, nutrition education is needed in many schools. While approximately 75% of schools require nutrition education as part of health curriculum requirements, the time spent on nutrition and dietary behavior has declined in recent years, and funding has been limited. Many teachers are not equipped with the skills and knowledge to integrate and promote nutrition education into their classroom curricula. Research has shown that nutrition education interventions, if well designed and effectively implemented can improve dietary behaviors.”

  • SPARK has teamed up with Healthy Kids Challenge and Healthy Lifestyle Choices to provide nutrition and health education curriculum and training programs
  • Healthy Kids Challenge is a nationally recognized non-profit led by an exemplary team of registered, licensed dietitians with many years of school, program, and community wellness experience
  • Healthy Lifestyle Choices curriculum is flexible and provides a variety of scheduling and implementation options for busy elementary teachers

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Thoughts on the PEP Grant from Dr. Sallis

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

This week’s Blog entry features Dr. Sallis’ comments on the proposed changes to the Carol M. White PEP grant in response to:

Carol M. White Physical Education Program (PEP) Program Summary of Notice of proposed priorities, requirements, and definitions.
Published in the Federal Register, Vol. 75, No. 50; March 16, 2010

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on these proposed new directions for PEP grants.  Physical education, physical activity, and public health professionals are grateful for the PEP grant program, as are parents and education officials.  Physical education is the primary institution for preparing youth for a lifetime of physical activity, and PEP is the only federal funding for PE.  PE also plays a role as a partial solution for childhood obesity, because it is the only the policy/program that can provide physical activity for potentially all students.  Thus, there are many reasons for wanting the PEP grant program to be as effective as possible.

But there is not general consensus about the goals of PEP grants or how to achieve the goals.  I am providing input as a psychologist and public health researcher who has been working to improve PE and youth PA for over 25 years.  My priority is that PE should contribute to improving public health, and the surest way to accomplish this is to ensure students are active during PE.  Certainly PE is more than physical activity, but almost everyone would agree that inactive PE is bad PE.  PE has always been about “teaching through the physical,” but several studies show that students are inactive most of the time during PE.  This is why PEP grants and other efforts to improve the quality of PE are needed.  Most of the educational goals targeted in PEP grants can be accomplished better through activity, such as motor skills and social and emotional development.

The Public Health View of PE:

Let’s be clear that public health and PE professionals often have differing opinions about the goals of PE.  As reflected in the PEP goals, PE professionals focus on preparing youth for a lifetime of activity, not on providing physical activity during PE.  Public health professionals emphasize ensuring PE classes are active, because (a) PA provides well-document physical and mental health benefits during youth and (b) there is little or no evidence that PE has long-term effects on physical activity or health.  Especially in the midst of the childhood obesity epidemic, it is a public health imperative to use every resource and opportunity to get children active, and PE is a high priority because it reaches more children than any other program or policy.  Yet, students are mostly inactive during PE.  Further, the PE profession has not embraced the goal of ensuring PE provides physical activity.  My vision of the public health value of PE was written in this highly-cited paper 20 years ago.

Sallis, J.F., and McKenzie, T.L.  (1991).  Physical education’s role in public health.  Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 62, 124-137.

In short, there is little or no evidence linking proposed PEP goals/requirements with lifelong physical activity.  There is much more certainty that getting children active NOW in PE classes leads to health and academic benefits.  In fact, there is enough evidence to recommend active physical education as a strategy to improve academic achievement.

http://www.activelivingresearch.org/files/Active_Ed_Summer2009.pdf

Thus, from the public health perspective, a critical missing emphasis in PEP is to increase moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in PE classes.  Most studies show that students in PE are active less than 50% of the classes.  Healthy People Objectives for the Nation (USDHHS) has included an objective since at least 1990 that PE should have at least 50% MVPA.  http://www.healthypeople.gov/ However, such a goal is not endorsed by PEP or other Department of Education documents.  I strongly recommend that the over-riding goal of PEP be changed.  My recommendation is to require grants to improve MVPA in PE (all grants) and to undertake one or more of the other activities that may or may not promote physical activity. Inclusion of the other activities should be justified by the expected impact of the activity on child physical activity.

PEP Needs More Emphasis on Evidence-Based Approaches:

Despite the refreshing call for data and evaluation in this notice, there is a disturbing lack of focus on evidence-based approaches.  We do have evidence-based approaches for improving PE and for other school-based PA programs and policies.  http://www.calendow.org/uploadedFiles/Publications/By_Topic/Disparities/Obesity_and_Diabetes/PE%20Matters%20Long%20VersionFINAL.pdf

My recommendation is to explicitly encourage the use of evidence-based approaches and provide extra points for doing so. CDC’s Community Guide recommends enhanced (activity-oriented) PE as an evidence-based intervention.  Thus, the current requirements are ignoring the health goals and evidence-based strategies for achieving them.  Getting children active in PE provides immediate health and academic benefits and helps meet other goals of PE.

http://www.thecommunityguide.org/pa/behavioral-social/schoolbased-pe.html

Broadening the Scope of PEP to Nutrition Education is Misguided:

The broadening of PEP’s focus to require nutrition education would harm efforts to improve PA, PE, and fitness in youth.  PEP funding has declined over the years and is currently very low.  Thus, most of the schools applying are not funded.  Of course, it is essential to improve children’s eating habits to improve health and prevent obesity.  However, this is the wrong mechanism.  These are reasons why broadening PEP to require instruction in nutrition is not a good idea:

  1. By itself, nutrition education has modest to no effects on children’s eating.  If the goal is to improve eating, then policy and environmental changes in schools are more promising.  Targeting funding for nutrition education at the expense of evidence-based physical activity programs would have a net negative effect on children’s health.
  2. Requiring every team to have expertise in both physical activity and nutrition would make it more difficult to put teams together.
  3. Obesity control is generally dominated by nutrition interests and professionals.  PEP is a unique source of federal funding for improving PE and physical activity programs in schools.  There are already existing sources of funds for improving children’s eating habits.
  4. The infrastructure (personnel, organizational structure, funding) for physical activity promotion is minimal in the US and is dwarfed by the nutrition infrastructure.  See the references.  Adding nutrition requirements to PEP would weaken the weak component (physical activity promotion) and strengthen the strong component (nutrition promotion).

Yancey, A.K., Fielding, J.E., Flores, G.R., Sallis, J.F., McCarty, W.J., & Breslow, L.  (2007).  Creating a robust public health infrastructure for physical activity promotion.  American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 32, 68-78.

Yancey, A.K., & Sallis, J.F.  (2009).  Physical activity: Cinderella or Rodney Dangerfield?  Preventive Medicine, 49, 277-279.

Comment on Competitive Preference Priorities:

The proposed priorities are fine, but a more important priority is to give points to schools with high need (such as high obesity rates or low fitness levels). These schools are likely to be under-resourced and lack capacity to compete well in grant writing.  A California study showed PE is much worse in low-resource schools, so it is essential to target improvements in these schools. http://www.calendow.org/uploadedFiles/Publications/By_Topic/Disparities/Obesity_and_Diabetes/ASAP12.pdf

Other Evidence-Based Strategies:

Though I would be satisfied with restricting PEP funding to only improving the PE programs, there is also a rationale for allowing grants to support improved PE and other evidence-based physical activity strategies.  There are other evidence-based approaches for promoting youth physical activity that could be included in multi-component programs, though they do not have as much evidence as enhanced PE.  Numerous studies show that walking or biking to school contributes to higher overall physical activity, and Safe Routes to Schools programs have evidence of effectiveness.

http://www.activelivingresearch.org/files/ALR_Brief_ActiveTransport.pdf

Simple interventions to increase physical activity in recess, such as painting game designs on playgrounds and providing equipment have substantial effects on youth activity.

http://www.activelivingresearch.org/files/Built_Design.pdf

After school time is the main opportunity for children to be active, yet low-income children have few physical activity resources like parks and programs in their neighborhoods.  Thus, joint use agreements that allow schools to the community can provide nearby opportunities for daily physical activity targeted to children who need them most.

http://www.activelivingresearch.org/files/Built_Design.pdf

After school programs typically emphasize academics, but it is critical to provide physical activity during these programs.  Physical activity guidelines for after school programs were developed using a rigorous evidence-based approach in California and could be a national model.

http://californiaafterschool.org/c/@gD.RsQGXiqZBk/Pages/physical__activity.html

Comments on Proposed Competitive Preference Priorities and Proposed Requirements:

Proposed Competitive Preference Priority 1—Collection of Body Mass Index.

This is fine, but it would not be my highest priority, because there is little or no evidence that measuring BMI and providing feedback will lead to more physical activity.

Proposed Competitive Preference Priority 2—Partnerships Between Applicants and Supporting Community Entities

No comment

Proposed Requirement 1—Align Project Goals With Identified Needs Using the School Health Index

This is a reasonable requirement, and SHI is an excellent tool, but more flexibility in the choice of a needs assessment instrument could be helpful.  For example, validated instruments like the YMCA’s Community Healthy Living Index, or a PE-specific evaluation could be justified.  The PECAT has limited value since it only assesses the content of a curriculum, not the quality or quantity of its implementation.

Another option would be for the applicant to use the SOFIT method of systematic observation of PE classes to identify strengths and weaknesses of actual PE classes.

McKenzie, T.L., Sallis, J.F., & Nader, P.R.  (1991).  SOFIT:  System for observing fitness instruction time.  Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 11, 195-205.

http://www.activelivingresearch.org/node/11944

Proposed Requirement 2—Nutrition and Physical Activity-Related Policies.

Proposed Requirement 3—Linkage With Local Wellness Policies.

Proposed Requirement 4—Linkages With Federal, State, and Local Initiatives.

Requirements 2, 3, and 4 are redundant and would create an unnecessary burden on applicants.  Many of the policies will be the same or overlapping, so it could be confusing to address all these different types of policies.  One requirement that identifies the relevant policies and plans to improve policies and their implementation would be sufficient.  The applicant should focus on (a) improving implementation of policies that cannot be changed or are sufficient and (b) improving policies that need change and are modifiable at the local level.

Proposed Requirement 5—Updates to Physical Education and Nutrition Instruction Curricula.

The PECAT is only an assessment of the PE curriculum.  It does not deal with the implementation of a quality curriculum, which is also critical.  This requirement should also provide encouragement for the adoption of curricula with evidence of effectiveness from research or evaluation.

Proposed Requirement 6—Equipment Purchases.

This approach to ensuring that equipment complements other program elements, including curriculum and training, is an important one.

Proposed Requirement 7—Increasing Transparency and Accountability.

Reporting requirements should be meaningful (directly related to program goals of getting students active) but minimal.  There is a trade-off between extent of evaluation and program implementation, because time and resources are limited.  The main goal is to use PEP resources to increase children’s physical activity. Though evaluating is critical, the goal is not to document every conceivable program outcome.

Proposed Requirement 8—Participation in a National Evaluation.

I strongly support a national evaluation of PEP.

Proposed Requirement 9—Required Performance Measures and Data Collection Methodology.

Pedometers: This is a useful and feasible tool for assessing PA.  However, using them for overall daily PA should be the responsibility of the national evaluation team.  PEP grantees should be responsible for evaluating the outcomes of their projects.  If it is PE only, then using pedometers only in PE class would be the main goal.  If the project targets PA throughout the school day, then using pedometers throughout the school day would be sufficient.  Few school-based studies have documented physical activity changes outside of school.

3DPAR: I am co-author of a study showing that 3-day recalls are not valid in middle school students.  Thus, there is little justification for the time that needs to be devoted to a 3-day recall.  A 1-day recall is sufficient for an aggregate measure.  I am also concerned this measure would not be sensitive to small changes since the reports are in 30-minute blocks.  It would be better to pilot test this measure with a few grantees to determine feasibility and sensitivity to change.

McMurray, R.G., Ring, K.B., Treuth, M.S., Welk, G.J., Pate, R.R., Schmitz, K.H., Pickrel, J.L., Gonzalez, M., Almeida, M.J.C.A., Young, D.R., & Sallis, J.F.  (2004).  Comparison of two approaches to structured physical activity surveys for adolescents.  Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 36, 2135-2143.

Fitness tests:  These would be fine at the beginning and end of each year.

Here is another approach to evaluating the impact of the PEP activities on student MVPA.  This method could be used with any set of programs and could support cross-school comparisons.

1. Number of “opportunity minutes for physical activity” provided per enrolled child.  These could be estimated over an entire school year and for by school and by specific programs, such as PE, recess, after school.

2. Estimated “physical activity minutes per child.” This value is based on multiplying the opportunity minutes with MVPA minutes per session of a sample of students engaged in the different programs using direct observation or pedometry.

Using these calculations would provide a simple metric that would allow all schools/PEP grants to be compared (i.e., on physical activity opportunity minutes per student per year AND observed/calculated physical activity minutes per year).

Because I am opposed to broadening PEP grants to include nutrition, I am opposed to requiring reports of fruit and vegetable consumption.  If you decide to move ahead with measuring these outcomes, then consider this validated measure.

Prochaska, J.J., and Sallis, J.F.  (2004).  Reliability and validity of a fruit and vegetable screening measure for adolescents.  Journal of Adolescent Health, 34, 163-165.

Proposed Criteria for Evaluation:

The evaluation criteria should be based on using the funds to maximize the impact on youth physical activity, sustainability of programs, and evaluation.  Here are my recommendations for evaluation criteria for grants, and they should be communicated to applicants:

  • Based on a systematic needs assessment
  • Evidence basis for effects of proposed activities, programs, policies on youth physical activity
  • Likelihood of, or plan for, sustainability of programs, policies, implementation, impact
  • Evaluation plan
  • Targeting high-need schools and students

Submitted by:

James F. Sallis, PhD

Active Living Research

Department of Psychology

San Diego State University

3900 Fifth Avenue, Suite 310

San Diego, CA  92103 USA

Phone: 619-260-5534

Fax: 619-260-1510

Email: sallis@mail.sdsu.edu

Website: www.drjamessallis.sdsu.edu

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Remember This Date.

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

February 9, 2010. Write this down; make a mental note; consider it significant. This is the date that First Lady Michelle Obama announced her “Let’s Move” initiative to eliminate childhood obesity in a generation. It was all over the news. But you may have missed another announcement that is even more significant. The President appointed a Task Force on Childhood Obesity consisting of leaders of multiple federal departments and agencies. 2/9/10 is the day that all of our efforts to get kids active, fit, and healthy got a name, some celebrity, and some power.

This is a one-two punch of focus and power. The spotlight will now be strong. This is our best chance in a long time to make great progress on our shared vision of active healthy kids.

If, like me, you have been working for a long time to help children be active and healthy, we have been waiting for our concerns to be at the top of the national agenda. We can be proud that we have been on the right path and pursued a noble cause. But movement and change have been too slow. That is likely to change now. People in power want to listen to us now. They have joined our quest.

But progress will not be easy. Many Americans don’t think the country needs to change to provide more opportunities for kids to be active and to remove barriers to safe physical activity. Many people have a “just do it” mentality—it is a parent’s job to serve good food and tell the child to be active. But when good food is not in your neighborhood, no parks are in your neighborhood, traffic is too fast, and PE has been cut from the school day, what is a parent going to do? All Americans face barriers to being active, and it should be our goal to make it more convenient, safer, and more enjoyable to be active every day.

But the place to start is PE. This is the one program that can affect every child every day. PE needs to be active, and it needs to be taught by well-trained teachers. We know this works, and we can improve PE quickly. SPARK has been helping schools deliver activity-promoting PE for over 15 years. SPARK is ready and able to do more. Today, it was announced that the state of Florida received about $2 million to provide SPARK PE to every middle school in the state! One of the four goals of Let’s Move is to provide more opportunities for physical activity, and SPARK will help achieve it.

Our jobs are not finished. We cannot sit back and think the President and First Lady will make sure excellent PE is in every school; they will not eliminate childhood obesity on their own. We need to work harder, but our work is likely to have more of an effect now. It is up to us as educators, experts in PE and physical activity, parents, and members of our communities to support Let’s Move. We need to speak up. We need to keep information, good ideas, success stories, and good news about PE, physical activity, and solutions to childhood obesity visible in every communication channel all around the country. Please do your part. Sign on at http://www.letsmove.gov/ and send your thoughts to the First Lady.

Make 2/9/10 the day that you became a more vocal advocate for active healthy kids.

Jim Sallis
www.drjamessallis.sdsu.edu

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Q&A with Healthy Kids Challenge- Part 3

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

The U.S. Surgeon General and First Lady are challenging our nation to eat healthy and get more physical activity. With all of this talk about physical activity, our partner organization Healthy Kids Challenge had a few questions for us, and we thought we’d post the answers here for our SPARK family as well.

(This is part three in a three part series)

Q: What are some safety guidelines when an obese or poorly fit child is participating in PE class?

A: Before starting on any exercise program obese and poorly fit children should first be seen by a doctor. They can inform you of any limitations that may be required. Once they have the OK, students should begin in the light to moderate intensity levels, moving to moderate to vigorous levels as they gain fitness. Walking, for many obese children, is quite enough to increase their heart rate into their target heart rate zone. It is not only unnecessary, but unsafe, to require them to run any distance.

It is important for all children to participate at a level that is right for them. Start by teaching students how to take their heart rates to gauge intensity. Use their resting heart rate and age to compute their target heart rate zone between 60 and 70% of max. Train them to take their heart rate during activity to keep them from overexerting themselves. This gives them the tools they need to monitor their activity level and stay in a safe but beneficial zone.

Aside from walking, other activities they may enjoy include roller-blading, bike riding, dancing, swimming, and many more. It all depends on the student. It is important that all students, not just the obese, find activities they enjoy so they are more likely to continue them on their own. Being positive and supportive to the obese and reluctant exercisers is key to helping them get and stay motivated to be physically active.

Q: What are some fun activities that can be done for core strengthening in PE class?

A: Again, it’s important to note that not all students in your class will start (or end) at the same fitness level. For some of your students, completing a single curl-up seems a Herculean task where others may be able to do 75 full sit-ups with only minor discomfort. Be sure to provide several levels of difficulty for any activity you ask students to do. They can choose the level that is right for them. To promote greater improvements, encourage students to choose the level that is just beyond their comfort zone in order to overload their core.

The key here is to take your students’ minds off any discomfort by distracting them with bells and whistles. Below are a few activities to strengthen abdominals, obliques, and back muscles all wrapped up in a bundle of fun!

Sit-up Ball Exchange

Students are in pairs (of similar core fitness level) with 1 tossable. Partners in sit-up position facing each other, feet just touching; 1 partner holding the tossable. Both start in down position. Both come up at the same time and the tossable is tossed to the other partner. Both go down. Repeat.

Challenge: How many catches can you and your partner make in 1 minute?

Push-up Hockey

Students are in pairs (of similar core fitness level) with a hockey puck (or small tossable). Partners in push-up position (or modified) facing each other, hands 3’ from partner’s hands; 1 partner with the puck. Partner with puck tries to shoot puck between partner’s hands to score a goal. Defending partner may use 1 hand to block the puck. Alternate roles as shooter and defender.

Sit-up Hand-Off

Students are in groups of 5-8 (of mixed core fitness level) sitting in file lines, each in sit-up position (down position) with feet just beyond the head of the student in front of them. Lines radiate out from a hoop placed in the center. Place 5 tossables per group in the hoop. On signal, student closest to the hoop completes a sit-up and grabs a tossable from the hoop, then moves to the down position to hand it off to the next in line. Next in line must sit up to receive the tossable, then move to the down position to hand it off to the next in line. The tossable continues down the line until it reaches the last student who places it behind them when they are in the down position. First in line repeats the cycle directly after they have handed off the first tossable so there is very little rest before the next tossable needs to be handed back. Continue until all tossables are out of the hoop and at the end of the line, then reverse the hand-off so they are now moving forward and back to the hoop. When they are all back in the hoop a round is complete. To change it up for round 2, shift your 1st student 1 line clockwise and move them to the end of the line.

Challenges: How quickly can we all get the beanbags out of the hoop and back in again? Can we beat our time?

Boxer Kicks

Students are in pairs (of equal or mixed core fitness level). Partner A stands and Partner B lies supine, head near A’s feet, holding A’s ankles. Both A and B face the same direction. Partner B lifts both legs to 90° and A pushes them back down while B resists allowing their legs to touch the ground. Repeat until signal (30 seconds, then more as they get more fit), with Partner A pushing B’s feet off to R and L as well as straight down in random order. Reverse roles and repeat.

Challenge: How many times can you bring your feet up to your partner’s hands?

Push-up/Clap

Students are in pairs (of equal or mixed core fitness level). Partner B lies in push-up position and Partner A stands near Partner B’s head, A’s hands hanging above B’s shoulders. Partner B twists from the hips up and raises R hand up to clap A’s hands, then back to push-up position. Repeat to L side, again clapping A’s hands. Continue until signal (30 seconds, then more as they get more fit). Reverse roles and repeat.

Challenges: How many claps can you give your partner before the signal? Can you complete a push-up between each “clap” you make with your partner?

Q: When kids say their legs hurt after an active day, should I be concerned?

A: It all depends on what kind of “hurt” it is. If students are getting injured due to exercise that is too intense or contraindicated for them, you should be concerned and should make adjustments in activities. Remember, all students will come to you at different fitness levels and should therefore not all be required to participate at the same level. Try doing the exercises yourself! See how it makes your body feel. So many teachers ask students to do things they haven’t tried lately or ever. Being a good role model and participating in some fitness activities serves many purposes.

If, however, many of your students are slightly sore in the muscle groups that were used in a muscular strengthening activity the day or 2 before, that is more likely due to overloading those muscle groups and will result in gains in strength when those muscles heal and rebuild. This kind of sore is OK and completely normal. It should go away in a few days.

Let us know what you think of these question and answers! If your school needs to develop a healthier environment, together, SPARK and HKC offer an “Ignite a Healthy Environment” Program (Click here for more info).

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Q & A with Healthy Kids Challenge- Part 2

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

The U.S. Surgeon General and First Lady are challenging our nation to eat healthy and get more physical activity. With all of this talk about physical activity, our partner organization Healthy Kids Challenge had a few questions for us, and we thought we’d post the answers here for our SPARK family as well.


Q: I hear about physical education and physical activity during the school day, are they the same?

A: No, they are not synonymous. “Physical Education” (PE) refers to a structured class taught by a Physical Education Specialist or Classroom Teacher (in instances where there are few or no PE Specialists) designed to address specific physical education standards (see below). Daily Physical education is recommended by many organizations, but is not required. There are minimum amounts of PE required by law in most states. “Physical activity” (PA) during the school day can include any structured or unstructured activities involving physical movement. This may include Physical Education class, recess, before and after-school programs, activity breaks in the classroom, jog-a-thons, dances, field events, etc. that take place at school before, during, and after the school day. SPARK encourages a combination of both quality physical education and physical activity opportunities through out the school day and week. We also have seen the importance of having a certified physical education specialist work as the champion for both PE and PA within their school community.

National Physical Education Standards from the National Association of Sport and Physical Education (NASPE)

  • Standard 1: Demonstrates competency in motor skills and movement patterns needed to perform a variety of physical activities.
  • Standard 2: Demonstrates understanding of movement concepts, principles, strategies, and tactics as they apply to the learning and performance of physical activities.
  • Standard 3: Participates regularly in physical activity.
  • Standard 4: Achieves and maintains a health-enhancing level of physical fitness.
  • Standard 5: Exhibits responsible personal and social behavior that respects self and others in physical activity settings.
  • Standard 6: Values physical activity for health, enjoyment, challenge, self-expression, and/or social interaction.

Q: I would like to incorporate some physical activity into my classroom during breaks or free time, but I am at a loss! Could you give me a few ideas to use for my 5th graders?

A: Sure! There are so many things you could do with 5th graders to get them moving in the classroom throughout the day! SPARK divides these types of limited space activities into 3 categories – SPARK Space Savers, SPARK Plugs, and SPARK Anchors.

“SPARK Space Savers” are activities from the SPARK PE curriculum that can be adapted for limited space to keep students active during inclement weather or when the usual activity area is unavailable.

SPARK Space Saver Sample #1: Centipede Bucket Brigade (Click Here)

SPARK Space Saver Sample #2: Limited Space Circuit (Click Here)

SPARK Space Saver Sample #3: Grab the Apple (Click Here)

“SPARK Plugs” are used to quickly energize your students throughout the day. When students are not engaged, their brains will likely tune out within 10 minutes. Use these to promote readiness for learning, create excitement and overcome the effects of fatigue.

SPARK Plug Sample #1: Around the World (Click Here)

SPARK Plug Sample #2: Hand Pat Relay (Click Here)

SPARK Plug Sample #3: Odds and Evens (Click Here)

“SPARK Anchors” use movement to help “anchor” learning. Integrating other subjects with movement can be accomplished with minimal effort and maximum benefit. Use these samples as a guide to assist in creating additional support teaching the whole child, mind and body.

SPARK Anchor Sample #1: Odd Hops and Even Jumps (Click Here)

SPARK Anchor Sample #2: Sentence Detectives (Click Here)

Q: My child isn’t really very athletic. What is a good way to help him enjoy being active?

A: It is important to acknowledge that athletics and physical activity are not the same thing. Athletes are usually gifted with traits such as speed, agility, endurance, etc. needed to succeed in a specific sport or sports and choose to pursue that sport in a competitive forum. The rest of us non-athletes enjoy participating in all sorts of physical activities suited toward our tastes and physical attributes. These are usually done for reasons other than competition such as health, making friends, feeling good, losing weight, or just pure enjoyment among many. First thing to do is find out what your son enjoys. Is it hiking? Swimming? Dancing? Jumping on a trampoline? Bike riding? Jumping rope? Whatever it is, that is what he should be doing. To increase enjoyment during any activity, have your son play his favorite music or invite a friend to join him. Providing your son with support and encouragement will go a long way to promoting a lifetime of physical activity.

Q: Is warm-up and cool-down really necessary with exercise?

A: The safe answer is “Yes.” However, if your students have just come from recess or some other type of physical activity, your warm-up has probably been taken care of. The purpose of a warm-up is to increase blood flow to the muscles, tendons, and ligaments so they are ready for vigorous activity. This blood flow helps the body by making it more “elastic” and less likely to tear when overstretched or pushed too far too fast. If you don’t have much time for PE, have your students walk/jog to your activity area to warm them up during transition. As far as cool-down, it is not so much necessary as it is a great opportunity. During this time students can work on increasing flexibility through stretching exercises as well as bringing the body back to pre-activity levels to move back into the classroom. It is also the perfect time to have students demonstrate understanding of movement concepts, principles, strategies, and tactics as they apply to the performance of physical activities done in the lesson (NASPE Standard 2).

Q: What are some good motivational tools to help fit physical activity into each day?

A: Everyone has different motivations for staying physically active, although we hope that most of those motivations are centered on personal wellness. In a school setting it is important to know that research has shown a number of benefits for including more physical activity and physical education into students’ schedules. At a minimum – more minutes for PE & PA has not been shown to decrease testing performance, and many studies suggest that students are better prepared for testing and learning after physical activity. Further, new brain research shows that aerobic conditioning is very beneficial to brain development and performance. Both California and Texas have shown a direct relationship between performance on fitness tests and academic achievement test. We’re not suggesting that Test Scores should be the primary motivation for keeping children active throughout the day. However, in most schools where we have worked – academic achievement is the still the primary indicator of a school’s success. Our core belief is that staying active and physically fit can keep students mentally and emotionally balanced as well. We strive to educate the entire child for a life of success, productivity and happiness. A life free from many of the burdens brought about by diseases caused by sedentary lifestyles.

Let us know what you think of these question and answers! If your school needs to develop a healthier environment, together, SPARK and HKC offer an “Ignite a Healthy Environment” Program (Click here for more info).

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A New Role for the First Lady

Monday, February 1st, 2010

A New Role for the First Lady

Did you watch the recent State of the Union address? During his talk, the President made a point of introducing the First Lady and announcing her as a leader in a new national campaign to combat childhood obesity. Perfect fit for Michelle, with her great arms and all!

While George W. Bush was one of the most fit President’s ever (did you know his vital signs were similar to that of an Olympic athlete?) the First Couple stays consistent with their workouts (or so we’re told). Kudos to them. You have to think they have pretty busy schedules — so the old, “I don’t have the time to exercise” excuse is disproven once again.

A recent article in the San Diego Union alluded to the fact that Michelle is taking her newfound commitment to countering childhood obesity seriously, and for her, it’s personal. She said their family pediatrician warned her to monitor Sacha and Malia’s activity levels and what they’re eating. In reaction to this Michelle commented, “In my eyes, I thought my children were perfect. I didn’t see the changes.”

She said her physician kept a close eye on African-American children and “warned that he was concerned something could be off-balance.” Obama admitted that parents often recognize that kids in general don’t eat right and aren’t exercising enough, but “we always think that only happens to someone else’s kids, and I was in that position.”

Let’s hope in the weeks and months ahead, we see a genuine effort to support the dissemination of evidence-based physical education and physical activity programs, proper nutrition/healthy eating, behavior and environmental change strategies, and certainly if you want to bring your arms around the entire issue and galvanize the stakeholders — Coordinated School Health can do that.

Won’t you consider writing a letter to the White House and the First Lady, congratulating and thanking her for taking up this worthy cause? And if you do, please encourage her to support programs that have been proven to work and last. In these days of tight budgets, it’s especially important that every penny is invested wisely.

Every journey begins with a first step. Thanks to the President and First Lady, we’re on our way!

-Paul Rosengard

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Q&A with Healthy Kids Challenge

Thursday, January 14th, 2010

January is finally here, and with it comes the usual list of well-intentioned New Years resolutions. For many of you, that means attempting to eat more nutritiously and live a healthier life, and here at SPARK we’re no different. But what about our students? Do we really believe they’re making the same healthy commitments? And if not, how can we ensure we create a healthier 2010 for them as well?

Well, we thought we’d enlist the help of our partner organization, Healthy Kids Challenge (HKC), to get some advice and answers on this topic.


Q: What evidence is out there to show why it is important to teach/promote healthy nutrition?

A: Many studies show a strong link between nutrition, physical activity, and academic success. A report from Action for Healthy Kids titled The Learning Connection is an excellent resource. (Get this version of the report as a powerpoint presentation and share it with others!) The link is just what you’d expect: Students who are well-nourished perform better, and students who are not well-nourished have weaker academic performance and score lower on standardized tests.

For example, we know research has shown increased participation in school breakfast programs is associated with increased academic test scores. In fact, eating breakfast is so important all year (not just right before testing times) that it is one of our 6 core healthy behaviors for which we’ve developed a theme, Breakfast GO Power!, and lessons/ideas for everyday fun learning.

Q: If I ask parents to bring in a healthy snack, what would be some recommendations of what they could provide?

A: First, I’d have you define for parents what is considered a “healthy snack.” Then list some healthy choices as examples. Consider getting the kids’ input – they will be more likely to eat if they’ve helped choose what is offered.

Healthy Snack How-To:

  • Choose snacks low in added fat and sugar – Think about More or Less! All foods fit when you choose MORE fruits and veggies and LESS sugary and high fat foods.
  • Recognize a healthy portion size – Check serving size on the label, and amounts of fat and sugar per serving: items should contain no more than 5 grams of fat or sugar per serving. Measure a serving to check it out!
  • Be aware of hunger levels –Are there distractions such as TV or videos while the kids will be eating? It’s easier for people of any age to keep from overeating if you eliminate distractions. Adding a little bit of protein to your snack will help kids stay full and focused.

HKC Top 10 Healthy Snack Choices
½ cup fresh fruit – with low-fat yogurt dip
½ cup vegetables – with low-fat dressing dip
5 whole grain crackers – with salsa or bean dip
1 cup whole grain cereal – with 8 oz. skim milk
3 cups popcorn – with 1 oz. nuts (10 almonds or 15 peanuts)
1 oz. low-fat cheese – with 1 thin slice lean meat and whole grain roll
8 oz. fat-free flavored yogurt – with cut-up fresh fruit added
1/3 cup low-fat cottage cheese – with pineapple chunks
1 oz. nuts (10 almonds or 15 peanuts) – with ¼ cup raisins
1 Tbsp peanut butter – with celery sticks

Q: Why is it important to eat more fruits & vegetables?

A: Less than 25% of school children (grades 9-12) and adults eat the recommended servings of fruits and veggies a day. (CDC, Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey, 2007). Obesity levels are lowest among those who have high intakes of fruits and veggies.

Eating more fruits and vegetables will ensure you get a great variety of vitamins, minerals, and fiber needed for good health. Fruits and veggies are also the only source of phytochemicals, which give them their vibrant colors, and give us special protection against diseases.

For a simple send-home activity click here and explore the “For Parents” section of our Fit and Fun Families Toolkit.

Q: Which is healthier, a burger or a salad, and why?

A: Well, it depends. We really need to look closer at serving sizes and what you might have added to them before eating them.

The burger will have more protein, but it will also have extra calories and saturated fat. Is your burger larger than ¼ lb? Does it have cheese or bacon? All of these add more calories and fat. But I put lettuce and tomato and onions on it, you say? Those healthy fixins don’t amount to even one serving of vegetables – think again.

The salad will be loaded with antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, but did you also “load” it with your favorite dressing? What about cheese, bacon bits, or croutons? If you add all these toppings, you’ve added not only calories and saturated fat, but salt as well.

Fix your salad right, or order it right, and you’ll be making the healthier choice. Get your choice of dressing on the side, and dip your fork in it before getting a bite of salad. You’ll eat less and still enjoy the flavor. Add vegetables as toppings instead of the other high-calorie choices. In this case, the salad is the healthier choice with less saturated fat and fewer calories than a quarter-pound burger. The burger, by the way, has the same amount of saturated fat as a third of a cup of ranch dressing.

Q: What is the difference between all the different types of fat (saturated, unsaturated, trans fat)?

A:
1. All fats and oils are a mixture of saturated fat and unsaturated fats.
2. Solid fats contain more saturated fats and/or trans fats than oils.
3. Oils contain more unsaturated fats, such as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.

Solid Fats = more saturated and/or trans fats:
Solid fats are fats that are solid at room temperature. Some solid fats are butter, stick margarine, and shortening. Foods high in solid fats include many cheeses, creams, ice creams, ground beef, bacon, and poultry skin. Trans fats can be found in many cakes, cookies, crackers, margarines, and microwave popcorns. Foods containing partially-hydrogenated vegetable oils usually contain trans fats.

Oils = more unsaturated fats:
Oils are fats that are liquid at room temperature, high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, and low in saturated fats. Some common oils are canola oil, corn oil, and olive oil. Foods that are mainly oil include mayonnaise, salad dressings, and soft (tub or squeeze) margarine with no trans fats.

Choose Oils
Saturated fats and trans fats tend to raise LDL “bad” cholesterol levels in the blood, which in turn increases the risk for heart disease. To lower risk for heart disease, cut back on foods containing saturated fats and trans fats.

Most of the fats you eat should be polyunsaturated (PUFA) or monounsaturated (MUFA) fats. Fish, nut, and vegetable oils are the major source of MUFAs and PUFAs in the diet. These oils do not raise LDL “bad” cholesterol levels in the blood. PUFAs contain some fatty acids that are necessary for health—called “essential fatty acids.” In addition, oils are the major source of vitamin E in typical American diets.

For more information, visit www.mypyramid.gov.

Q: What does vitamin A do for you?

A: Vitamin A is essential for healthy eyes, healthy skin, and keeping your immune system strong. It is an essential nutrient, meaning your body cannot create it, so you must get it from your diet. Dark green and orange veggies have the highest vitamin A content. Choose these: broccoli, spinach, collard greens, mango, carrots, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin.

Q: Why are some people allergic to nuts?

A: First you need to understand some allergy basics. I have an excellent resource to recommend for the answer you need, which is KidsHealth.org. According to them, “ An allergic reaction happens when someone’s immune system mistakenly believes that something harmless, such as a tree nut or peanut, is actually harmful. The immune system responds by creating specific antibodies to proteins in that food.” The following link will explain allergies, and also go into nut allergies in particular. If you need more information, let me know!
Click Here.

Q: When purchasing bread, what should you look for?

A:

  • Whole Grains on the ingredient list.
    • The key word is “whole”. It must say “whole wheat flour”, for example. Words such as “enriched wheat flour” and just “wheat flour” indicate it is NOT whole grain.
    • The first ingredient listed is present in the largest amount. If the first ingredient doesn’t have the word “whole” included, then it is not truly a whole grain bread. The front of the package may claim “made with whole grains”, but read the ingredient list carefully!
  • Calories, serving size, and fiber on the nutrition label.
    • Is a serving 1 slice of bread or 2 slices? You can get whole grain breads that range from 70 calories per serving up to almost 200 calories per serving. Read carefully and know what you are getting in a serving!
    • 2-3 grams of fiber per serving is a healthier choice. Just be sure to check what the serving size is. 3 grams of fiber per slice is much different than 3 grams per 2 slices! Eating more fiber aids digestion and helps you feel full longer.

Q: How much sugar is in a can of soda?

A: There are 10 tsp of sugar or 40 grams in a 12-oz can of soda. Help kids do a Drink Think using our free downloadable activity pages.

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