Obesity and overweight in schools

What schools can do to stop obesity and overweight

In the last years, obesity and overweight have been declared a national health problem in several countries like the USA, the UK, Greece and México. The cause of this problem is that modern societies have created an environment contrary to health by promoting increased food intake, non-healthful foods, and physical inactivity. Schools and kids are not outside the reach of these bad habits and statistics show that American children nowadays are heavier than any other generation before: between 16 and 33 percent of children and adolescents are obese.  Obesity is among the easiest medical conditions to recognize but most difficult to treat. Although there are some genetic and hormonal causes of childhood obesity, most of the time it's caused by kids eating too much and exercising too little. Bad habits tend to create unhealthy children and poor eating or over-eating, along with lack of exercise, bring complicated health problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and breathing and sleeping problems among many others.

Many efforts are being used everywhere to fight obesity and over weight, but among them, there are four major strategies every school can implement to successfully develop a healthier way of life:

1^st.  Schools need to address physical activity and nutrition trough a school health program;

2^nd. Faculties have to asses school’s health policies and programs and develop a plan for improvements;

3^rd. Educational communities have to implement a high quality health promotion program for school staff; and finally,

4^th. Schools have to ensure that students have appealing, healthy choices in foods and beverages in the schools meal program.

Even when a school has successfully developed these strategies, little can be obtained if families are not fully involved, because schools complement what parents teach and no school can substitute that valuable education.

Many schools have no clear policies regarding physical activity and nutrition. It’s very important that every school takes time and resources to design an ambitious program that can cover the concrete needs of the school context. This program may contain several clear measurable goals like increasing opportunities and spaces for students to engage in physical activity, promote a long term school commitment to campaign in favor of active hobbies and sports, involving students in spreading nutritional information and awareness of the intake calories amount in each meal and finally taking time in class to speak about the advances as an institution.

Faculties have to assess school’s health policies and programs and develop a plan for improvements. This is a very important aspect to succeed the battle against obesity and overweight. One tactic often used to do this is to implement a high-quality course of study in health education and physical education. Calling the attention on these issues by arranging a quality course or inviting a health guru is always a great move. Other good idea is to have children contribute to an institutional goal like a number of pounds lost in a month or a number of hours spent in sports or active hobbies. The last good idea is to look for successful ideas other schools have implemented, this takes some classroom research and could be a fantastic class project.

It is very important to involve school staff in the new health culture. Sometimes it’s very difficult to motivate old workers to start a new trend in old habits, but once you have them started things go easier. A good plan would be to challenge staff members into a health competition by changing high calorie lunches into healthier options. Other way to achieve this goal would be to spend some time doing exercise together in activities such as aerobics or yoga class and by doing that staff members can benefit not only of better health but growing better relationships.

One of the best strategies to reduce childhood obesity is to improve the diet. Regularly eating high-calorie foods, such as fast foods, baked goods and vending machine snacks, can easily cause children to gain weight. Loading up on soft drinks, candy and desserts also can cause weight gain. Foods and beverages like these are high in sugar, fat and calories. Schools have to have a strict meals policy that allows kids to choose healthy alternatives in foods and beverages in the schools meal program.

Finally, none of these strategies would work if families are not committed to help schools in beating obesity. Many kids are spending less time exercising and more time in front of the TV, computer, or video game console. In addition, today's busy families have fewer free moments to prepare nutritious, home-cooked meals. From fast food to electronics, quick and easy is the reality for many people in the new millennium. Preventing kids from becoming overweight means adapting the way families eat, exercise, and how they spend time together. Helping kids lead healthy lifestyles begins with parents who lead by example.