[House Hearing, 110 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
USING SCHOOL WELLNESS PLANS
TO HELP FIGHT CHILDHOOD OBESITY
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
SUBCOMMITTEE ON HEALTHY
FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES
COMMITTEE ON
EDUCATION AND LABOR
U.S. House of Representatives
ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
HEARING HELD IN WASHINGTON, DC, MAY 10, 2007
__________
Serial No. 110-33
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Education and Labor
Available on the Internet:
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/house/education/index.html
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COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR
GEORGE MILLER, California, Chairman
Dale E. Kildee, Michigan, Vice Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon,
Chairman California,
Donald M. Payne, New Jersey Ranking Minority Member
Robert E. Andrews, New Jersey Thomas E. Petri, Wisconsin
Robert C. ``Bobby'' Scott, Virginia Peter Hoekstra, Michigan
Lynn C. Woolsey, California Michael N. Castle, Delaware
Ruben Hinojosa, Texas Mark E. Souder, Indiana
Carolyn McCarthy, New York Vernon J. Ehlers, Michigan
John F. Tierney, Massachusetts Judy Biggert, Illinois
Dennis J. Kucinich, Ohio Todd Russell Platts, Pennsylvania
David Wu, Oregon Ric Keller, Florida
Rush D. Holt, New Jersey Joe Wilson, South Carolina
Susan A. Davis, California John Kline, Minnesota
Danny K. Davis, Illinois Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Washington
Raul M. Grijalva, Arizona Kenny Marchant, Texas
Timothy H. Bishop, New York Tom Price, Georgia
Linda T. Sanchez, California Luis G. Fortuno, Puerto Rico
John P. Sarbanes, Maryland Charles W. Boustany, Jr.,
Joe Sestak, Pennsylvania Louisiana
David Loebsack, Iowa Virginia Foxx, North Carolina
Mazie Hirono, Hawaii John R. ``Randy'' Kuhl, Jr., New
Jason Altmire, Pennsylvania York
John A. Yarmuth, Kentucky Rob Bishop, Utah
Phil Hare, Illinois David Davis, Tennessee
Yvette D. Clarke, New York Timothy Walberg, Michigan
Joe Courtney, Connecticut Dean Heller, Nevada
Carol Shea-Porter, New Hampshire
Mark Zuckerman, Staff Director
Vic Klatt, Minority Staff Director
------
SUBCOMMITTEE ON HEALTHY FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES
CAROLYN McCARTHY, New York, Chairwoman
Yvette D. Clarke, New York Todd Russell Platts, Pennsylvania,
Carol Shea-Porter, New Hampshire Ranking Minority Member
Dennis J. Kucinich, Ohio Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon,
Raul M. Grijalva, Arizona California
John P. Sarbanes, Maryland Kenny Marchant, Texas
Jason Altmire, Pennsylvania Luis G. Fortuno, Puerto Rico
John A. Yarmuth, Kentucky David Davis, Tennessee
Dean Heller, Nevada
C O N T E N T S
----------
Page
Hearing held on May 10, 2007..................................... 1
Statement of Members:
Altmire, Hon. Jason, a Representative in Congress from the
State of Pennsylvania, prepared statement of............... 55
McCarthy, Hon. Carolyn, Chairwoman, Subcommittee on Healthy
Families and Communities................................... 1
Prepared statement of.................................... 2
Platts, Hon. Todd Russell, ranking minority member,
Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities........... 3
Prepared statement of.................................... 3
Woolsey, Hon. Lynn C., a Representative in Congress from the
State of California........................................ 4
Prepared statement of.................................... 6
Statement of Witnesses:
Chase, Chevy, actor/writer, co-founder, Center for
Environmental Education Online............................. 9
Prepared statement of.................................... 10
Converse, Chandler, high school student...................... 22
Prepared statement of.................................... 23
Howley, Nora L., interim executive director, Action for
Healthy Kids............................................... 25
Prepared statement of.................................... 27
``Wellness Policy Fundamentals: Key Considerations as You
Develop Your Local Wellness Policy''................... 32
``Local Wellness Policies One Year Later: Showing
Improvements in School Nutrition and Physical
Activity''............................................. 33
Lawler, Phil, director, PE4life Instruction and Outreach..... 37
Prepared statement of.................................... 38
Marks, James S., M.D., MPH, senior vice president and
director, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Group...... 11
Prepared statement of.................................... 14
Stallings, Virginia A., M.D. professor of pediatrics,
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.............. 17
Prepared statement of.................................... 19
Additional Submissions:
Mrs. McCarthy:
Cloninger, Kathy, president & CEO, Girl Scouts of the
USA, prepared statement of............................. 56
Garrett, Monica, senior manager, US Corporate
Responsibility, NikeGO programs, prepared statement of. 61
The School Nutrition Association:
Prepared statement of................................ 63
Proposed amendment: National Nutrition Standards for
School Meals....................................... 64
``A Foundation for the Future: Analysis of Local
Wellness Policies from the 100 Largest School
Districts''........................................ 66
``A Foundation for the Future II: Analysis of Local
Wellness Policies from 140 School Districts in 49
States''........................................... 66
Wechsler, Howell, Ed.D, MPH, Director, Division of
Adolescent and School Health, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, prepared statement of.................. 57
USING SCHOOL WELLNESS PLANS
TO HELP FIGHT CHILDHOOD OBESITY
----------
Thursday, May 10, 2007
U.S. House of Representatives
Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities
Committee on Education and Labor
Washington, DC
----------
The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 3:49 p.m., in
Room 2175, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Carolyn McCarthy
[chairwoman of the subcommittee] presiding.
Present: Representatives McCarthy, Clarke, Sarbanes,
Yarmuth, Platts, Biggert, McKeon, and Price.
Staff Present: Aaron Albright, Press Secretary; Tylease
Alli, Hearing Clerk; Fran-Victoria Cox, Documents Clerk;
Jeffrey Hancuff, Staff Assistant, Labor; Lamont Ivey, Staff
Assistant, Education; Thomas Kiley, Communications Director;
Deborah Koolbeck, Policy Advisor for Subcommittee on Healthy
Families and Communities; Stephanie Moore, General Counsel;
James Bergeron, Minority Deputy Director of Education and Human
Service Policy; Kathryn Bruns, Minority Legislative Assistant;
Taylor Hansen, Minority Legislative Assistant; Linda Stevens,
Minority Chief Clerk/Assistant to the General Counsel.
Chairwoman McCarthy [presiding]. A quorum is present. The
hearing of the subcommittee will come to order.
Pursuant to Committee Rule 12(a), any member may submit an
opening statement in writing which will be made part of the
permanent record.
Before we begin, I would like everyone to take a moment to
make sure that your cell phones and BlackBerrys are on silent.
I now recognized myself, following by the ranking member,
Mr. Platts from Pennsylvania, for an opening statement.
If everybody doesn't mind--everybody knows that I am really
excited about having this hearing--I am going to not do my
opening statement, so, time-wise, we can get to the witnesses.
We are going to have another vote in an hour, so I want to get
everybody in. I want all the information. So I am skipping my
speech. I think that is a first, by the way.
Thank you for joining us today, and now I yield to the
ranking member, Mr. Platts, for his opening statement.
[The opening statement of Chairwoman McCarthy follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Carolyn McCarthy, Chairwoman, Subcommittee
on Healthy Families and Communities
I am so pleased to welcome you to the Subcommittee on Healthy
Families and Communities hearing on using school wellness plans to
fight childhood obesity. I am even more pleased at the large level of
interest in this hearing, both from my fellow Members of Congress and
from those who wish to make the world a better place for our children.
I am sorry that we could not accommodate everyone who wished to be on
our panels, but I look forward to reviewing the submitted testimony as
we move forward.
Childhood obesity is not only sweeping our nation, but is found in
other industrialized nations such as Japan and emerging nations like
China. As a nurse and Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Healthy
Families and Communities, I wanted to give this issue the attention it
deserves. There is no need to discuss whether or not childhood obesity
has reached epidemic proportions in our nation: it has. The Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention and the National Academies of Science,
among many other institutions, openly discuss our nation's childhood
obesity epidemic. In 2005, it was estimated that nearly 9 million
children over age 6 were considered obese. Childhood obesity is found
in all 50 States, in both young children and adolescents, affecting all
social and economic levels. Low income communities tend to have the
highest obesity rates due to factors such as a lack of access to
affordable, healthy foods, lack of safe, available venues for physical
activity, and a lack of education on nutrition and its benefits.
Furthermore, it has been found that minority children are at greatest
risk for obesity.
Clearly we can see that childhood obesity is a multi-faceted
problem, and the solution cannot come from a single change in a child's
life. However, we can explore a single piece of every child's life:
school. Children spend the majority of their day in school, where they
not only study the curricula but also absorb messages from their peers,
their teachers, and the media. In addition, for many children, two-
thirds of their meals happen at school along with the majority of their
socialization and all too often, their lack of physical activity.
We are here today to explore how school wellness plans, established
in the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 for each
Local Educational Agency participating in a program authorized by the
RICHARD B. RUSSELL National School Lunch Act or the Child Nutrition Act
of 1966, can be utilized to fight childhood obesity. Each Local
Educational Agency was to establish a School Wellness Policy by the
start of the 2006-2007 school year.
School Wellness Policies needed to include goals for nutrition
education, physical activity, and other school-based activities
designed to promote wellness, nutrition standards for foods sold in
schools that are not federally reimbursable meals such as the slice of
pizzas kids grab along with a soda, nutrition guidelines for
reimbursable meals, which cannot drop below the USDA standards, a plan
for measuring implementation of the local wellness policy, and a
requirement for community involvement in the development of the school
wellness policy.
Ideally, School Wellness Policies should look at our nation's youth
holistically, addressing the school environment, life-skills courses,
and physical activity. For example, for those students who struggle in
the classroom because of learning disabilities it is important that
they have time to participate in sports or physical activity during the
school day, because these students tend to excel in sports or other
physical activity. This is necessary to maintain a healthy self-esteem
and the confidence to return to the classroom and face their personal
challenges.
Although we need to establish a healthy environment in the schools,
ideally the School Wellness Policy would be expanded to establish a
Community Wellness Policy. You see, although there is great opportunity
to address the health and wellness of youth in schools, if we do not
address the health and wellness environment for youth outside our
schools then there is a good chance we could lose the fight against
childhood obesity. There is sufficient room in the legislation
mandating these school wellness policies so that a policy can be
crafted to suit the particulars of the community surround the school;
the needs and opportunities for rural students differ greatly from
those of suburban or urban students. However, across the board, we need
to have in place School Wellness Policies which can work to educate our
youth through experience on nutrition, physical activity, and other
aspects of healthy living and wellness.
The School Wellness Policies are a piece of the culture change our
nation is experiencing brought on in part by our nation's prosperity
and the global knowledge economy. Today, many jobs tend to be at desks,
sitting for hours without physical activity. The work day is long in
this nation, leading to the abundance of fast food consumption. The
lifestyle of citizens with multiple jobs or low-wage positions equally
contributes to increased fast food consumption, lack of exercise, and
other associated daily living challenges. Physical activity for health
and recreation is often sacrificed for the basic needs of daily living.
Change for adults is hard, but with children, if we start to educate
our youth early, with continued reinforcement of healthy living and
wellness, we will establish in our youth habits and values of healthy
living and wellness for the future.
Today we will hear from a Member of Congress, experts in the fields
of nutrition and physical education, an Emmy-award winning actor who
now turns his energy to healthy food in schools, and most importantly,
I think, a young woman who has through her love of running and
exercise, campaigned at the local, state, and now the national level,
to ensure that all youth have the opportunity to be physically active
in their school day or school week. Thank you all for joining us today.
______
Mr. Platts. Mine will be equally brief.
Madam Chair, I appreciate your holding this very important
hearing.
And as the parent of a 2nd-grader and 4th-grader, and as
one who eats lunch in the cafeteria with my kids about every 2
weeks to 3 weeks, depending on the schedule--this issue is very
important to so many families across the country and
ultimately, you know, and most importantly, to the long-term
health of our children. So I appreciate it.
I will submit my statement for the record as well. I yield
back.
[The opening statement of Mr. Platts follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Todd Russell Platts, Ranking Minority
Member, Subcommittee on Health Families and Communities
Good Afternoon. Thank you for joining us today for this important
hearing on the battle against childhood obesity. As we all know,
childhood obesity has become a major health problem in the United
States, and studies suggest that overweight children are significantly
more likely to become overweight or obese adults.
This is a matter of great concern to this Committee, and to society
as a whole. Recent reports have found that our nation's children are
increasingly suffering from health conditions traditionally associated
with adulthood, including Type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, high
cholesterol, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, orthopedic
complications, and are troubled by other effects such as low self-
esteem. These ailments can be directly traced to the fact that, among
school-aged children, we've seen a significant increase in the
prevalence of overweight young children and young adults.
In addition to afflicting distress through chronic disease and
premature death, the dramatic rise in obesity rates has had economic
repercussions. CDC-sponsored studies report that obesity-related
medical expenditures in the United States have reached more than $75
billion a year. These statistics demonstrate that we as a nation must
address the growing problem of childhood obesity if we are to promote
child and societal well-being.
At the onset, let me say that I believe that parents bear the
primary responsibility for ensuring that their children eat well and
exercise regularly. However, schools can and should play a positive
role by giving children access to nutritious meals and snacks,
nutrition education, and provide time and encourage students to engage
in daily physical activity.
Over the past several years, schools and programs providing meals
and snacks to children have made progress in improving lunch menus to
meet federal nutrition standards for fat and calories. And through the
Child Nutrition and Women, Infants, and Children Reauthorization Act of
2004, local educational agencies are developing and implementing local
wellness policies that include a comprehensive approach to combating
childhood obesity, which include establishing nutrition guidelines and
education, physical activity goals, and other activities on the school
level to promote child wellness.
However, I believe that more can be done to provide every child
with a school environment that promotes healthy food choices and
regular physical activity. The decrease in the physical activity of our
children, both in school and at home, has been shown to be a major
factor in the rise of childhood obesity.
In my own State of Pennsylvania, we have great organizations such
as Just Harvest, the School Nutrition Association of Pennsylvania, and
Pennsylvania Advocates for Nutrition and Activity all working towards
ensuring that our schools provide healthy and nutritious foods,
nutrition and physical education programs to help combat and prevent
childhood obesity.
As this Committee continues its effort to improve child nutrition
programs and address the important and complex issue of childhood
obesity, we will examine the available science and take into
consideration all factors known to contribute to obesity, while
supporting the role of local school districts to make decisions about
the foods and activities that are available to children in school.
We've tried to find that balance--between the role of the Federal
government and that of local schools and school districts--from the
reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act to the recent efforts led by
the Chairwoman to expand the focus of childhood obesity in the
reauthorization of the Head Start program. It is my hope and
expectation that we will continue to seek that balance with our efforts
here today.
I would also like to recognize Dr. Stallings who for a long time
has been an important part of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
and who recently was a key part of the Institute of Medicine's study on
child nutrition which we will hear more about today.
Thank you and all of our other distinguished witnesses for being
here today as we focus on this important issue.
______
Chairwoman McCarthy. I thank you, Mr. Platts.
I also want to note that Mr. Yarmuth from Kentucky has
joined us. And Ms. Biggert from Illinois is here, and Mr.
McKeon.
Today we will hear from two panels. On our first panel, we
will hear from a member of Congress, my colleague and fellow
member of the Committee on Education and Labor, the Honorable
Lynn Woolsey from California.
On the second panel, we will hear from six witnesses: the
actor and comedian, Mr. Chevy Chase--and we thank you for being
here; Mr. James Marks, from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation;
Dr. Virginia Stallings, a doctor from Philadelphia with many
honors; Ms. Chandler Converse, a student from Georgia; Nora
Howley, from the Action for Healthy Kids; and last but
certainly not least, Mr. Philip Lawler, from PE4LIFE.
Thank you all for being here today, and I appreciate your
patience.
In the interest of time, given the large number of
witnesses today, I will keep the informal introductions short.
I would like to introduce the first panel, a colleague of
mine, the Honorable Lynn Woolsey from California. I have served
with her since 1996. She has been here in Congress since 1993
on the Education and Labor. She serves as the chairwoman on the
Subcommittee of Workforce Protection.
Congresswoman Woolsey leads her voice as a member of
Congress and calls for action in the areas where she is deeply
passionate. I know she cares deeply about the health and
wellness of our young people, and I look forward to hearing her
testimony on using school wellness policies to fight childhood
obesity.
You understand the light system. We are going to stay very
tight today, 5 minutes, boom.
So, with that, may I hear your testimony?
STATEMENT OF HON. LYNN C. WOOLSEY, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS
FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Ms. Woolsey. Thank you, Chairman McCarthy, and you have set
a perfect example for doing the right thing and staying within
time this afternoon.
And thank you, Ranking Member Platts.
Thank you for inviting me to testify at this important
hearing on school wellness plans and child obesity.
We all know the statistics. Childhood obesity has become a
dangerous public health epidemic, and the percentage of
overweight children has more than doubled since 1980.
Congress, through the work of this committee, took some
very meaningful steps to address the childhood obesity epidemic
during the reauthorization of the school meals program in 2004.
There was bipartisan support to help school districts
develop school wellness policies. And those agreements included
nutrition, education, physical activity and nutrition
guidelines for food served at school.
School districts and parents can use school wellness
policies to teach their children the healthy habits that they
need for a lifetime. But schools cannot carry out this program
alone. With our help, school wellness programs can and must
succeed.
Last summer, I was honored to speak at a conference
sponsored by the Alliance for Healthier Generations led by
former President Clinton and the American Heart Association.
Working with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and other
groups, they successfully bring schools, they bring business
and the health care community together to make kids healthier.
They train staff. They help schools create wellness
programs and check in afterwards to see how the wellness
programs are progressing. We need more of these support systems
for our schools, there is no question.
At the conference, I spoke to cafeteria workers and other
school employees who were learning about nutrition and how to
encourage a healthy diet for their students.
They were excited. They were there. And for many of them,
that was the first time they were getting any real training on
nutrition, 2 years after wellness programs were created.
School nutrition programs face budget shortfalls because we
are not fully funding the student lunch program or the No Child
Left Behind program.
In order to continue to buy new ovens or pay for health
care for their cafeteria workers, schools often make up for
these shortfalls by increasing the cost of the meals and by
selling a la carte and vending machine items, food that quite
often does not have the same nutritional guidelines that meals
have.
Right now, ice cream is allowed in schools but seltzer
water isn't. Doughnuts are allowed but lollipops are not.
Cookies are fine but breath mints are not.
This doesn't make any sense, Madam Chairman. It undermines
the federal nutrition standards for meals if students spend
their money on unhealthy options.
It also undermines the role of parents who give lunch money
to their children expecting them to eat something wholesome and
nutritious and their money instead is spent on unhealthy
options.
That is why I have introduced legislation, the Child
Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch Protection Act, H.R. 1363,
that will protect our children by ensuring that all food sold
in schools during the entire school day meets sound nutrition
standards.
The bill would require that food sold in schools take into
account caloric intake, saturated fats, trans fats and refined
sugars. H.R. 1363 assesses the effect of certain foods on
obesity.
The bill would also allow for recommendations by leading
scientific experts. This bill has a companion bill in the
Senate with Senator Harkin from Iowa.
When schools need to sell unhealthy food and drinks in
order to make up for budget shortfalls, we are forcing them to
abandon their school wellness programs.
That is why, with this legislation, along with Chairwoman
McCarthy and Chairman Miller leading the way, we have a real
opportunity to stop the obesity epidemic.
Working together, we will ensure that cafeteria and
wellness programs are funded, the support and training required
to create the wellness programs will be available, and there
will be sound nutritional standards for all foods sold in
schools.
Again, I thank you, Madam Chair, for this time, and I am
sorry I can't listen to your panel. Thank you very much.
[The statement of Ms. Woolsey follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Lynn C. Woolsey, a Representative in
Congress From the State of California
Thank you Chairwoman McCarthy and Ranking Member Platts for
inviting me to testify at this important hearing on school wellness
plans and childhood obesity.
We've all heard the statistics:
1. Childhood obesity has become a dangerous public health epidemic.
2. The percentage of overweight children has more than doubled
since 1980.
3. The percentage of overweight adolescents has more than tripled.
4. Only one in three high school students take part in daily
physical activity
If these trends continue, the next generation of adults is going to
be at much greater risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke,
cancer, and other diseases.
Congress through the work of this Committee took some steps to
address the child obesity epidemic during the reauthorization of the
school meals programs in 2004. There was bipartisan support to help
school districts develop ``school wellness policies,'' which include
nutrition education, physical activity, and nutrition guidelines for
food served at school. School districts and parents can use School
Wellness Policies to teach children the healthy habits they'll need for
a lifetime, but schools cannot carry out this program alone. With our
help, School Wellness Programs can succeed.
Last summer, I was honored to be invited to speak at a conference
sponsored by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, led by former
President Clinton and the American Heart Association. Working with the
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and other groups they successfully bring
schools, businesses, and the healthcare community together to make kids
healthier. They train staff, help schools create wellness programs, and
check in afterwards to see how the wellness programs are progressing.
We need more of these support systems for our schools.
I also met with Alice Waters, who created the Edible School Garden.
This great program shows children how to create a fruit and vegetable
garden and serve the fruits and vegetables in the school cafeteria.
Children learn the importance of a healthy diet and how fruits and
vegetables are a key component, as well as seeing how fruits and
vegetables go from garden to table.
At the conference, I spoke to cafeteria workers and other school
employees who were learning about nutrition and how to encourage a
healthy diet for their students. They were excited to be there and for
many of them, that was the first time they were getting any real
training on nutrition--two years after Wellness Programs were created!
The Alliance for a Healthier Generation, Alice Waters and these
schools are doing a great job at trying to make children healthier and
they need all the support we can give them. However, these schools are
facing serious obstacles in order to make students healthier.
School nutrition programs face budget shortfalls because we are not
fully funding the student lunch program or No Child Left Behind. In
order to continue to buy new ovens or pay for healthcare for their
cafeteria workers, schools often make up for these shortfalls by
increasing the cost of meals and selling a la carte and vending machine
items, food that usually does not have the same nutritional guidelines
that meals have.
Right now, ice cream is allowed in schools but seltzer water isn't.
Doughnuts are allowed but lollipops are not. Cookies are fine, but
breath mints are not. This doesn't make sense. It undermines the
federal nutrition standards for meals if students spend their money on
unhealthy options. It also undermines the role of parents who give
lunch money to their children expecting them to eat something wholesome
and nutritious and their money is spent on unhealthy options instead.
That is why I've introduced legislation, the Child Nutrition
Promotion and School Lunch Protection Act, H.R. 1363 that will protect
our children by ensuring that all foods sold in schools during the
entire school day meet sound nutrition standards. The bill would
require that food sold in schools take into account caloric intake,
saturated fats, trans fats, and refined sugars. H.R.1363 assesses the
affect of certain foods on obesity. The bill would also allow for
recommendations by leading scientific experts.
This is a bipartisan bill, which enjoys support from the American
Heart Association and an array of health advocacy groups. Republican
Chris Shays is my lead co-sponsor. There is also a Senate version,
offered by Democrat Tom Harkin and Republican Lisa Murkowski. This idea
isn't a new one--the Democrats on the Committee on Education and Labor
have gone on record in support of similar legislation.
When schools need to sell unhealthy food and drinks in order to
make up for budget shortfalls, we are forcing them to abandon their
School Wellness programs. That's why this legislation along with
Chairwoman McCarthy and Chairman Miller leading the way, we have a real
opportunity to stop the obesity epidemic. Working together, we will
ensure that cafeteria and wellness programs are funded; the support and
training required to create the wellness programs is available; and
there are sound nutritional standards for all foods sold in schools.
Again, I thank you Madame Chair for this time.
______
Chairwoman McCarthy. Thank you. Wow, right on time. Good
job. I want to thank you for taking the time out of your
extremely busy day here in Congress and for the time that you
have given us, and thank you for the information.
If the second panel would come forward now, it would be
great.
I would like to thank each of you for being here today. To
begin, we will go in the order of your introductions.
Mr. Chevy Chase is better known to all of us for the
laughter we have shared around his Emmy-award-winning work on
``Saturday Night Live,'' the multiple ``National Lampoon''
movies and other movies such as ``Caddyshack,'' which is
certainly a classic for all of us. Though his work as an actor
continues, he and his wife established the Center for
Environmental Education Online Foundation with several core
missions, including getting healthy foods into schools.
Dr. James Marks come to us from the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation, where he is a senior vice president and director of
the health group. He has also served as an assistant surgeon
general and was a director of the CDC National Center for
Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Dr. Marks will
describe the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation work to address
childhood obesity today.
Dr. Virginia Stallings holds an endowed chair and several
directorships at the Joseph Stokes Jr. Research Institute at
the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. She joins us today for
her role as chair of the National Academy of Sciences Institute
of Medicine's committee on nutritional standards for foods in
schools, which is charged with making recommendations about
nutrition standards for foods offered in competition with
federally reimbursable meals and snacks.
Chandler Converse comes to us believing that physical
education, also known as--you might see it as P.E. here, should
be made available to all students. Chandler launched AKA,
Athletics Plus Kids Equals Academics, her own grassroots
student fitness initiative in Georgia, linking physical fitness
to academic success.
As a voice for physical education and fitness for youth, I
am looking forward to hearing her testimony because I believe
our young know more about what we can do to help them live
healthy and more active lives.
I will now yield to my distinguished colleague,
Congresswoman Judy Biggert from Illinois, to introduce Mr.
Lawler.
Mrs. Biggert. Thank you very much, Madam Chairman.
I am very excited to have Phil Lawler here today. He is the
director of PE4LIFE, of instruction and outreach. He serves as
the director of the PE4LIFE Academy in Naperville, Illinois, a
role that he has had since 2001. He has been a physical
education teacher for 35 years, but he came up with a new
concept of how to teach P.E. And because of that, he was named
the Illinois Middle School Physical Education Teacher of the
Year in 1999.
He has been inducted into the Illinois High School Baseball
Coaches' Hall of Fame. In 2002, he was named to the USA Today
First Team All-American Teaching Team, the first physical
education teacher to make the first team.
The PE4LIFE program at Madison Junior High School has been
featured in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Time, Newsweek,
U.S. News & World Report, The Washington Post, PBS, CBS News
and other media.
So we look forward to hearing his testimony. I am delighted
that he is here from my district.
Chairwoman McCarthy. Thank you.
Tom Price from Georgia would like to say a few words.
Mr. Price. Thank you so much, Madam Chair, and I appreciate
the indulgence. I am not on the subcommittee, but I--and
because of our schedule, I haven't had the opportunity to
welcome one of my constituents, Chandler Converse, here from
Pebblebrook High School in Georgia.
She is the National Youth Service award winner, and I just
wanted to commend her for her activity and commend her
testimony to the entire subcommittee.
Welcome.
Chairwoman McCarthy. Thank you.
Ms. Clarke from New York has also joined us, and Mr.
Sarbanes from Maryland has also joined us.
For those who have not testified before the subcommittee,
let me explain the lighting system. You all have that in front
of you. When you start, the green light is going to go on. When
the yellow light goes on, that means you have to start
finishing up. When the red goes on, you are going to hear from
me to finish up, you are over, okay?
You are in the movies; you know how to do this.
We will now hear from our first witness, Mr. Chevy Chase.
STATEMENT OF CHEVY CHASE, ACTOR/WRITER, CO-FOUNDER, CENTER FOR
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ONLINE
Mr. Chase. Good afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity to
testify before your subcommittee.
My name is Chevy Chase. In addition to my work as an actor,
I also have worked, along with my wife, Jayni, sitting behind
me, to improve children's health.
Together, we founded the Center for Environmental
Education, a resource for educators and students on health,
environmental and nutritional issues. School nutrition is one
of three priority areas of our center.
As you know, rates of obesity among U.S. children and teens
tripled between 1980 and 2002. Of the children born in 2000,
almost 40 percent of girls and one-third of boys are on track
to develop diet-related diabetes during their life period. This
is no laughing matter.
For the first time in history, our nation's children have a
shorter life expectancy than their parents.
With the growing concern about childhood obesity, many
schools are realizing how important it is for children to have
access to healthy foods. Vending machines and processed meals
are being replaced with fresh, healthy food that is also
serving as a central part of student learning each day.
Jayni and I applaud school districts' efforts to implement
strong school wellness plans during this past school year.
These plans support parents' ability to feed their children a
healthy diet.
Parents should not have to worry that their children will
spend their lunch money on low-nutrition foods from vending
machines.
It is time to return parental control of their children's
diets to parents, and that means setting strong nutrition
standards for schools.
Nationally, more than 80 percent of schools at all grade
levels sell foods and beverages out of vending machines, school
stores, or a la carte in the cafeteria.
Unfortunately, too many of the choices offered to the
children are chips, candy, cookies, sugary beverages and other
foods of poor nutritional value.
Too many children are building lunches out of cookies and
french fries, which is contributing to the nation's obesity
epidemic.
I was surprised to learn that the U.S. Department of
Agriculture nutrition standards for foods sold in cafeteria
snack lines were set in the 1970s and have never been updated.
USDA's current standards allow the sale of doughnuts and
ice cream but prohibit the sale of seltzer water and breath
mints. This standard doesn't make a lot of sense, although
given the choice, I would go for a newspaper sandwich and a
glass of smoke. It is outrageous.
Outside of the cafeteria, no nutrition standards are in
place for foods sold through vending machines and school
stores.
Congress needs to call on the USDA to update its outdated
standards and apply them to the whole campus during the whole
school day. Jayni and I strongly support Representatives
Woolsey's and Shea's Child Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch
Protection Act, H.R. 1363, which we urge Congress to pass this
year.
While some might say that school nutrition should be solely
addressed at the local level, since the Truman administration
the school meal programs have been federal programs.
The federal government invested $10 billion in fiscal year
2006 in school lunches and breakfasts. Selling chips, candy and
sugary drinks in schools undermines that taxpayer investment.
Last year, the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, the
nation's largest soft drink companies and several snack food
companies announced voluntary guidelines for nutrition
standards for foods and beverages sold in stores.
While their efforts are laudable, these voluntary
guidelines are unenforceable. And it remains to be seen whether
and to what extent schools will accept and comply with them.
Child nutrition is too important to leave to chance and
voluntary efforts. As the USDA and Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention documented in their report, Making it Happen,
students will buy and consume healthy beverages and schools can
make money from selling healthy options.
Of 17 schools and school districts they surveyed that
tracked income after switching to healthier options, 12
increased revenue and four reported no change. The one school
district that did lose revenue in the short term experienced a
subsequent revenue increase after the study was completed.
School beverage vending contracts raise only a
comparatively small amount of funds. District contract revenues
amount to less than .5 percent of annual district per-student
spending.
Moreover, the money generated from school vending contracts
comes from the pockets of students and their parents. Through
vending contracts, soft drink companies gain exclusively
advertising rights to promote and increase the sale of products
in schools.
In closing, Jayni and I would like to encourage school
districts across the country to continue to strengthen their
wellness plans.
In addition, we urge Congress to strengthen the national
nutrition standards for foods and beverages sold out of vending
machines, school stores and a la carte in schools by passing
Representative Woolsey's bill.
The health crisis posed by the childhood obesity epidemic
deserves all of our best efforts and attention. Again, I thank
you.
[The statement of Mr. Chase follows:]
Prepared Statement of Chevy Chase, Actor/Writer, Co-Founder, Center for
Environmental Education Online
Thank you for the opportunity to testify before your Subcommittee.
My name is Chevy Chase. In addition to my work as an actor, I also have
worked along with my wife, Jayni, to improve children's health.
Together, we founded the Center for Environmental Education Online, a
resource for educators and students on health, environmental, and
nutrition issues. School nutrition is one of three priority areas of
our Center.
As you know, rates of obesity among U.S. children and teens tripled
between 1980 and 2002. For individuals born in 2000, the chance of
developing diabetes during their lifetime is 39% for females and 33%
for males. Almost 40% of girls and one-third of boys are on track to
develop diet-related diabetes. This is no laughing matter.
With the growing concern about childhood obesity, many schools are
realizing how important it is for children to have access to healthy
foods. Vending machines and processed meals are being replaced with
fresh, healthy food that is also serving as a central part of student
learning each day.
Jayni and I applaud school districts' efforts to implement strong
school wellness plans during this past school year. These plans support
parents' ability to feed their children a healthful diet. Parents
should not have to worry that their children will spend their lunch
money on low-nutrition foods from vending machines instead of on
balanced school meals. It is time to return parental control of their
children's diets to parents, and that means setting strong nutrition
standards for schools.
Nationally, more than 80% of schools at all grade levels sell foods
and beverages out of vending machines, school stores, or a la carte in
the cafeteria. Unfortunately, too many of the choices offered to
children are chips, candy, cookies, sugary beverages and other foods of
poor nutritional value. Too many children are building lunches out of
HoHos and French fries, which is contributing to the nation's obesity
epidemic.
I was surprised to learn that the U.S. Department of Agriculture's
(USDA) nutrition standards for foods sold in cafeteria snack lines were
set in the 1970s and have never been updated. USDA's current standards
allow the sale of doughnuts and ice cream but prohibit the sale of
seltzer water and breath mints. This standard does not make sense.
Outside of the cafeteria, no nutrition standards are in place for foods
sold through vending machines and school stores. Congress needs to call
on USDA to update its outdated standards and apply them to the whole
campus and the whole school day. I strongly support Representatives
Woolsey's and Shays' Child Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch
Protection Act (H.R. 1363), which I urge Congress to pass this year.
While some might say that school nutrition should be solely
addressed at the local level, since the Truman administration, the
school meal programs have been federal programs. The federal government
invests huge amounts of money--$10 billion in fiscal year 2006 alone--
in school lunches and breakfasts. Selling chips, candy, and sugary
drinks in schools undermines that taxpayer investment.
Last year, the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, the nation's
largest soft drink companies, and several snack food companies
announced voluntary guidelines for nutrition standards for foods and
beverages sold in schools. While their efforts are laudable, these
voluntary guidelines are unenforceable and it remains to be seen
whether and to what extent schools will accept and comply with them.
Child nutrition is too important to leave to chance and voluntary
efforts.
As the USDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
documented in their report ``Making It Happen,'' students will buy and
consume healthful beverages--and schools can make money from selling
healthful options. Of 17 schools and school districts they surveyed
that tracked income after switching to healthier options, 12 increased
revenue and four reported no change. The one school district that did
lose revenue in the short term experienced a subsequent revenue
increase after the study was completed.
School beverage vending contracts raise only a comparatively small
amount of funds. District contract revenues amount to less than half a
percent of annual district per-student spending. Also, most of the
money generated from school vending contracts comes from the pockets of
students and their parents. Through vending contracts, soft drink
companies gain exclusive advertising rights to promote and increase the
sale of products in schools.
In closing, Jayni and I would like to encourage school districts
across the country to continue to strengthen their wellness plans. In
addition, we urge Congress to strengthen the national nutrition
standards for foods and beverages sold out of vending machines, school
stores, and a la carte in schools by passing Representative Woolsey's
bill. The health crisis posed by the childhood obesity epidemic
deserves all of our best efforts and attention. Thank you.
______
Chairwoman McCarthy. I thank you for your testimony.
Dr. Marks?
STATEMENT OF JAMES S. MARKS, M.D., MPH, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT
AND DIRECTOR, ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION HEALTH GROUP
Dr. Marks. Thank you, Madam Chair and other members of the
subcommittee, for the opportunity to testify this afternoon.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has committed $500
million over the next 5 years in an effort to reverse the
childhood obesity epidemic by 2015, only 8 years away.
We will focus on improving access to affordable, healthy
foods and opportunities for safe physical activity in schools
and communities. Our goal is to reach the children at greatest
risk for obesity across the nation.
We have already heard that childhood obesity is one of the
most pressing threats to the physical health of our country and
our children. It truly is an epidemic.
It is also an enormous fiscal and financial threat. In
addition to the diabetes that we have already heard about,
children are also at higher risk for heart disease, stroke and
several forms of cancer as they age.
These diseases and their costs are a debt that we will have
to pay as a nation in the near future.
The current direct and indirect costs associated with
obesity in the U.S. are already estimated at $117 billion
annually, and growing substantially each year.
As a nation, we simply can't afford to continue to hope
that more expensive treatment and more intensive technology is
the way to solve our medical problems.
What has caused the epidemic? As a society, we have
dramatically altered the way we live, learn, eat, work and
play. A generation ago, most children walked or biked to
school. Today, only about 10 percent do.
A generation ago, most schools required daily physical
education. Today, less than 10 percent do.
A generation ago, most kids went out to play games. Today,
playing a game means on a video screen. And as we have heard,
they are eating more unhealthy food in ever-larger portion
sizes.
How do we reverse this epidemic? Schools are a central and
critical place to start. Many kids, especially of low income,
consume most of their calories at school and spend the majority
of their waking hours there.
We need policies that make the types of foods and beverages
offered much healthier and greatly limit the access to soda and
junk food and that promote physical activity for students.
In my written testimony, I have described several of the
foundation's supported initiatives in schools and communities
but I can only touch on them briefly here.
Congresswoman Woolsey described her experience with the
Alliance for a Healthier Generation's Healthy Schools Program,
which is working to improve nutrition and physical activity in
schools.
To date, the program has reached nearly 500,000 children in
about 900 schools. You have heard about the hands-on assistance
and support. We hope to expand its reach even further in coming
years.
How do we know that strengthening school policies will
work? In fact, we are already seeing signs of progress.
In 2003, several years before the federal-level support,
Arkansas passed a comprehensive law to address childhood
obesity through school changes like those we are discussing
here.
An analysis that we funded of the Arkansas body mass index
data found that in just 3 years, Arkansas halted the
progression of the childhood obesity epidemic in that state.
We hope to see similar comprehensive efforts take hold
across the country and that you as policymakers would provide
the support to help make that happen.
We know schools don't exist in silos, and we must consider
the communities in which the children and families live, and we
are also supporting community programs to bring healthy foods
in grocery stores, especially, back to low-income communities
where they are often not available.
What else can government do? As the Institute of Medicine
pointed out last year, our nation's efforts to prevent
childhood obesity have been too small, too slow and too
fragmented. Missing is a sense of national urgency.
To put it more bluntly, as the problem has grown, our
federal resources have shrunk. In recent years, funding for a
number of CDC prevention programs and other similar efforts
have been cut dramatically or limited.
Although as a foundation we are committing $500 million to
fight this epidemic, those cuts are cumulatively larger than
our $500 million contribution. There is no way philanthropy can
replace what government can and should do.
For example, at CDC the highly effective VERB media
campaign, which reached millions of children and encouraged
them to be, and was successful in getting them to be,
physically active, was cut to zero last year.
The Steps Community Grants from CDC aimed at communities to
prevent obesity and diabetes, is slated for a nearly 50 percent
cut this year. We are moving in the wrong direction.
When I visited Texas in the past, I heard a saying used
that a person was all hat and no cattle, meaning all talk and
no action. We can't succeed if that criticism can be leveled at
our government.
We need action that only government can provide.
Congresswoman Woolsey's bill is a big step in the right
direction, but only a step.
And Congress could take another step as it considers
reauthorization of No Child Left Behind. We urge you to put
physical education back into schools.
It has taken us over 30 years for this epidemic to occur
and for us to begin to grapple with it. And it will take years,
and many steps, to reverse it.
We also know that this problem will require the efforts
from the private sector, state and local level government,
community groups, and from parents and families.
There is an African proverb that says the best time to
plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is now.
Twenty or 30 years ago was the best time to address this
childhood obesity epidemic, when we could have prevented it.
Now we must, all of us, work hard to reverse it. But this is
the second best time.
Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Dr. Marks follows:]
Prepared Statement of James S. Marks, M.D., MPH, Senior Vice President
and Director, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Group
I want to start by thanking the Chair and the other members of the
Subcommittee for the opportunity to testify. I applaud your efforts to
create policies and programs to promote healthy communities, especially
for our children, and I would like to thank you for creating this forum
to discuss school wellness policies and their role in reversing the
childhood obesity epidemic.
I'd also like to take this opportunity to commend you and your
colleagues in Congress for requiring all schools to have wellness
policies in place by this--the 2006/2007--school year. Over the years,
Congress consistently has recognized that schools are not just places
where children learn the basics and how to think critically and lead,
but also places where we must foster the health that permits them to
learn. School breakfast and lunch programs and school-based health
clinics--which our Foundation has long supported--are key examples of
deep congressional interest and foresight. More recently, critical
nutrition provisions in the Head Start Act continue on this path.
As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted to improving health
and health care, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) shares your
commitment to improving the health and well-being of our communities.
Our goal is to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic by 2015. In fact,
we recently announced a commitment of at least $500 million over the
next five years to tackle this problem. We're pleased that this
Subcommittee and your colleagues in Congress recognize the depth of the
challenge and are seeking to develop policies that will help turn back
the tide.
RWJF's approach is direct and practical:
Make the case--with solid research and objective
evidence--for the problem, what works to roll it back and what doesn't.
Widely apply the most promising and effective models--both
as a firewall against the epidemic's further spread and as a means to
turn things around.
Educate and motivate leaders to foster large-scale change
in the communities for which they have responsibility.
Our commitment will focus on these three areas simultaneously. We
must act now, based on the best available evidence, while we continue
to build the best possible evidence about what works. We want to serve
as a resource to you and to other policy-makers at all levels and to
inform the nation's collective efforts.
As we forge ahead, RWJF will focus on improving access to
affordable healthy foods and opportunities for safe physical activity
in schools and communities. Our goal is to reach children at greatest
risk for obesity and related harms, Latino, African-American, Native
American, Asian American and Pacific Islander children living in lower-
income communities.
To that end, we will support efforts to expand school-based
programs and help states and communities coordinate their efforts,
advocate for change, and evaluate impact. We also will encourage food
and beverage companies to offer healthier products and change their
marketing practices.
The task at hand is daunting, and we're not taking it on alone.
Many partners, organizations and funders already have joined forces.
And many more are needed still. We hope RWJF's investment will serve as
a call to action, catalyzing additional efforts and funding support to
build the evidence, spread best practices and install effective public
policies that will promote wide-scale change in kids' nutrition and
physical activity levels.
In particular, RWJF is collaborating with the National Institutes
of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United
States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and other agencies to prevent
childhood obesity and develop real measures of progress. We urge you to
provide these agencies with adequate resources to support these
efforts.
As you well know, childhood obesity is one of the most pressing
threats facing our nation. It threatens the physical and financial
health of our country--well beyond our current capacity to respond. I'm
not going to review all of the alarming statistics, but I will give you
a brief snapshot. Is it truly an epidemic? Absolutely!
Over the past four decades, obesity rates have skyrocketed
among children of all ages, increasing nearly fivefold among children
ages 6 to 11.
Today, one-third of our children and adolescents are obese
or overweight--that's about 25 million kids.
America's adolescents are now the most obese teenagers in
the world.
An obese teenager's risk of becoming an obese adult is as
high as 80 percent.
What do these numbers mean for the health of our children? Obese
children are at much higher risk for terribly debilitating chronic
conditions like type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. Just a short
time ago, these were considered ``adult'' illnesses. Besides diabetes,
serious illnesses related to obesity include many of the top 10 causes
of death--heart disease; stroke; breast, colon and kidney cancers--plus
musculoskeletal disorders and gall bladder disease. It's as if millions
of our kids have their medical charts for adult chronic care prepared
in advance, just waiting for them to come of age and mature into obese
and sick seniors.
Financially, the prospects are equally foreboding. The direct and
indirect health costs associated with obesity in the U.S. are estimated
at $117 billion annually--and escalating. We can't afford to continue
down our current path. What we need is less disease than we have now.
What has caused the childhood obesity epidemic? The reality is that
our environments have changed dramatically. In recent years, our
society has altered the way we live, eat, work and play. One immediate
example: a generation ago, nearly half of all school-age children
walked or biked to school. Today, nearly nine out of 10 kids catch a
ride to school. And once at school, kids aren't very physically
active--less than 10 percent of elementary schools require daily
physical education.
At the same time, children are eating more unhealthy processed
foods in larger-than-ever portion sizes. More than 80 percent of
children and adolescents eat too much total fat. In recent decades,
spending at fast-food restaurants has increased eighteen-fold, and
serving size and caloric content for menu items like French fries and
soda have increased nearly 50 percent. Children consume these high-
calorie, low-nutrient foods not only in restaurants, but also at home
and in school.
As awareness of childhood obesity has grown, so, too, has our
understanding of the many factors that contribute to the epidemic and
what we'll need to do to reverse it. While individual choice and
behavior are important, the world we live in plays a big role, too. As
a nation, we must focus on more than just personal responsibility. We
must address the social and environmental factors that contribute to
our nation's weight problem. The default settings that surround our
kids should make it easier--not harder--for them to eat well and move
more.
Schools are a central place to start. They play a vital role in
shaping children's behaviors and life-long habits. Today, children
consume an estimated 35 to 50 percent of their daily calories in
school. And children from low-income families likely consume an even
larger percentage of their calories there since they often rely on the
National School Breakfast and Lunch Programs. Bottom line: it is
crucial that schools offer easy access to affordable, healthy, and
appealing foods and beverages.
We know the critical steps that can and must be taken to improve
school wellness. We can start by developing policies to improve the
types of foods and beverages offered, restrict access to soda and junk
food, and promote more physical activity for students.
RWJF's three major research initiatives in childhood obesity--
Active Living Research, Healthy Eating Research and Bridging the Gap--
are exploring the impact of school wellness policies and comparing
their relative effectiveness versus state-level legislation and
regulation. A fourth major program, Leadership for Healthy Communities,
works directly with policy-making organizations, like the National
Governors Association, National Conference of State Legislatures and
the U.S. Conference of Mayors, to convey what we're learning about the
most effective approaches so the members of these groups are armed to
do what they must as civic leaders.
RWJF also supports the Alliance for Healthier Generation's Healthy
Schools Program. The Alliance, a joint initiative of the American Heart
Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation, is working to
implement stronger policies for nutrition, physical activity and staff
wellness in schools. In its first year, the Healthy Schools Program is
providing hands-on assistance to 230 pilot schools in 13 states. More
than 900 schools have signed up to use the program's online tools. To
date, the program has reached nearly half a million children, and we
hope to expand its reach even further in coming years. We also are
carefully evaluating the program's efforts to identify effective
policies that can be widely replicated.
How do we know that strengthening school policies will work? We're
already seeing signs of progress.
In 2003, Arkansas passed a comprehensive law to address the growing
epidemic of childhood obesity in public schools across the state. Among
other things, the law required: a statewide Child Health Advisory
Committee and local committees at the school level; nutrition
standards, including things like eliminating access to vending machines
in all elementary schools; physical education and physical activity
standards; and body mass index (BMI) measurement of all public school
students, with confidential child health reports and helpful health
tips provided to parents. RWJF supported an independent evaluation of
efforts to implement Act 1220. The Foundation also funded a separate
initiative to analyze the BMI data for Arkansas public school students.
The BMI analysis indicated that, in just three years, Arkansas halted
the progression of the childhood obesity epidemic in the state.
We hope to see similarly comprehensive efforts take hold across the
country, and you, as policy-makers, can and should help to make that
happen.
While we have made some limited progress in this fight, we still
have a long way to go. In 2005, RWJF co-sponsored an Institute of
Medicine (IOM) report titled Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in
the Balance. The report provided a comprehensive roadmap for national
action, calling on federal, state and local governments to provide the
leadership and resources for a sustained effort to prevent childhood
obesity. Among its recommendations, the committee urged the USDA to
develop nutritional standards for competitive foods and beverages
available in schools. We have yet to see that happen. We urge Congress
to see that it does.
RWJF was the sole sponsor of a more recent IOM report, Progress in
Preventing Childhood Obesity: How Do We Measure Up? That follow-up
report highlights how we, as a nation, are still not moving quickly
enough. Efforts are often small in scale, fragmented, under-funded and
not adequately evaluated. When it comes to measuring up--without
sufficient leadership from policy-makers--we will continue to fall far
short.
There is no question that personal behavior is important. But
government policies, implemented at all levels, often determine the
choices in front of us in our daily lives, and this choice-setting has
a huge impact on behavior, including health behavior.
The tide will not turn on this epidemic until the effort is
energetically and strategically embraced with the full force of a
responsive government and motivated elected leaders. But it's not as if
we expect you to get there alone. This effort will require partnership
with industry, the best efforts of schools, and the on-the-ground
energies of non-governmental agencies, community groups and hometown
leaders.
Clearly, states need to do more, but the federal government cannot
sit on the sidelines. Public policies help shape food environments for
children, as well as environments for physical activity. The Federal
government demonstrated vision and leadership by implementing the Safe
Routes to Schools Program, a federally funded program designed to
create safe, convenient and fun opportunities for children to walk and
bicycle to and from schools. The Foundation is supporting this effort,
but we need a sustained commitment and ongoing support from the Federal
government to ensure that innovative programs like Safe Routes to
School continue and expand.
While primarily outside this committee's jurisdiction, we must also
look at our agricultural policies, and nutrition and food assistance
programs affecting child nutrition. We need to examine everything from
how food prices impact consumption to how commodity prices influence
what's sold, served and marketed to children. The Federal government is
responsible for the National School Breakfast and Lunch Programs, as
well as the Summer Food Service Program. By investing in child
nutrition programs that promote rather than hinder health, our federal
government can help children and their families eat healthier and
prevent obesity, while also realizing enormous potential savings in
averted healthcare and environmental costs. We urge that agricultural
policies, in particular, must be realigned to help make the American
diet consistent with the 2005 Dietary Guidelines, while supporting
broader public health goals of preventing disease and obesity.
In closing, I would again like to thank the committee for the
opportunity to testify on this critical issue. While philanthropy can
foster national dialogue, and pursue and test new ideas, it is the
federal government that has the power and the resources to spur large-
scale change.
If we do not act now to reverse the alarming trend of childhood
obesity, we are in danger of raising the first generation of American
children who will live sicker and die younger than the generation
before them. By working to prevent obesity in childhood, we can reduce
disease and illness, save countless dollars, spare millions of
Americans from needless suffering, and ensure that our children have a
promising future.
We already know how to change behavior to save lives. Through
education, advocacy, leadership and good public policy, we've reduced
drunk driving and protected millions of Americans from the harm of
tobacco. And it's hard to imagine getting behind the wheel of a car
today without buckling up. These success stories provide examples of
how a national commitment to policy and social change can transform
individual behavior.
With childhood obesity, past efforts have been too small, too slow
and too fragmented--a jumble of unconnected state, school, community,
business and philanthropic efforts. Missing is a sense of national
urgency to act and the resources to help communities, states and the
nation coordinate efforts, advocate for change and evaluate impact.
There is an African proverb that says, ``The best time to plant a
tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is now.'' Twenty or 30 years
ago was the best time to address this epidemic--when we could have
prevented it. Now we must work hard to reverse it.
And it will be hard, but delay is something our nation and children
can't afford. That is why our Foundation made the biggest commitment in
our history. But we know it won't be enough without leadership from our
government at all levels, and from education, public health and
industry.
We look forward to working with you. We can't afford to wait. To
wait is to fail our current generation of children. We must make a
difference in their lifetime.
______
Chairwoman McCarthy. Thank you for your testimony.
Dr. Stallings?
STATEMENT OF VIRGINIA A. STALLINGS, M.D., JAMES A. CORTNER
ENDOWED CHAIR IN PEDIATRIC GASTROENTEROLOGY, PROFESSOR OF
PEDIATRICS, UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA SCHOOL OF MEDICINE,
DIVISION OF GASTROENTEROLOGY AND NUTRITION, THE CHILDREN'S
HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA
Dr. Stallings. Good afternoon. My name is Virginia
Stallings. I am a pediatrician and director of the nutrition
center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
I had the honor of serving as chair of the Committee on
Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools of the Institute of
Medicine.
In 2005, Congress directed the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention to undertake a study with the Institute of
Medicine to review the evidence and make recommendations about
appropriate nutrition standards for the availability, sale,
concept, consumption of foods and beverages that are offered
outside the federally funded reimbursable school meal and snack
program.
The need for such a standard was simple. While the federal
school meals meet some nutritional guidelines, the competitive
foods and beverages are not necessarily required to conform to
any nutritional or health standards, except for the very
limited USDA requirements disallowing foods of minimal
nutritional value during the meal periods.
To begin the process, the committee developed a set of
guiding principles that would result in creation of healthful
environment for children in U.S. schools and to guide the
deliberations for the development of the standards.
The guiding principles are listed in detail in Annex 1 of
my written testimony.
The committee also reviewed pertinent scientific evidence
and was guided by the 2005 dietary guidelines for Americans.
Using the dietary guidelines and the scientific data
describing the dietary intake of school-age children, the
committee identified that fruits, vegetables, whole grains and
low-fat dairy foods are the foods that need to be increased.
Then these foods and beverages should be encouraged if the
school decides to have a program offering competitive foods and
beverages.
For the issue of calorie portion size, the committee
considered the fact that once a healthful breakfast and lunch
are consumed, for many children there are relatively few
calories remaining for snacking.
The committee also considered the efficiency and simplicity
of a system with one maximum portion control for the school
setting to encourage industry to develop a variety of healthful
foods and beverages.
The committee then organized competitive foods and
beverages in schools into two tiers according to their
consistency with the guiding principles.
Tier 1 foods and beverages are those foods to be
encouraged. They are a serving of fresh or minimally processed
foods such as apples, carrot sticks, raisins, 1 percent skim
milk and some multigrain chips and snack bars, yogurt.
Tier 2 are foods and beverages that differ from Tier 1 in
that they do not necessarily offer a full serving of a fruit,
vegetable, whole grain or nonfat dairy, but they do continue to
meet other nutrition criteria.
Tier 2 foods include things such as baked potato chips,
low-sodium whole wheat crackers, animal crackers and other
products.
Tier 2 beverages are non-caffeinated and non-fortified
beverages with less than 5 calories per serving, and they may
or may not be artificially sweetened, or carbonated, or have
flavoring.
The committee's standards are intended to ensure that
competitive snacks, foods and beverages complement the school
lunch and breakfast meals, and they contribute to developing a
lifelong healthy eating pattern.
Together, the guiding principles and the two tiers form the
basis of the committee's recommendation for nutrition standards
for competitive foods.
These standards have two objectives, one to encourage the
consumption of healthful foods and beverages, and the other to
limit consumption of dietary components that are not optimal
for the health or diet of school-age children.
In the interest of time, I am not going to go through the
details. I think you can find those in our written statement.
But you will see that they are in relation to the food
contents related to fat, sodium and added sugar, and then that
there are some very specific recommendations related to time of
day.
Tier 1 foods, which are those that offer a serving of
fruits, vegetables, whole grain and low-fat dairy, are offered
to all children of all ages during the school day.
Tier 2 foods are really offered only to high-school-age
students after the school day.
The committee also made recommendations for actions to
implement the nutrition standards, and these are discussed in
our Chapter 6.
In conclusion, the traditional school breakfast and lunch
nutrition programs are to ensure that children have access to
healthy foods. These programs are the main source of nutrition
provided at schools.
However, when the opportunity arises for students to select
competitive snack foods and beverages, it should be from items
that will increase the consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole
grains and nonfat or low-fat dairy.
The recommendations from the committee ensure that
competitive fruits and beverages are consistent with the
dietary guidelines and encourage children and adolescents to
develop lifelong healthy eating patterns.
Thank you, Madam Chairman.
[The statement of Dr. Stallings follows:]
Prepared Statement of Virginia A. Stallings, M.D. Professor of
Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Good morning, Madame Chair and members of the Committee. My name is
Dr. Virginia Stallings. I am a pediatrician, Director of the Nutrition
Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and Professor of
Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine. I
served as chair of the Committee on Nutrition Standards for Foods in
Schools of the Institute of Medicine which produced the report,
Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools: Leading the Way Toward
Healthier Youth. Established in 1970 under the charter of the National
Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine provides independent,
objective, evidence-based advice to policymakers, health professionals,
the private sector, and the public.
In FY 2005, Congress directed the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention to undertake a study with the Institute of Medicine to
review evidence and make recommendations about appropriate nutrition
standards for the availability, sale, content, and consumption of foods
and beverages at school, with attention to those offered outside the
federally reimbursable meals and snacks. The need for such standards is
simple: While federal school meals meet some nutrition guidelines,
these ``competitive'' foods and beverages are not necessarily required
to conform to any nutritional or health standards except for the very
limited USDA requirements that no foods of minimal nutritional value
are allowed during meal periods.
To begin the process of developing recommendations, the committee
established a set of Guiding Principles that would result in the
creation of a healthful eating environment for children in U.S. schools
and to guide deliberations and development of the standards. The
Guiding Principles are listed in Annex 1 of my written testimony. The
committee was guided by the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans
(DGA), and also reviewed pertinent scientific evidence.
Key Premises
Using the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the scientific data
describing the current dietary intake of school-age children, the
committee identified fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat
dairy as foods and beverages to be encouraged if competitive foods and
beverages are allowed in the individual school.
In regard to the issue of calories and portion size, the committee
considered the fact that once a healthful breakfast and lunch are
consumed, for many children there are relatively few calories remaining
for consumption as snacks. The committee also considered the efficiency
and simplicity of a system with one maximum calorie portion size for
the school setting, to encourage industry to develop a variety of
healthful food and beverage products for the school setting.
Hierarchy of Foods
The committee organized competitive foods and beverages in schools
into two Tiers, according to the extent of their consistency with the
Guiding Principles. Tier 1 foods and beverages provide at least one
serving of ``foods to be encouraged'' as defined in the Guidelines, and
include fresh or minimally processed foods such as apples, carrot
sticks, raisins, some multigrain tortilla chips, granola bars, and
nonfat yogurt with limited added sugars. Tier 1 beverages are 1 percent
or skim milk, 100 percent fruit or vegetable juices and plain water.
Tier 2 foods and beverages are different from Tier 1 in that they do
not necessarily offer a full serving of fruits, vegetables, whole
grains, or low-fat or nonfat dairy, but they do meet certain nutrient
criteria. Tier 2 includes foods such as baked potato chips, low-sodium
whole-wheat crackers, animal cracker cookies, graham crackers, and low-
salt pretzels. Tier 2 beverages are non-caffeinated, non-fortified
beverages with less than 5 calories per serving and they may or may not
be artificially sweetened, carbonated, or flavored. Tier 1 foods and
beverages are offered at all grade levels at all times in the school
day. Tier 2 foods and beverages are offered only at the high school
level after the end of the school day.
The committee's standards are intended to ensure that competitive
snacks, foods, and beverages complement the school lunch and breakfast
meals, and that they contribute to the development of lifelong healthy
eating patterns. Together, the Guiding Principles and the two Tiers
form the basis of the committee's recommended nutrition standards for
competitive foods and beverages in schools. These standards have two
objectives: to encourage consumption of healthful foods and beverages
and to limit consumption of dietary components that either fall outside
the recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines or are not optimal for
the diets or health of school-age children.
Recommended Standards
Standards for Nutritive Food Components
The standards contain specified ranges for fat, energy, added
sugars, and sodium, and are the committee's recommendation based on
available scientific evidence: Snacks, foods, and beverages meet
criteria for dietary fat per portion: no more than 35 percent of total
calories from fat; less than 10 percent of total calories from
saturated fat; and zero trans fat. Snacks, foods, and beverages provide
no more than 35 percent of calories from total sugars per portion with
the exception of: 100 percent fruits and juices and 100 percent
vegetables and juices, with juice portions being 4-ounce servings for
elementary and middle schools and 8-ounce servings for high schools;
unflavored nonfat and low-fat milk and yogurt. Snack or a la carte side
items are 200 calories or less per portion and a la carte entree items
do not exceed calorie limits on comparable school meal program items.
Snack items meet a sodium content limit of 200 mg or less per portion
or 480 mg or less per entree portion as served a la carte.
Standards for Nonnutritive Food and Beverage Components
Beverages containing nonnutritive sweeteners (sugar substitutes)
are only allowed in high schools after the end of the school day.
Because of the uncertainties and limitations in evidence, especially
concerning safety and benefits for weight control, the committee does
not recommend a standard for sugar substitutes in foods. Foods and
beverages are caffeine-free, with the exception of trace amounts of
naturally occurring caffeine-related substances, such as may be present
in chocolate.
Standards for the School Day
Foods and beverages offered during the school day are limited to
those in Tier 1. Plain, potable water is available throughout the
school day at no cost to students. Sport drinks are not available in
the school setting except when provided by the school for student
athletes participating in sport programs involving vigorous activity of
more than one hour's duration.
Foods and beverages are not used as rewards or discipline for
academic performance or behavior. Marketing of Tier 2 snacks, foods,
and beverages in the high school setting is minimized by locating Tier
2 distribution in low student traffic areas and ensuring that the
exterior of vending machines does not depict commercial products or
logos or suggest that consumption of items conveys a health or social
benefit.
Standards for the After-School Setting
Tier 1 snack items are allowed after school for student activities
for elementary and middle schools. Tier 1 and 2 snacks, foods, and
beverages are allowed after school for high school. For on-campus fund-
raising activities during the school day, Tier 1 foods and beverages
are allowed for elementary, middle, and high schools; Tier 1 and 2
foods and beverages are allowed for high schools after school. For
evening and community activities that include adults and students, Tier
1 and 2 foods and beverages are encouraged.
The committee also made recommendations for actions to implement
the nutrition standards and these are discussed in chapter 6 of the
report.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the traditional school nutrition programs ensure
that students have access to healthful foods. These programs are the
main source of nutrition provided at school. However, when an
opportunity arises for students to select competitive snacks, foods,
and beverages, it should encourage greater consumption of fruits,
vegetables, whole grains, and nonfat or low-fat dairy products. The
recommendations from the committee ensure that competitive foods and
beverages are consistent with the DGA and encourage children and
adolescents to develop life-long healthful eating patterns.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify. I would be happy to
address any questions the Committee might have.
annex 1: guiding principles and recommended standards
Guiding Principles
The committee recognizes that:
1. The present and future health and well-being of school-age
children are profoundly affected by dietary intake and the maintenance
of a healthy weight.
2. Schools contribute to current and life-long health and dietary
patterns and are uniquely positioned to model and reinforce healthful
eating behaviors in partnership with parents, teachers, and the broader
community.
3. Because all foods and beverages available on the school campus
represent significant caloric intake, they should be designed to meet
nutrition standards.
4. Foods and beverages have health effects beyond those related to
vitamins, minerals, and other known individual components.
5. Implementation of nutrition standards for foods and beverages
offered in schools will likely require clear policies; technical and
financial support; a monitoring, enforcement, and evaluation program;
and new food and beverage products.
The committee intends that:
6. The federally reimbursable school nutrition programs will be the
primary source of foods and beverages offered at school.
7. All foods and beverages offered on the school campus will
contribute to an overall healthful eating environment.
8. Nutrition standards will be established for foods and beverages
offered outside the federally reimbursable school nutrition programs.
9. The recommended nutrition standards will be based on the Dietary
Guidelines for Americans, with consideration given to other relevant
science-based resources.
10. The nutrition standards will apply to foods and beverages
offered to all school-age children (generally ages 4 through 18 years)
with consideration given to the developmental differences between
children in elementary, middle, and high schools.
Recommended Standards
Standards for Nutritive Food Components
Standard 1: Snacks, foods, and beverages meet the following
criteria for dietary fat per portion as packaged:
No more than 35 percent of total calories from fat;
Less than 10 percent of total calories from saturated
fats; and
Zero trans fat. Standard 2: Snacks, foods, and beverages
provide no more than 35 percent of calories from total sugars per
portion as packaged.
Exceptions include:
100-percent fruits and fruit juices in all forms without
added sugars;
100-percent vegetables and vegetable juices without added
sugars; and
Unflavored nonfat and low-fat milk and yogurt; flavored
nonfat and low-fat milk with no more than 22 grams of total sugars per
8-ounce serving; and flavored nonfat and low-fat yogurt with no more
than 30 grams of total sugars per 8-ounce serving.
Standard 3: Snack items are 200 calories or less per portion as
packaged and a la carte entree items do not exceed calorie limits on
comparable NSLP items. Standard 4: Snack items meet a sodium content
limit of 200 mg or less per portion as packaged or 480 mg or less per
entree portion as served for a la carte.
Standards for Nonnutritive Food Components
Standard 5: Beverages containing nonnutritive sweeteners are only
allowed in high schools after the end of the school day. Standard 6:
Foods and beverages are caffeine free, with the exception of trace
amounts of naturally occurring caffeine-related substances.
Standards for the School Day
Standard 7: Foods and beverages offered during the school day are
limited to those in Tier 1. Standard 8: Plain, potable water is
available throughout the school day at no cost to students. Standard 9:
Sports drinks are not available in the school setting except when
provided by the school for student athletes participating in sport
programs involving vigorous activity of more than 1 hour's duration.
Standard 10: Foods and beverages are not used as rewards or discipline
for academic performance or behavior. Standard 11: Minimize marketing
of Tier 2 foods and beverages in the high school setting by:
Locating Tier 2 food and beverage distribution in low
student traffic areas; and
Ensuring that the exterior of vending machines does not
depict commercial products or logos or suggest that consumption of
vended items conveys a health or social benefit.
Standards for the After-School Setting
Standard 12: Tier 1 snack items are allowed after school for
student activities for elementary and middle schools. Tier 1 and 2
snacks are allowed after school for high school. Standard 13: For on-
campus fundraising activities during the school day, Tier 1 foods and
beverages are allowed for elementary, middle, and high schools. Tier 2
foods and beverages are allowed for high schools after school. For
evening and community activities that include adults, Tier 1 and 2
foods and beverages are encouraged.
Actions for the Implementation of Nutrition Standards in
Schools
Action 1: Appropriate policy-making bodies ensure that
recommendations are fully adopted by providing:
Regulatory guidance to federal, state, and local
authorities;
Designated responsibility for overall coordination and
oversight to federal, state, and local authorities; and
Performance-based guidelines and technical and financial
support to schools or
school districts, as needed. Action 2: Appropriate federal agencies
engage with the food industry to:
Establish a user-friendly identification system for Tier 1
and 2 snacks, foods, and beverages that meet the standards per portion
as packaged; and
Provide specific guidance for whole-grain products and
combination products that contain fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
______
Chairwoman McCarthy. Thank you.
Ms. Converse?
STATEMENT OF CHANDLER CONVERSE, HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT
Ms. Converse. Good afternoon, Madam Chairwoman and members.
My name is Chandler Converse. I am 15 years old, and I am a
freshman at Pebblebrook High School in Cobb County, Georgia. As
a public school student, a young woman and an American citizen,
I am honored to be speaking to you today.
I am here on behalf of all of America's children. You see,
I believe that kids have a voice.
Since I began own grassroots student fitness initiative in
2004, I have been trying to encourage everyone to take
seriously the health and well-being of this country's youth.
I call my initiative AKA, Athletics Plus Kids Equals
Academic. The link I am trying to get policymakers to see is
simple, that increased physical activity, even 30 minutes a
day, and better nutrition can lead to increased energy,
improved self-confidence, better sleep, less absenteeism, and,
yes, we do better on tests, too.
I have done my homework on this. I have spoken with my
peers, and this may sound surprising. I found that most
students want more exercise.
But for most American students, the children of working
families, for latchkey kids and others, school is the only
place they have for exercise.
I have also spoken with many of our nation's leading health
and education experts, elected officials and the media. I have
told them all that childhood obesity often leads to life-
threatening illnesses like heart disease, cancer, diabetes and
depression.
I have written to most of my state's 181 school
superintendents. I have convinced the principals in my school
to switch some of the junk food in vending machines to
healthier choices. And I have served on my school district's
wellness policy committee.
All of the above is a start, but it is not enough, as you
will hear. During the course of the planning process during the
last school year, I heard comment upon comment from
administrators on the committee, ``We don't have the time or
the money to add more P.E. classes, or to build a track or a
new playground. We need to get our test scores up.''
I also heard that many schools believe they will lose money
if they lose their vending machines.
I ended up being the only member to attend off-site policy
training workshops. I became the only member to address the
first administrative training workshop in our district last
October.
We developed our policy by last summer's deadline. It
includes a recommendation for 30 minutes of exercise a few
times a week for students. Since that time, I have heard very
little about our wellness policy.
I have found that most students and teachers in many parts
of the country are completely unaware that schools have
wellness policies.
For example, last November, as I addressed the state
educators' conference, I asked how many in the room knew that
their schools had new wellness policies. I asked for a show of
hands. I was amazed to see that from a room of 40 physical
education teachers only two hands were raised.
While there are some schools across the country which have
made positive changes, I believe the situation I have just
described is representative of what is really going on.
Let's face it. Just like in traditional school cafeteria
food, it is hard to find the real meat in existing school
wellness policies.
The longest lines in my school cafeteria are for pizza and
french fries. I still see students spending their lunch money
on ice cream and soda. As a kid, I know that if healthy foods
were made available that my peers would line up for them.
My generation may be the first one to have a shorter life
expectancy than our parents. How can a nation that has prided
itself on medical research which extends the lives of its
citizens allow the reverse to happen with its children?
My goodness. As children, we must learn everything. But
while we are learning reading, writing and arithmetic, please
teach us how to lead healthy lives, too.
I understand that this is not a quick fix. However, it took
40 years to get effective tobacco legislation passed. My
generation does not have 40 years.
In 3 short years, I will be voting. [Laughter.]
My generation is going to lead this country one day, soon.
America cannot be strong if it does not have strong, healthy,
self-confident citizens, both adults and children.
I believe kids have a voice. Please make the wellness
policy stronger at the federal level so that all schools must
comply. That way, kids will receive enough exercise to fill our
lungs, to raise our voices.
Kids do have a voice, and I thank you for listening to
mine.
[The statement of Ms. Converse follows:]
Prepared Statement of Chandler Converse, High School Student
Good afternoon Madam Chairwoman and other Members of Congress.
My name is Chandler Converse. I am a freshman at Pebblebrook High
School in Cobb County, Georgia. As a public school student, a young
woman, and especially, as an American, I am honored to be speaking to
you today.
I am here to briefly offer the youth perspective on an issue that
won't quickly go away--a very real crisis for my generation--the
epidemic of childhood obesity in the United States.
Last August, when I entered high school for the first time, the
School Wellness Policy (required under the Child Reauthorization Act of
2004) was implemented for the first time. I was perhaps more aware than
many of my peers, that the Policy was to take effect at the opening
bell of the 2006-2007 school year--I am a person who helped to develop
that same Policy.
As the student representative on my school district's Wellness
Policy Committee, I looked forward to what I had anticipated to be an
exciting new change, stemming from something for which I had worked so
hard. However; when no official announcement of a new School Wellness
Policy was made to students, I quickly discovered there perhaps was not
much to become excited about.
Not only had most students been unaware of the newly developed
guideline, I was astonished to witness evidence of the same oblivion at
a physical education conference a few months later (November 2006).
When I asked how many had heard that their various schools had a School
Wellness Policy--only two hands in a room filled with 40 physical
education teachers were raised!
I had been invited to serve--and still serve--on the Committee
following news of the grass-roots initiative I had launched in 2004 to
encourage schools to reinstate more physical education into the school
day and to offer more nutritious food in school cafeterias and vending
machines. I had begun the project I call ``A.K.A.'' (Athletics plus
Kids equals Academics) because the link that I am trying to get
educators, law makers, parents and health leaders to see is this: That
increased physical activity (even 30 minutes a day) and better
nutrition can, among other benefits, increase energy, selfconfidence--
possibly even test scores.
I had been informed in middle school that because (and I quote),
``there is no room in the school day for a full year of Phys Ed,'' (end
quote) my fellow classmates and I only would be permitted one, nine-
week grading period for Physical Education during the entire school
year. Most of the students had very busy academic schedules and no
matter how much I wanted a full school year of quality P.E.; I decided
to try to evoke change through the system.
I am a runner. I like the energized feeling I get coming out of
exercise and going into class. I believe that I am more alert because
my circulation has increased and there is fresh oxygen in my brain.
I began talking with other students, health professionals and more
teachers. I've seen too many school lunch periods in which the longest
lines are for the pizza, chicken wings and French fries. I've seen too
many days in which students buy ice cream and chips instead of bringing
a healthy lunch. This is a nationwide problem--it is not just my school
district.
I decided to try to take my concerns and ideas for improvement
before my district school board. I was not certain that a child would
be permitted to speak to the board, but my mother agreed to take me to
the next school board meeting and I did have the opportunity to address
its members. I told them about the increased risk for children
regarding life-threatening diseases like diabetes, heart disease and
mental illness that are directly linked to overweight and obesity.
I told them that my generation may easily be the first to have a
shorter life expectancy than our parents.
These are facts--supported by almost every major health
organization in the United States, former and deputy Surgeons General,
and leadership in the Department of Health and Human Services, among
others.
These facts are scary. It's going to take the adults of today--and
possibly those of my generation--to stop the epidemic. This is not a
quick fix--but it must begin now.
As a student, I am doing my best to try to understand the delay on
the part of some schools, but it is difficult. I became the committee
member that attended state and regional Wellness Policy teleconferences
and other meetings and brought back reports to the committee. I was the
member who addressed the first Wellness Policy Administrative Training
for our district last October. Since then, I've heard very little about
enforcement of the policy.
During the course of the Wellness Policy planning meetings I heard
comments such as, ``We don't have time for recess. We don't have room
or the money to add more classes or build a track or a playground--we
need to get our test scores up.'' I must share with you that I came
away from many meetings thinking, ``They just don't get it. As
students, we can sit still in class and be taught all of the core
subjects in the world, but if we are not healthy enough to enjoy our
lives, we can't be all that we can be.''
I need to convey very strongly that the bureaucracy surrounding
this crisis not only is chipping away at our health, it's chipping away
at our dreams.
I realize that the federal government has not dictated much to
local school systems in the past, but the children of today cannot wait
for state legislatures and individual school districts to hash out what
should be obvious.
There is hope: my principals have agreed to replace some of the
vending machine junk food with healthier snacks and my school
superintendent appears to be a supporter of the Wellness Policy. Yet--
like most traditional school cafeterias, most School Wellness Policies
do not have enough REAL meat!
I have lots of ideas for improvement: I propose a national
corporate and education summit during which schools, cafeteria vendors,
soft drink and snack food companies could come together to improve the
health of students and still allow for additional revenue for schools.
I suggest smaller improvements such as opening school gyms a few
evenings a week so that communities and families can come together for
fitness in a fun and safe environment. ``Brown Bag Lunch Days'' to
educate students, teachers and parents is another small idea, but it
could help make students more aware of good nutrition.
I believe that kids have a voice. I am using my voice on behalf of
America's children to encourage everyone to take seriously, the well-
being of this country's children. I have written to almost all of
Georgia's 181 school superintendents. I have taken my words to health
policy conferences, the media, state houses, and Capitol Hill.
I am calling upon educators, health leaders and policy makers. I
also am issuing a challenge to the parents of America: We don't raise
ourselves! We need your guidance and your good example. Take a good
look at your children. Those not old enough to command the steering
wheel of a car certainly cannot drive themselves to the fast food
joint!
We are your children! We are the products of our parents, our
schools and our nation! While we are little, while we are growing,
while we are in your care, we can only be as healthy as you allow us to
be.
My generation is going to lead this country one day--soon. America
cannot be strong if it doesn't have strong, healthy, intelligent, and
self-confident citizens--adults and children.
I believe that kids have a voice. Please make the Wellness Policies
strong at the federal level so that school systems must comply. That
way, kids will receive enough exercise in the safe environment they
deserve. We will receive enough exercise to fill our lungs to raise our
voices.
Yes, kids do have a voice.
I thank you for listening to mine.
______
Chairwoman McCarthy. Thank you, and young people do have a
voice. Unfortunately, nobody listens.
Ms. Howley?
STATEMENT OF NORA L. HOWLEY, INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ACTION
FOR HEALTHY KIDS
Ms. Howley. Yes, good afternoon. My name is Nora Howley. I
am the interim executive director of Action for Healthy Kids. I
want to thank the chair and the members of the committee for
this opportunity to testify, and we have provided a written
statement.
Action for Healthy Kids is a national organization with
over 9,000 volunteers in every state and the District of
Columbia. We also have 60 national partner organizations who
work with us.
Former Surgeon General David Satcher served as our founding
chair and still serves on our board of directors. And since our
founding at the 2002 Healthy Schools Summit, we have worked to
create systemic, sustainable changes of sound nutrition and
good physical activity in all schools.
In other words, we have worked to implement the surgeon
general's call to action to prevent overweight and obesity.
Since the mandate for local school wellness policies was
passed in 2004, our volunteer team members have worked at the
state, district and building level to support schools in the
development and now in the implementation of good policies that
put into practice the call to action and ensure that families
and communities are engaged in creating and sustaining these
changes.
Local wellness policies are part of an effort that includes
federal, state and local action and are critical catalysts for
creating or expanding links with other community agencies and
organizations to create healthy communities for all.
Four things stand out about the mandate. One, it recognizes
the critical roles that schools can and should play in creating
comprehensive approaches.
Second, the policy mandate recognizes that both sound
nutrition and physical activity are necessary to address this
epidemic.
Third, the requirement that districts establish committees
that include parents, students, school food personnel, school
administrators, school board members and the community, as well
as any other who will be affected, is an important part of
creating springboards for sustained implementation.
The final item, though, that stands out is the fact that
the requirement came with no financial support. Some of the
necessary changes will be easy and low-cost, but others will
take resources.
Action for Healthy Kids has worked with our partners,
including the Centers for Disease Control and the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, to provide a variety of resources
and supports for our volunteers and others to use.
This includes our wellness policy tool, a variety of
publications, ongoing technical assistance and phone symposia,
as well as a small grant program to our volunteers.
CDC-supported resources, such as the school health index,
and USDA-supported resources, such as Changing the Scene, have
been part of the efforts of may districts nationwide, and we
know they have been a critical part of their efforts to create
these changes.
As we look at this first year of policy implementation, we
are heartened by a number of things. First, in our review of a
sample of enacted policies, we found that most of the policies
actually included the mandatory areas of nutrition education,
nutrition standards, physical activity and monitoring and
evaluation.
In addition, many of the policies went beyond those minimal
mandates to address critical and fundamental areas, including
the provision of physical education.
However, the contents of the policy are only the first
step. For these policies to achieve their potential, they must
be implemented. And here, we do have some causes for concern.
While 73 percent of the policies we looked at did provide
information on the implementation process, many came up short
in the details. And while this lack of detail is not an
insurmountable barrier, it may make implementation more
difficult.
We know from practice and research that there are a number
of things that are critical to successful implementation of
policies in schools.
I won't go through my entire list in the interest of time--
it is in my written testimony--but it is important to recognize
that a policy must be well written and comprehensive. The right
people must be at the table for development and implementation.
The policy must be understood. And there must be support and
commitment from all constituencies.
Additionally, we know from the same research and practice
that there are a number of things that may impede successful
implementation of policies--costs that are not offset or
addressed, a lack of commitment and understanding on the part
of key stakeholders, logistical challenge, such as space and
time, and a lack of clarity.
Action for Healthy Kids and our partners have worked hard
during the development stage and are now working hard to
support implementation.
In our written testimony, we have provided a list of some
of the numerous things that our teams are doing with their
partners to provide those kinds of supports and changes.
Some have asked if these policies are making a difference.
While it is too early to tell what effect they will have on the
rates of childhood obesity and over what time, we do have some
reason to be hopeful, as Dr. Marks noted.
But we know, more importantly, that they are catalyzing
changes in school practice which will be necessary if
children's behaviors are to change.
They are also catalyzing continued public attention on this
issue and causing parents and educators to take a hard look at
what they want from their schools.
An article in yesterday's Great Falls, Montana Tribune
described the 33,000 apples that will be given away to children
in that school district as part of promotional efforts to
inform parents about the policy.
Of course, one apple is not the magic bullet for behavior
change, but I like to think that it is the beginning of a
cascade of bushels of apples of other healthy choices and
opportunities for our kids.
Most importantly, the policies have brought together school
communities, teachers, parents, school food staff,
administrators and others to create change.
And Action for Healthy Kids is pleased to be part of that
effort, and we thank the subcommittee and the larger committee
as a whole for your continued interest and support on this
issue.
[The statement of Ms. Howley follows:]
Prepared Statement of Nora L. Howley, Interim Executive Director,
Action for Healthy Kids
Action for Healthy Kids was founded in 2002 at the first Healthy
Schools Summit. We are the only nonprofit organization formed
specifically to address the epidemic of overweight, undernourished and
sedentary youth by focusing on changes at school. We work in all 50
states and the District of Columbia to improve children's nutrition and
increase physical activity, to improve their readiness to learn. We
seek to create the systemic and sustainable changes detailed in the
schools chapter in the Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and
Decrease Overweight and Obesity (2001).
Action for Healthy Kids has over 9000 volunteers and 60 national
partner organizations. These volunteers and partners help us to
undertake our mission to engage diverse organizations, leaders and
volunteers in actions that foster sound nutrition and good physical
activity in children, youth, and schools. To do this, we have set three
goals:
Systemic, sustainable changes of sound nutrition and good
physical activity occur in all schools;
Schools, families, and communities engage to improve
eating and physical activity patterns in youth;
Action for Healthy Kids is the trusted, recognized
authority and resource on creating health-promoting schools that
support sound nutrition and good physical activity.
(More information about Action for Healthy Kids can be found at our
website: www.ActionForHealthyKids.org.)
Our volunteers work through Teams in each of the states. Our Teams
include representatives from state and local education and health
agencies, bringing together the public and private sectors. They are
parents, teachers, nurses, school administrators, school board members,
school food staff and other members of the community. Twelve Action for
Healthy Kids Teams have created regional teams within their state to
work at a grassroots level in their communities. Each Action for
Healthy Kids Team develops an action plan that sets the agenda for
their work.
Action for Healthy Kids predates the adoption of the federal
mandate for Local Wellness Policies. Since the passage of the
requirement we have made it a top priority for the work of Action for
Healthy Kids Teams. In the 2005-2006 school year, 80 percent of Action
for Healthy Kids Teams worked to support school districts in the
development of Local School Wellness Policies. During this current
school year, all of our Teams are working to support districts and
school buildings with the challenges of implementation.
Recognizing that schools are a critical component of the efforts to
address the epidemic of childhood overweight and obesity, we have seen
Local Wellness Policies as a critical part of the efforts to create the
healthy school environment that all children deserve. Local Wellness
Policies are part of an effort that includes federal, state, and local
activities and can be a critical catalyst for creating or expanding
links with other community agencies and organizations to create healthy
communities for all.
Among Action for Healthy Kids national partners, are the United
States Department of Agriculture's Division of Food and Nutrition
Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division
of Adolescent and School Health. Working with these two partners, other
partners, and members of our volunteer Teams, Action for Healthy Kids
developed our Local Wellness Policy Fundamentals (see attached) and our
Wellness Policy Tool (http://www.actionforhealthykids.org/wellnesstool/
index.php). The Local Wellness Policies Fundamentals identifies key
topics under each of the required areas that a sound policy should
address. The Wellness Policy Tool walks users through the stages of
policy development and access to expert advice at each step of the
process. These tools provide continued guidance for districts wellness
committees in putting together strong and comprehensive policies.
Action for Healthy Kids Teams have provided assistance to school
districts in a variety of ways: Seventy eight percent provided
guidelines or recommendations, 62 percent conducted trainings, 74
percent produced tool kits or model policy language,31 percent hosted
conferences or events, and 24 percent offered mini-grants to support
development.
In addition to our own resources, Action for Healthy Kids has
promoted and distributed the resources of our partners. This includes
the CDC's School Health Index, which many Teams offering mini-grants to
schools use as the tool for baseline needs assessment by the districts
to support policy development. Other partner tools used included USDA's
Changing the Scene, and Fit, Healthy, and Ready to Learn from the
National Association of State Boards of Education, and the resources of
the School Nutrition Association and the American School Health
Association.
Local Wellness Policies: A Critical Part of the Solution
Schools play a critical role in preventing the increase in
childhood overweight and in helping children to develop lifelong habits
of good nutrition and physical activity. The mandate for Local Wellness
Polices recognizes this important role. While schools cannot and should
not be the only societal institution held responsible for addressing
overweight and obesity, schools can be at the center of the discussion.
Local Wellness Policies, by requiring the input of parents, school
administrators, school staff, and students can begin the process of
creating system wide solutions that will last over time.
Wellness Policies, like all school policies, may need to be
implemented incrementally. As we show below, much progress is being
made, but as we also show, there is still much to be done. We encourage
this committee and your colleagues in both houses to recognize this
incremental progress and the need for schools and districts with
support to achieve the potential of these policies.
What We Know About Wellness Policies
Because the development and adoption by the local school board of
the Local Wellness Policy is only the first stage in the process,
Action for Healthy Kids has worked on providing support for the
implementation and monitoring stages. As an initial step, we have
completed two ``Snapshot'' policy collection and content analyses. The
purpose of these snapshots was to begin to gain a better understanding
of the contents of the almost board-approved 15,000 policies and to
identify areas where support and technical assistance is needed to
ensure the policies achieve their potential.
Starting last summer and continuing into the beginning of the
school year, Action for Healthy Kids collected a non-random sample of
policies. We collected 256 approved policies and, where possible, the
supporting regulations or implementation guidelines. We sought a sample
of policies from every state and the District of Columbia and from
districts of all sizes. Because minority children are
disproportionately at risk and are overrepresented in the nation's
urban school districts, we also made a special effort to collect
policies from the largest school districts. Policies were collected
through submissions from Action for Healthy Kids Teams and partners and
direct requests from districts via email or the district website.
When the collection period closed we had the following distribution
of policies.
At least one policy from each state (except Hawaii, which
had not completed the policy adoption)
A distribution of policies from all states, taking into
account that not every state has districts in each of the size
categories
67 from small districts (up to 2,500 students)
90 from medium districts (2,501-20,000 students)
99 from large districts (over 20,000)
Following the collection, Action for Healthy Kids conducted an
analysis of the policies against each of the areas required by law and
the topics addressed in our Local Wellness Policy Fundamentals. (See
attached report on the analysis)
The good news from this analysis:
Eighty percent of the policies addressed the required
areas of nutrition education, nutrition standards and physical
activity;
Seventy-seven percent of the policies addressed the
important issue of access to school meals and after-school snacks;
Eighty-nine percent of the policies addressed other
school-based activities to promote student health and wellness as
allowed by the law. Among these policies, 82 percent specifically
addressed efforts to continue to involve families and communities and
60 percent called for the establishment of an ongoing school health
council or committee (an important vehicle for community involvement).
Of some concern are the areas of implementation and monitoring/
evaluation. Policies were often less specific in these areas:
Seventy-three percent provided some detail on
implementation;
Sixty-seven percent identified who is responsible;
Fifty-one percent provided a time line for implementation;
Forty-nine percent addressed how policy implementation
will be tracked;
Fifty-nine percent addressed evaluation, but did not
provide detail.
It is important to note the lack of specificity does not mean that
the policy will not be implemented. However, it may suggest that
implementation has not received the full support needed to make these
types of changes. We know from other areas of education research that a
number of factors contribute to the successful implementation of new
policies at the district and building level:
The policy is well written and comprehensive;
The right people are at the table for development AND
implementation;
The policy is understood by all constituencies;
Support and commitment from school leaders who are willing
to ``walk the walk'';
Support from school staff and community members;
Where changes in practice are called for, staff and
families are offered alternatives (i.e. for parties or fundraisers);
Plan for monitoring the implementation and a plan for
improvement;
Person with sufficient authority who is responsible for
overseeing implementation.
We also know that there can be barriers to successful
implementation:
Costs that not offset or addressed;
Lack of commitment and understanding on the part of key
stakeholders;
There are logistical challenges, such as space, time etc.;
Lack of clarity, so school personnel and others do not
know what is expected.
What Action for Healthy Kids is Doing to Support Implementation
Action for Healthy Kids at the national level and through our Teams
is committed to working with our partners to address the challenges of
implementation so that these policies can be part of a comprehensive
school and community effort.
Action for Healthy Kids Teams continue to provide mini-grants and
technical assistance to districts and schools. Among the Teams doing
this work are:
Arizona where the Action for Healthy Kids Team developed
model policies and participated in a state-wide pilot effort to change
the mix of foods and beverages offered in vending.
California where the Action for Healthy Kids Team is
working as part of a partnership with California School Boards
Association, Project Lean, and others to provide targeted assistance in
high poverty districts. The Team and their partners have provided
workshops in five high need districts.
Colorado as been working and will continue to work with
parents to train them to advocate for continued improvement in the
school environment.
District of Columbia where the Action for Healthy Kids
Team helped to develop a model policy used by the DC public schools
(and charter schools) and will be working to expand a healthy vending
program through peer education and outreach.
Georgia where the Action for Healthy Kids Team created a
web-based technical assistance question and answer site and provided
training via distance learning.
Kentucky was one of several Action for Healthy Kids Teams
that worked closely with the state school board association in the
development of model policies. The Team is also part of the Partnership
for a Fit Kentucky. Team members developed and implemented action plans
to provide workshops for administrators, trainings for youth league
coaches, and the dissemination of tools, resources, and materials to a
range of audiences.
Maryland where the Action for Healthy Kids Team is working
to identify technical assistance needs and provide support beyond the
support that state agencies can provide.
Minnesota which has targeted parents through distance
learning opportunities for strengthening their understanding of and
participation in Local Wellness Policy development and implementation.
New Hampshire which has raised funds through grants and
fundraisers and helped to support the construction of walking tracks,
the development of walking programs and expand access to healthy food
choices. The Team has also trained teachers to administer and use the
data from the Fitnessgram.
New Mexico where the Action for Healthy Kids Team is
working to help schools develop and implement healthy fundraisers using
healthy, locally produced foods.
New York where a Team in New York City is piloting a new
research-based parent engagement program in schools to train parents as
advocates and leaders for good nutrition and physical activity.
In Ohio, the Action for Healthy Kids Team worked with the
Ohio Department of Education to provide Wellness Policy trainers to
support the development of the policies. These trainers reached every
school district in the state. The Team has worked as part of a state
wide effort to expand access to healthy school breakfasts. These
efforts enrolled almost 30,000 additional students in school breakfast.
Tennessee is working with their state office of
coordinated school health to implement coordinated school health
programs in every school district. In the upcoming school year the
Action for Healthy Kids Team will be promoting and providing training
in the Take 10! physical activity curriculum.
Texas has worked with partners including, Texas School
Boards Association, the American Cancer Society and the Departments of
Health and Agriculture to provide technical assistance and model policy
language to school districts. In the upcoming school year the Texas
Team will be replicating a Massachusetts project ``Students Taking
Charge'' which trains students to be school-based leaders.
National Action for Healthy Kids continues to provide information
and resources through our publications and monthly phone symposia to
help our Teams continue their work.
What Agencies and Organizations are Doing to Support Implementation
State government and agencies including education, health and
agriculture are providing assistance and accountability. A soon-to-be-
released study from the National Association of State Boards of
Education found that at least 45 states are actively providing
assistance to local school districts. Many have also passed legislation
or state board policies that provide further direction on standards in
both physical activity and nutrition. Among the states and their
actions:
Arkansas, Kentucky, Rhode Island, and South Carolina are
incorporating reporting and accountability for implementation into
their existing school improvement plans and reporting.
Kansas, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, and New Jersey all
required some level of review of the policies as part of the policy
development process.
Kentucky, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and
Virginia have established requirements for districts to report to the
state on implementation, however the state does not provide an
evaluation or review.
Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, New Mexico, and Tennessee
require school districts to establish ongoing local level
accountability through reporting and review at the district level.
All states are working with a range of partners and
programs to ensure that districts get help in implementation and
beyond:
Requirements for additional contents in the policies;
Resolutions that encourage districts;
Policy guidelines;
State level advisory councils.
Federal agencies including USDA and CDC/DASH are critical to
helping states provide the support they need:
USDA's Local Wellness Demonstration Project grants in
California, Iowa, and Pennsylvania are a cooperative agreement with
Food and Nutrition Service and will do the following:
Assess local wellness policy activities in selected school
districts;
Document the process used by these school districts to
develop, implement and measure the implementation of a locally adopted
school wellness policy;
Document any school environmental change;
Assess the level and types of technical assistance
necessary to implement and evaluation a local wellness policy.
USDA, in partnership with the CDC and the Office of Safe
and Drug Free Schools has compiled and continues to update extensive
web-based resources for districts.
CDC's Coordinated School Health Program, with its
resources such as the School Health Index provides an important
framework for districts and schools to ensure the changes made under
this requirement are part of a coordinated effort to address the school
environment and its contribution to childhood obesity.
CDC/DASH has convened state education agency staff and
others at a School Wellness Institute in January 2006 at which
resources were disseminated and shared. CDC continues to provide
assistance through its Coordinated School Health Programs.
The Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools (U.S. Department
of Education) also recognizes the importance of these policies and is
including sessions on the policies and on healthy eating in their
annual grantees conference this summer.
Other national organizations are also taking on the challenge of
working to support these policies. One of the most innovative efforts
is a partnership between the National League of Cities and the American
Association of School Administrators. At a Leadership Academy in
February, these two organizations brought together city administrators
and school leaders to look at what the cities could do to support
schools, but also to look at how the Local Wellness Policies could be
expanded to address the larger community in which children live.
Fifteen districts attended the academy, which mixed presentations from
experts with time for the participants to network, to learn from each
other and to focus on planning time. Currently, districts that attended
are submitting applications for additional funding to help them to
implement their plans. The partnership will be funding five or six of
these applications.
The National Association of State Boards of Education is providing
support to state school boards and state education agencies for their
leadership role in this area. In the first year of this project, they
have produced the comprehensive overview on state strategies reference
above. They have also hosted a policy symposium for interested state
school board members and their partners.
Conclusion
Thank you again for the opportunity to share this testimony. Action
for Healthy Kids is committed to supporting the nation's states,
districts and school in the development, implementation and monitoring
of the Local School Wellness Policies. Creating healthy school
environments, that provide sound nutritional options, multiple
opportunities for physical activity, high quality physical education
and nutrition education as part of comprehensive health education and
the ongoing involvement of families and communities will make a
difference in the future of our nation's children.
______
Wellness Policy Fundamentals: Key Considerations as You Develop Your
Local Wellness Policy
Local Wellness Policy Area 1: Setting Nutrition Education Goals
The primary goal of nutrition education, which may be defined as
``any set of learning experiences designed to facilitate the voluntary
adoption of eating and other nutrition-related behaviors conducive to
health and well-being,'' (ADA 1996) is to influence students' eating
behaviors.
a) Classroom teaching: classroom based nutrition education that
includes requirements that the subject be taught, follows standards,
and/or addresses specified learning outcomes
b) Education, marketing and promotions outside classroom links with
school: nutrition education that occurs outside the classroom, or that
links classroom nutrition education to the larger school community,
such as school gardens and cafeteria-based nutrition education
c) Teacher training: requirements for professional preparation or
ongoing professional development for teaching nutrition
Local Wellness Policy Area 2: Setting Physical Activity Goals
The primary goal for a school's physical activity component is to
provide opportunities for every student to develop the knowledge and
skills for specific physical activities, maintain physical fitness,
regularly participate in physical activity, and understand the short-
and long-term benefits of a physically active and healthy lifestyle.
A comprehensive physical activity program encompasses a variety of
opportunities for students to be physically active, including: physical
education, recess, walk-to-school programs, after-school physical
activity programs, health education that includes physical activity as
a main component, and physical activity breaks within regular
classrooms.
a) Physical education (high school graduation requirements):
indicates whether physical education is required for graduation or the
amount of physical education that is required to graduate
b) Physical Education (classroom format and instruction): the
number of minutes per day or week that physical education is required;
the number of days per week physical education is required; the
intensity of physical activity during physical education class;
prohibiting the use of physical activity as punishment
c) Physical education (teacher-to-student ratio): the number of
students permitted per teacher for a physical education class
d) Physical Education (standards/requirements-based; curriculum
requirements): the use of national or state-developed standards for
physical education; the use of a specified curriculum for physical
education.
e) Physical education (staff training/certification): requirements
for professional preparation or ongoing professional development for
teaching physical education
f) Physical activity outside of physical education: number of days
per week, minutes or hours per day, or classroom-based physical
activities outside of physical education requirements
g) Recess to promote physical activity: number of days per week,
minutes per day, or type of recess or free-play time during the school
day and outside of physical education
h) Walking or biking to school to promote physical activity: safer
routes to school for pedestrians and bicyclists, walk-to-school days,
walking or biking safety policies
Local Wellness Policy Area 3: Establishing Nutrition Standards for All
Foods Available on School Campus during the School Day
Students' lifelong eating habits are greatly influenced by the
types of foods and beverages available to them. Schools must establish
standards to address all foods and beverages sold or served to
students, including those available outside of the school meal
programs. The standards should focus on increasing nutrient density,
decreasing fat and added sugars, and moderating portion size.
a) Nutritional value of foods and beverages: foods or beverages
that should or should not be made available to students, standards for
nutrient levels for foods or beverages, and/or times those items may be
made available
b) Portion size: the per serving amount of a food or beverage to
offer to students
c) A la carte, vending, student stores, or concession stands: types
of foods or beverages or nutrient standards for items that may be
offered to students from these venues
d) After-school programs, field trips, or school events: types of
foods or beverages or nutrient standards for items that may be offered
to students from these venues
e) Parties, celebrations, or meetings: types of foods or beverages
or nutrient standards for items that may be offered to students on
these occasions
f) Food rewards: use of food as a reward or punishment
g) Food-related fundraising: use of food sales in schools
h) Food or beverage contracts: agreements with food or vending
companies to sell foods or beverages in schools
i) Qualifications of food service staff: requirements for
professional preparation or ongoing professional development for
foodservice staff
Local Wellness Policy Area 4: Setting Goals in the School Meals
Programs
Schools play a role in helping students make healthy food choices.
At a minimum, schools must serve reimbursable meals that meet USDA's
requirements as well as follow principles of the Dietary Guidelines for
Americans.
a) Developing goals that exceed minimum nutrition standards set by
USDA set forth under the 7 CFR Part 210 and Part 220, and meet the more
rigid HealthierUS School Challenge menu criteria, could have a positive
impact on lunch menus and childhood obesity (http://
teamnutrition.usda.gov/HealthierUS/criteria--instructions.pdf)
b) Access to school nutrition programs: all children who require
food are able to obtain it in a non-stigmatizing manner
c) Time and scheduling for meals: time allotted for students to
eat, and the scheduling of mealtimes that might interfere with
students' participation in school nutrition programs
d) Surroundings for eating: the physical setting in which students
eat
Local Wellness Policy Area 5: Setting Goals for Other School-Based
Activities Designed to Promote Student Wellness
a) Marketing of food and/or beverages: locations for food and
beverage marketing activities and types of marketing permitted to
students, strategies to increase the appeal of healthful food and
beverage items
b) Sustainable food practices: environmentally-friendly practices
such as the use of locally grown and seasonal foods, school gardens,
and non-disposable tableware
c) Access to facilities for physical activity after school hours:
access by students, families, or community groups to a school's
physical activity facilities
d) After-school programs: physical activity or nutrition-related
components of school-based programs for students that occur after
school hours
e) Coordinated School Health approach: a model to guide school
decision-making related to physical activity and nutrition that
encompasses all aspects of the school--from education to staff wellness
to addressing smoking and tobacco
f) School health councils: the establishment of committees that
help oversee and coordinate physical activity and/or nutrition or other
aspects of student health
g) Community/family involvement: communications to families on
health or nutrition topics (including body mass index results), the
involvement of family or community members in school health councils or
taskforces
h) Staff wellness: physical activities and/or nutrition services or
programs designed to benefit the health of the staff
i) Education Links with schools: curriculum integrates physical
activity and nutrition education in all subjects, such as math and
science, as much as possible throughout the school day
______
Local Wellness Policies One Year Later: Showing Improvements in School
Nutrition and Physical Activity
Background
Action for Healthy Kids--a national grassroots organization leading
the ``Campaign for School Wellness''--is committed to providing
resources that support schools in their efforts to implement wellness
practices of sound nutrition and good physical activity. Action for
Healthy Kids has spearheaded a project to collect, review, and analyze
Local Wellness Policies with the intent to establish a process to
monitor and assess policy implementation. The objectives of this effort
are to better understand and be able to communicate what is included in
the policies and the plans for implementation and monitoring, and to
provide a tool for those working with and in school districts to track
implementation and evaluation of policies.
The Child Nutrition and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program
(WIC) Reauthorization Act of 2004 mandates that every school district
participating in the federal meal program implement a Local Wellness
Policy by the start of this school year. Each policy must include, at a
minimum:
Goals for nutrition education, physical activity, and
other school-based activities designed to promote student wellness in a
manner the local educational agency determines appropriate;
Nutrition guidelines for all foods available on the school
campus during the school day;
Guidelines for school meals not to be less restrictive
than federal standards;
A plan for measuring implementation of the Local Wellness
Policies and specification of a person responsible; and
The involvement of parents, students, representatives of
the school food authority, the school board, school administrators, and
the public in the development of the policies.
The mandate does not include extensive standards within each of
these areas; therefore, schools have some freedom in the development of
these guidelines. Policies vary widely.
Methods
The 144 policies collected between October 2006 and February 2007
were added to the 112 policies collected in the first phase of analysis
in summer 2006, to provide a larger information base for research. A
total of 256 policies from 49 states (a final and approved policy from
Hawaii was not available for this study) are included. The policy
sample represents urban, suburban, and rural school districts ranging
in size between 69 students and 1,100,000 students:
67 policies from small districts (up to 2500 students);
90 policies from medium districts (2501-20,000 students);
and
99 policies from large districts (over 20,000 students).
The analysis includes policies from each size category for 36 out
of the 41 states that have districts representing each of the
categories. Only approved policies were included in the final sample,
and at least three policies were obtained from every state, with the
exception of Hawaii and the District of Columbia. Because urban school
systems are often more systemically complex, and have significant
numbers of children at risk, Action for Healthy Kids attempted to
collect as may policies from the largest school districts as possible.
Policy Evaluation
Each policy was assessed using the Wellness Policy Fundamentals on
the Action for Healthy Kids website (www.ActionForHealthyKids.org) to
evaluate whether the policy meets the minimum requirements, and to
benchmark the policy against model Local Wellness Policies. A checklist
was then developed to include the requirements of Wellness Policies as
established by The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004.
Action for Healthy Kids used its Wellness Policy Fundamentals to expand
on these categories by including specific goals districts should state
in the policies to ensure the overall recommendations stated by the WIC
Reauthorization Act were met.
Results & Key Findings
Results of the Local Wellness Policy analysis revealed that:
81% address goals for nutrition education;
79% address goals for physical education;
88% address other school-based activities designed to
promote student wellness by establishing school health councils or
wellness teams;
81% involve the community and/or students' families; and
78% set school meal standards based on Dietary Guidelines
for Americans.
Physical Education and Activity
In the physical education and activity sections of the policies,
only 15% require physical education to be aligned with national
standards, and only 35% mention qualifications of physical education
staff. Over half of the policies (58%) discuss the availability of
physical activity outside of scheduled physical education, often by
making school facilities available to students and families for
exercise before and after school, making opportunities for other
activities outside of school hours such as non-competitive sports, and
integrating physical activity breaks and recess into the day.
Nutrition Education and Standards
More than 60% of policies reviewed discuss integrating nutrition
education with other health education and the general curriculum, and
40% require teacher training in nutrition education. Only 40%
explicitly promote whole grains, low-fat/non-fat dairy, and fresh
fruits and vegetables in the nutrition education programs or in school
meals. Nearly 85% of policies specifically state what venues are
covered by the policy in the areas of nutrition standards (e.g.,
concession stands, vending machines, fundraising), and 56% of those
policies declare that venues outside of school meals are also subject
to meeting or exceeding the dietary guidelines set by the USDA. Only
22% of policies are making efforts to holding recess before lunch,
however, 57% mention guidelines for allowing adequate time for meals,
and 58% address avoiding the use of food as a punishment and/or
discouraging using food as a reward. Only 20% of the policies require
making nutritional information available to students and families.
Implementation and Evaluation
The analysis indicated that 73% of policies provide some detail
regarding implementation:
66% state who is responsible for implementation (most
often the superintendent, principal, or school wellness team);
only 20% offer a timeframe for implementation; and
less than 20% of the policies discuss how implementation
will be tracked.
Over half of the policies (58%) address evaluation, but the
evaluation component was often not very detailed. While 52% of the
policies meet the minimum requirements of identifying who is
responsible for the evaluation, only 31% of policies discuss the
process for evaluation. Of the 256 policies reviewed, only eight
include measurable objectives and only four state how funding will be
made available for implementation and evaluation of the policy.
Conclusion
This assessment and review is a first look at the content of Local
Wellness Policies for the 2006 school year, and is only a snapshot of
what was completed by school districts during the first year. The hope
is that these policies are setting high goals and standards, and giving
measurable and quantifiable times and goals.
The lack of implementation and evaluation procedures for a
significant number of policies is a major concern. With no plan or
process to ensure implementation and evaluation, Wellness Policies
cannot be truly effective. Some of these gaps may be remedied in the
development of the regulations or guidelines that will support and
expand these policies. Implementation and evaluation will be an area
where Action for Healthy Kids will focus efforts to educate schools on
``best practices''. School boards and wellness committees will continue
to refine their policies, measure the impact of the policies on the
school health environment, and continue to make changes to improve the
health of children and adolescents. Action for Healthy Kids will be
there to provide them with the support and tools needed to do so.
About Action for Healthy Kids
Action for Healthy Kids is a national, grassroots, nonprofit
organization that addresses the epidemic of overweight, undernourished
and sedentary youth by focusing on changes within schools. Action for
Healthy Kids is a public-private partnership of nearly 60 organizations
and government agencies which supports the efforts of Teams--comprised
of more than 9,000 volunteers--in all states and the District of
Columbia.
Action for Healthy Kids was founded in 2002 by former U.S. Surgeon
General David Satcher, in response to the Surgeon General's Call to
Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity, which identified
the school environment as one of five key sites of change. To learn
more, visit www.ActionForHealthyKids.org
Appendix
table 1: descriptive statistics of collected policies
Mean.......................................................... 39549.86
Standard Error................................................ 16049.933
Median........................................................ 11921.5
Mode.......................................................... 34000
Standard Deviation............................................ 96798.92
Sample Variance............................................... 9.37E+09
Kurtosis...................................................... 66.91564
Skewness...................................................... 7.202327
Range......................................................... 1099931
Minimum....................................................... 69
Maximum....................................................... 1100000
Sum........................................................... 10124763
Count......................................................... 256
TABLE 2: POLICIES REVIEWED THAT INCLUDED CONTENT ADDRESSING THESE ISSUES
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All policies collected Policies collected Jun-
-------------------------- Aug 2006 (phase 1)
-------------------------
No. of Percentage Percentage
Content policies of total No. of of total
addressing policies policies policies
this issue reviewed addressing reviewed
(n=256) this issue (n=112)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NUTRITION EDUCATION:
All grade levels included............................... 90 35.4% 39 34.8%
Teacher training........................................ 104 40.9% 40 35.7%
Aligned w/other health education/integrated across 153 60.2% 67 59.8%
curriculum.............................................
Promote whole grains, low-fat/non-fat dairy, fresh 103 40.6% 47 42.0%
fruits and vegetables..................................
Total mentioning one or more of the four items for 208 81.9% 94 83.9%
nutrition education....................................
PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND ACTIVITY:
All grade levels included............................... 130 51.2% 54 48.2%
Qualifications of P.E. staff............................ 90 35.4% 36 32.1%
Aligned to national standards........................... 38 15.0% 13 11.6%
Hours outside of P.E. for physical activity............. 149 58.7% 58 51.8%
Total mentioning one or more of the four items for 202 79.5% 85 75.9%
physical education and activity........................
NUTRITION STANDARDS:
Description of what venues are covered in the policy.... 216 85.0% 101 90.2%
Standards reflect or exceed dietary guidelines from USDA 124 48.8% 65 58.0%
Nutrition information available on products served...... 51 20.1% 10 8.9%
Food not used as a reward or punishment................. 148 58.3% 68 60.7%
Total mentioning one or more of the four items for 232 91.3% 105 93.8%
nutrition standards....................................
SCHOOL MEALS:
Access to breakfast, lunch, and after-school snacks..... 196 77.2% 77 68.8%
Time for meals.......................................... 147 57.9% 61 54.5%
Recess before lunch..................................... 57 22.4% 25 22.3%
Standards meet or exceed dietary guidelines set by the 198 78.0% 83 74.1%
USDA...................................................
Total mentioning one or more of the four items for 241 94.9% 104 92.9%
school meals...........................................
OTHER SCHOOL HEALTH:
School health council/wellness team..................... 152 59.8% 68 60.7%
Community/Family involvement............................ 207 81.5% 90 80.4%
Coordinated school health approach...................... 50 19.7% 24 21.4%
Total mentioning one or more of the three items for 225 88.6% 97 86.6%
other school health....................................
IMPLEMENTATION:
Responsibility.......................................... 169 66.5% 69 61.6%
Time frame.............................................. 51 20.1% 15 13.4%
How implementation will be tracked...................... 49 19.3% 19 17.0%
Total mentioning one or more of the three items for 186 73.2% 77 68.8%
implementation.........................................
MEASURABILITY/EVALUATION:
Measurable objectives................................... 8 3.1% 0 0.0%
Process for evaluation.................................. 81 31.9% 19 17.0%
Responsibility for evaluation........................... 132 52.0% 42 37.5%
Tool for measuring environmental change (i.e., SHI)..... 33 13.0% 7 6.3%
Funding support......................................... 4 1.6% 1 0.9%
Total mentioning one or more of the five items for 149 58.7% 46 41.1%
implementation.........................................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
______
Chairwoman McCarthy. Thank you.
Mr. Lawler?
STATEMENT OF PHIL LAWLER, DIRECTOR OF OUTREACH AND TRAINING,
PE4LIFE
Mr. Lawler. Thank you, Madam Chairman.
And thank you, Congresswoman Biggert.
My name is Phil Lawler. I am not Lance Armstrong, but I am
a two-time cancer survivor. The meaning of good health has very
deep meaning for me.
Personally, I am the PE4LIFE Academy director in
Naperville, Illinois, which is a nationally recognized model
program. PE4LIFE is a non-profit organization. We are training
schools around the country to understand the value of quality
daily physical education.
The last 4 years, I have trained schools from 35 states and
actually five foreign countries. Obesity is spreading
worldwide.
I have got 35 years of experience of teaching physical
education, but the last 15 I have been focusing on a program
that is focusing on the health of children.
I was initially trained--my ultimate goal was to teach
sports skills to every child that walked in the door. That
system didn't work. There was lots of students that weren't
interested in sports. In many cases, sometime we actually
turned students off to exercise.
I think back 10 years ago when I put a heart rate monitor
on a young girl doing a mile run. And her time was 13.5
minutes. She walked most of it.
Under the sports model, she failed miserably. I downloaded
that heart rate monitor. Her average heart rate for 13 minutes
was 187. By a health and wellness model, she worked too hard.
During the last 15 years, obviously, the world has changed.
And fortunately, physical education has changed with it. We now
have national standards.
During this period of time, when I first started teaching,
we weren't a fast food nation. Children actually went outside
and played.
Well, with this change in physical education, the PE4LIFE
model has proved some amazing results. Granted, it is one
community, but the program is spreading nationwide.
If you include overweight and obese, it is running about 35
percent in our school-age children. Three years ago, we tested
1,500 freshmen in our community. Our rate of overweight and
obese combined was 3 percent. I will repeat that, 3 percent.
I thought for surveillance the rest of the nation would
jump on board and bring back daily physical education at every
school in the country, but I was wrong.
Because of No Child Left Behind--and I know that is not the
intent of it, but every administrator in the country is
focusing on reading, math and science. So I knew we had to come
up with another direction to sell the public on the importance
of physical activity for kids.
The last 3 years, I have been working very closely with a
gentleman by the name of Dr. John Ratey, one of the to brain
research specialists at Harvard. There is new and growing
evidence--there is no question--that a fit child learns better.
We just finished a pilot program in our community over the
last 2 years. We took a group of students that were below
grade-level reading. We improved their reading skills a half a
grade level in one semester using physical activity. We found
the same was true with our math scores.
There is even more. We opened up a PE4LIFE Academy in
Kansas City, in an urban setting, 97 percent free lunch. The
only change made in the entire school day was physical
education went from 1 day a week to 5 days a week.
Cardiovascular fitness improved 200 percent in 1 year. But
the administration was excited about the fact there was a 63
percent decrease in disciplinary referrals to the main office.
School violence is an issue. Fit kids behave better. There
are so many benefits to physical activity. The science and
medicine has proven that. We have got to focus on it.
Schools do not receive funds and schools are not evaluated
whether their children are healthy or not. I applaud Congress
for the PEP Grant.
The PEP Grant has allowed schools to jump-start their
wellness programs. It has allowed schools to become models for
other schools in the country, to develop and put a focus on
children's health.
I think the wellness plan is very similar to where we were
with smoking 20 years ago, 30 years ago. I think today with the
school wellness plans we have put the warning label on the
schools.
We need an action plan where now we have states banning
smoking indoors. We have to get the entire country focusing on
getting daily physical education back into our schools.
I would like to close with quoting Dr. Kenneth Cooper, the
father of aerobics: ``The PE4LIFE approach is exactly what we
need to happen if we are going to have any hope of avoiding a
medical disaster for this generation of children.''
Thank you.
[The statement of Mr. Lawler follows:]
Prepared Statement of Phil Lawler, Director, PE4life Instruction and
Outreach
I want to thank the members of the panel for allowing me the
opportunity to speak today about an issue that I am very passionate
about. I firmly believe that physical education must play a critical
role in attacking the childhood obesity crisis negatively impacting our
young people.
My name is Phil Lawler. I am Director of Instruction and Outreach
for PE4life. PE4life is a non-profit whose mission is to inspire
active, healthy living by advancing the development of daily, health-
and-wellness-based physical education programs for all children, not
just the athletically inclined. Not only am I convinced that the
``PE4life Way'' can greatly increase the fitness levels of students, K-
12, across the country, I believe that the PE4life approach to physical
education can enhance academic performance and reduce discipline issues
in schools. I'll address those two issues later in my testimony.
For 35 years, I served as a physical education teacher in
Naperville, IL. I'm proud to say that our physical education program
evolved into one of the most respected PE programs in the country over
the last 15 years. In fact, our program was chosen by PE4life to be the
country's first PE4life Academy. PE4life Academies are exemplary, daily
physical education programs that also serve as training centers for
other schools and communities.
However, our Naperville physical education program wasn't always as
effective as it is today. And I wasn't always as passionate about
health-and-wellness-based physical education as I am today. In fact, at
one time, I was one of the staunchest supporters of the ``old PE,'' a
model built around sports skills and athletic performance. I'm sure
many of you here today can relate to the ``old PE'' model of physical
education, which also included humiliating activities like dodge ball.
Let me give you a quick example of when I saw the light. Our
department had acquired a single heart rate monitor. I hadn't used it
but one day I took it out and put it on a girl I didn't believe was
working very hard in class. In the old days of PE assessment, we said,
``let's run a mile, and if you can't run a mile under eight minutes,
you're a failure.'' How many people in this country were turned off to
exercise by those standards? I put the heart rate monitor on a young
lady who didn't have asthma and wasn't overweight. So, based on her
13.5-minute mile, I deemed her a failure. But when I downloaded her
heart rate monitor, her average heart rate was 187. By just using my
observation as a physical education instructor she wasn't doing
anything, she wasn't expending any effort. But in reality, the heart
rate monitor told me she was working too hard.
Now with this technology, we won't make that mistake again. We will
personalize PE and we'll give kids credit for what they do and the
effort they expend. Technology like heart rate monitors, pedometers,
and interactive exer-games are definitely part of the PE4life Way
today.
We have all heard the scary statistics about the health crisis
facing our nation's youth. You'll hear plenty more today. But suffice
it to say, we're facing a major challenge in this country with our
children. To me, however, the numbers are too impersonal. They're
shocking but they don't hit home. But I came across a couple quotes
that hit me like a ton of bricks. I think they really drive home the
challenge we're all facing today.
According to Dr. William J. Klish, professor of pediatrics at
Baylor College of Medicine, ``Children today have a shorter life
expectancy than their parents for the first time in 100 years.'' Think
about that, given the medical and technological advancements of the
last several decades. ``Children today have a shorter life expectancy
than their parents for the first time in 100 years.'' That's a scary
but powerful statement.
Dr. K.M. Venkat Narayan, diabetes epidemiologist for the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated, ``One in every three
U.S. children born after 2000 will become diabetic unless many more
people start eating less and exercising more.'' One in every three!
I think former surgeon general, Dr. Richard Carmona, summarized the
situation the best when he said, ``As we look to the future and where
childhood obesity will be in 20 years * * * it is every bit as
threatening to us as is the terrorist threat we face today. It is the
threat from within.''
Physical education can be a key part of the solution to that
threat, maybe the most important part of the solution. However, for
that to be the case, several issues must be addressed. At PE4life, we
see three key problems with our nation's current physical education
system: 1) The dramatic decline in the number of students taking
physical education classes on a daily basis; 2) The continued emphasis
on the ``sports model'' of physical education that overemphasizes team
sports skill development and participation at the expense of health and
wellness education and lifelong physical activity skill development and
participation; and 3) Grading students based on skills and innate
abilities versus effort and progress toward individualized goals.
To combat these problems, the PE4life program is about getting kids
active now and instilling the lifetime benefits of health and wellness.
It's about enabling each student to maintain a physically-active
lifestyle forever. It means emphasizing fitness and well-being, not
athleticism. It eliminates practices that humiliate students. And it
assesses students on their progress in reaching personal physical
activity and fitness goals. A P.E.4life program exposes kids to the fun
and long-term benefits of movement--it's really that simple.
That said, while our emphasis is teaching the lifetime health-and-
wellness benefits of physical activity, PE4ife programs still teach
team sports but the focus is on small-sided sports: four-on-four
football; three-on-three basketball, four-on-four soccer, so more kids
get involved, touch the ball more often, and move to a greater degree.
PE4life advocates exposing students to a variety of sports and
fitness activities through physical education so our children can make
educated choices about the physical activities that are most
appropriate for their personalities and lifestyles.
I think if there was one thing I would like children to take away
from their PE4life experience, it would be the importance of regular
exercise. Quality, health-and-wellness-based physical education is
crucial in helping children reap the long-term benefits of physical
fitness and in establishing this healthy habit for life.
An important point of my testimony today is that this isn't just a
theoretical philosophy. The PE4life model is working in real schools,
with real students. We have strong evidence that the PE4life Way
improves students' health and wellness. And increasingly, we're
building the research support for the PE4life model's impact on
academic performance and discipline issues as well.
I'm going to give you a brief overview of some of the exciting
research PE4life's compiling. The nationally-respected Fitnessgram
assessment, which evaluates students in six fitness-related categories,
was used to compare the physical fitness levels of 9th grade students
in Naperville, IL (once again, home to the first P.E.4life Academy)
with their 9th grade, non-P.E.4life counterparts in California. In all
six categories, the Naperville students far out-paced their
counterparts in California. In the two most significant categories,
``aerobic capacity'' and ``body composition,'' the results were
significantly in favor of the Naperville kids. For example, of the
1,500 freshmen in Naperville, only 3% were found to be overweight or
obese. On the other hand, 32% of their 9th grade counterparts in
California, were overweight or obese. In the ``aerobic capacity''
category, 80% of Naperville freshmen were in the ``healthy fitness
zone'' versus only 50% of the California students.
As a result of performances like that, parents of the students at
Madison Junior High School, my former school and home base for the
Naperville PE4ife Academy, voted physical education the #1 curriculum
in the school.
Other PE4life Academies around the country, all of which have been
recipients of the Carol M. White PEP grant, are seeing similar results
in the areas of fitness and health and wellness. But the research
that's really starting to get me excited is the findings showing that
physically-fit kids perform better academically.
In a California Department of Education study looking at 5th, 7th,
and 9th graders, based on the same Fitnessgram assessment that I just
cited, the students that were the most fit also performed the best on
math and reading assessments.
In another study, undertaken at a PE4life Academy, high school
students that took a fitness-based physical education course before the
regular school day began, in addition to a literacy class, improved
their reading and comprehension scores by 1.4 years on a grade-level
equivalency scale. That represented a 50% greater improvement in
reading and comprehension scores than seen by the students in the study
who took the literacy class alone.
The bottom line is, fit kids perform better academically. This is a
critical point in this era of No Child Left Behind. Despite the
worsening childhood obesity epidemic in this country, many physical
education programs are being dropped or significantly scaled back. And
the reason given by school administrators and board members? Academic
pressures that stem primarily from federal No Child Left Behind
mandates and state standardized academic assessments.
As Dr. John Ratey, an expert on exercise's impact on the brain from
Harvard Medical School says, ``The greatest fallacy in American
education today is that dropping physical education will improve
academic performance.''
In fact, Ratey goes on to say that ``exercise is the one thing we
know that optimizes brain function. It's so good, it's like Miracle-
Gro.''
Another exciting piece of PE4life research comes from our PE4life
Academy in urban Kansas City, Missouri. The study at Woodland
Elementary School looked at discipline issues before and after the
implementation of a daily PE4life program at the school. Suspension
days dropped from 1,177 to 392 (a 67% decrease). Discipline incidents
(fighting, etc.) dropped from 228 to 94 (a 59% decrease). The only
significant difference from one year to the next at Woodland was the
implementation of a daily PE4life program.
Woodland's principal, Craig Rupert said, ``PE4life has had a
tremendous positive influence on the lives of the students at Woodland
Elementary School. It has not just increased the levels of fitness we
are seeing in our kids, but they are also more motivated throughout the
day. Enthusiasm is way up and office referrals are way down.''
Much more research needs to be done in the area of quality physical
education and its impact on discipline issues but this is exciting
stuff.
I would like to take just a minute to discuss how well PE4life is
positioned to be an ideal School Wellness plan implementation partner
for schools across the nation. For the 2006-2007 school year, school
districts were required to have a wellness policy in place.
Undoubtedly, getting to this point was a big challenge.
Nevertheless, a bigger challenge is now staring schools in the face:
How do we most effectively implement these policies?
The School Wellness law was designed to be an important new tool to
promote wellness-based physical education programs, healthy eating and
other school-based physical activities. In order to enhance the chances
of success, the legislation also requires that local wellness policies
have an implementation plan in place. This can't simply be a ``get the
policy done and place it on the shelf'' exercise. These plans must be
implemented and then evaluated on a regular basis. Additionally, the
law requires that a broad group of local stakeholders be involved in
the development and execution of the wellness policy.
From its inception, the ``PE4life Way'' has been a community-based,
stakeholder-driven approach to quality physical education focused on
measurable outcomes. Our Academies provide training to a wide-variety
of school and community leaders in the development of their own PE4life
programs, including a step-by-step implementation plan for their School
Wellness initiatives. Moreover, PE4life helps Academy trainees
cultivate partnerships designed to advocate for change in their
communities, along with finding the community funding to make change
real and lasting. The PE4life Way is all about getting local
stakeholders involved.
It's also important to note that while we believe physical
inactivity is the primary culprit in the childhood obesity epidemic,
nutrition education is an important component of PE4life programs. In
fact, we are partnering with the American Council on Fitness and
Nutrition (ACFN) and the American Dietetics Foundation on a nutrition
pilot study this fall.
PE4life is a young organization. We were founded in 2000.
Nevertheless, we've made a tremendous impact. Our five PE4life
Academies have hosted school/community teams from 34 states (and five
countries), impacting 1,639 urban, suburban, rural, private and public
schools and reaching 1.7 million students. Of the 188 school/community
teams that PE4life Academies have trained, 60 of them have been Carol
M. White PEP grant winners.
It's important to note that schools that have benefited from
receiving a PEP grant have had a jump start in effectively implementing
their School Wellness plans.
Each of our five PE4life Academies have themselves been recipients
of a PEP grant. They are enjoying increases in fitness scores,
decreases in discipline problems, and increases in academic
performance. In turn, these Academies, as model physical education
programs and training facilities for other schools, have been effective
in helping other schools implement their Wellness policies.
Nevertheless, given the magnitude of this country's problem with
sedentary young people, there is no doubt that PE4life needs to scale
up quicker.
Ultimately, our goal is to have at least one PE4life Academy in
every state. Over the next three years, our goal is to expand the
number of PE4life Academies by 25 in order to positively impact the
lives of thousands of additional students.
So, that's what we're all about. Our plan is to create ``change
agents'' through our training programs. We see the PE4life Academies as
change-agent factories, where community teams made up of
administrators, board members, teachers, parents, health care
professionals, and other community leaders come to learn about a seven-
step plan for transforming the health and wellness of young people in
their communities.
I know the PE 4life Way works. But I'm biased.
So, I'll let the ``Father of Aerobics,'' Dr. Kenneth Cooper, from
the Cooper Aerobics Center in Dallas, Texas, have the final word: ``The
PE4life approach is exactly what we need to happen if we are to have
any hope of avoiding a medical disaster with this generation of
children.''
I want to thank the Committee for your leadership on the School
Wellness Program and for this opportunity to testify. I also want to
thank you for your ongoing support of the Carol M White PEP grant
program in No Child Left Behind. As a PEP grant recipient, and someone
who has worked closely with others who have received these grants, I
know first hand how much this funding has done to energize and improve
the quality of physical education throughout the country. This is the
type of critical financial support we need as state budgets for
education decline.
PE4life has set the stage for the type of health-and-wellness-based
physical education our children need and programs like PEP go a long
way toward helping us succeed. Schools that receive PEP grants are well
positioned to implement successful School Wellness plans and become
role models for other schools.
I know that No Child Left Behind is up for reauthorization this
year. As you consider this important legislation, it is our hope that
you include PEP with a significant authorization so more schools can
provide the kind of physical education that will positively impact our
children for the rest of their lives. The PEP program works. It needs
to grow.
I look forward to answering any questions you may have.
______
Chairwoman McCarthy. Thank you, and thank you for your
testimony.
I thank all of you for your testimony.
I had talked to a number of you earlier before we started,
and I had said that I was shocked on all the research that we
started doing, you know, a few months ago when we knew we were
going to have this hearing.
In my area, we do have physical education. I didn't know
that so many schools had dropped physical education from their
program, because I happen to believe that physical education
does--number one, we all know that it certainly makes you feel
healthier. It builds up the appetite, so hopefully we go to
better foods.
And so all this information that you have put in front of
us is something that I hope that all of us can work on and get
a better program out there.
Mr. Chase, you know, you and your wife had talked about
your program is part of getting parents involved. We are
legislators. You know, we can't mandate--we can't certainly
make a law to make parents do the right thing by their children
by example or even anything else.
So how do you go about educating parents to do the right
thing for their children and make them aware of what they need
to do?
Mr. Chase. Well, when you say how do you, how do I, or how
does one?
Chairwoman McCarthy. How does your program encourage that?
Mr. Chase. Well, the Center for Environmental Education is
wide-ranging in what it does. But it basically enables teachers
from any part of any school, from kindergarten up, to find what
resources they need through a library that we have set up at
Antioch College.
It is a difficult question to answer. Excuse me a second.
My wife is going to answer it for me, I have a feeling. One
second.
My wife says we infiltrate the home through the kids. It is
a good answer.
Chairwoman McCarthy. Very good answer, and it goes back to
what I had said earlier. If we would listen to our children a
little bit more, we would actually be a little bit further
ahead.
Ms. Converse, how did you start working with your school to
get them to be more aware, listening to you?
Actually, reading your testimony, you brought in that you
basically were shocked that a lot of the physical education
teachers, a lot of the teachers themselves, didn't even know
they had a wellness program going on.
How did you make them aware of it?
Ms. Converse. Well, my initiative basically started by me
speaking to my school board about it, so they became aware
about the issue that we currently have.
And then from there, I have gotten chances to speak for
obesity summits and such things, so I have taken a lot of my
information and sent it back through the schools, as many
people as I can touch.
But you know, I am only one person. I need the help of
people like you--grownups, if you will--to spread the word as
well. And I am hoping kids will join me in this initiative that
I have got going, so it will be more widespread that way.
Chairwoman McCarthy. We have found, certainly, working
with--I am in schools, basically, almost every single Monday.
And I had found if we find some key young people and make them
the ambassador, they can spread the message among their
classmates a lot faster than me saying to a young person,
``Hey, you should be doing this.''
Hopefully, maybe that is some way we can work that in to
what we are going to be doing.
You know, when you talk about--with this particular job,
you have the opportunity to travel around the world. Last year,
I was in China.
And one of the things that did shock me is we were doing an
educational tour on how many of the youngest of the young and
then the high school and the college students are extremely
obese. And it is just something that we were not expecting.
And when I talked to the minister of education, I brought
it up. And he said, ``It is all your fault. We have McDonald's.
We have Burger King.''
And yet when you went out to the province, you know, here
they didn't have these particular things, you basically saw
that the young people were healthier. They were eating their
vegetables. They didn't have any of the candies, sodas and
things like that.
So it is something that we all need to work on a little bit
better.
And, Mr. Lawler, as far as--I grew up with learning
disabilities. I will be very honest with you. The only thing
that, certainly, worked for me--I happen to be a great athlete.
That did help me with my improvement in school, and it gave
me self-confidence, which I think a lot of kids are lacking
these days, too.
So if you could expand on your program.
Mr. Lawler. There is no question that the self-confidence
issue goes along with it. It reaches out in so many directions,
even special education.
There is a gentleman in New York by the name of Dr. Wendt
who did some research specifically with ADHD, which is a major
impact on our schools today. And one of the conclusions of the
study--that 12 minutes of aerobic activity had the same effect
on the body as a dose of Ritalin.
We all want that instant gratification. It is a lot easier
to take a pill than it is to exercise. But I think we are going
to see dramatic changes in the world--in our country if we get
people to exercise.
Every branch of education that has good programs in place--
it doesn't do us any good unless those kids are healthy. If we
don't get blood flow to the brain, oxygen to the brain and
hydrate the brain, they are not listening. And so we are
definitely seeing a difference.
And as far as getting to the parents, I believe it is
true--we call what we have a trickling up effect. The more we
have focused on physical education, the more the parents are
understanding.
In our community, in a survey, parents rated physical
education the number one curriculum in our district for
satisfaction. They understand the importance of children's
health.
Chairwoman McCarthy. Thank you.
I now recognize Ranking Member Platts for 5 minutes.
Mr. Platts. Thank you, Madam Chair.
And again, my sincere thanks also to all of the witnesses
here today.
First, with Ms. Converse, I don't think you will just be
voting in 3 years at age 18. You are going to soon be running
for office, I believe. [Laughter.]
And Mr. Price isn't here, but it is a good thing you have
to be 25 to run for Congress, or I think Tom would be in
trouble.
There seems to be a number of issues here that we are
trying to address. One is the nutrition standards and
requirements we have in our schools, and then the second one is
physical education requirements.
And then within both of those, there are sub-issues. And
with nutrition, it is the USDA standards that are in place.
And, Mr. Chase, as you referenced, they haven't been
updated in 30 years.
And then what additional standards should we perhaps put in
place as far as what can be sold?
What I want to try to pursue quickly in my time is the
interaction between those, nutrition and physical education.
And I want to start, Dr. Marks--you referenced the Arkansas
study or action, and I am curious, because I am not familiar
with that.
Has there been a comparison of what Arkansas did to what is
being proposed in Ms. Woolsey's legislation, how they align?
Does it go farther? Is it not as much as what we would be
requiring?
Dr. Marks. The Arkansas legislation was a comprehensive
school health bill that changed the vending machine policies,
changed the policies so that they have P.E. in the schools, and
changed the school nutrition programs.
And in addition, it measured and weighed children and let
the parents know how their children's weight and their body
mass index are rated.
And so Congresswoman Woolsey's bill looks specifically at
the standards for competitive foods and so is only part of the
comprehensive school policy changes that are needed.
And in that sense, that is why I framed it as a good step,
but we need many more steps.
Mr. Platts. On the specific issue of the competitive foods
aspect of Congresswoman Woolsey's--did Arkansas go farther
than----
Dr. Marks. It has many more elements.
Mr. Platts. Okay.
Dr. Marks. And it did not have the specific parts about--
that she has in her bill about the standards for minimally
nutritious foods.
Mr. Platts. Okay. One other part of your testimony--and it
is one of the challenges here--is your comments about schools
are a central place to start.
They certainly are an important place, but I would back
up--as, you know, parents being the first place to start, and
part of that is from being in my children's school on a regular
basis in the lunch room.
And I am one who, if someone else is cooking, I am always
happy to eat, so I like school lunches.
But I watch what is consumed at that table, and
especially--one of the issues why focusing on parent education
is because how many of my--of my two children, my 10-year-old
packs. My 8-year-old usually buys.
And when Leslie, my wife, packs--trying to have a good,
balanced nutrition. But also, when I go in and watch what my
son would eat if I wasn't there versus what, you know, he is
eating with me present--but I watch his classmates, because
their parent isn't there.
And I am usually shocked at what is in their lunch bag that
they brought from home, not what the school is selling them--
and that we need to really get to that education, and a
national public education effort, because I think the obesity
numbers are more and more common, but we haven't really taken
those numbers and gone farther.
And what you are trying to do, I think, through your
foundation's efforts is the education of using that knowledge
now to tell kids--or parents hey, you are making sure your
child's seat belt is on--but you are making sure they are
eating healthy at lunch or all of their meals.
Dr. Marks. That is a great analogy that you drew there
right at the end. For parents, we have to make the healthier
choices easier for them to make and for their children to make.
If they go to schools and all the food offerings are
unhealthy, what are they going to choose? They have no choice,
only unhealthy options.
Mr. Platts. The one choice they would have--and I won't
leave parents off the hook--is they could make sure their child
packs a healthy lunch.
Dr. Marks. And I would urge that they look at the policies
at their schools as well, so that their child----
Mr. Platts. Agreed.
Dr. Marks.--healthy lunch they can eat it. Your example
with the seat belts, though, is great. How many people would
use seat belts if they weren't required that they be in cars? A
lot fewer.
And so it has always been an important role that we have
for our society to say what are the things that are most
important. Do we make those choices the easier choice, so that
people then, when they make that choice, it is right there for
them?
Mr. Platts. I am going to try to squeeze in one other
question. I am not sure if we are going to come back for a
second round.
Mr. Lawler, real quickly, your numbers are staggering of
what your school has done. And there is a whole host of issues
I want to pursue about your program.
But one in particular I will start with and, if we get a
chance, come back, is the comparison of your school to the
California school district--the difference in, you know, 3
percent of your entering freshmen of 1,500--a large group, too;
a large sampling--were found to be overweight or obese, and 32
percent of the California school.
Was there a follow-up or an additional comparison, not just
comparing what your phys ed program is doing to California's,
but also of your school's nutrition standards in the
cafeterias, or what they are selling, you know, vending
machine, compared to the other school to have both sides
compared? Or was it more just on the phys ed side?
Mr. Lawler. It was mainly on the physical education side,
and it is an interesting point. And we obviously have to make
changes in our vending machines at school.
But you mentioned a very, very important part, the
education part of it. Prohibition doesn't work. We have to be
educating these children about making good choices.
We had some of those numbers even with vending machines in
our school. With every choice out there, the number one seller
in our vending machines for beverage by our students was water,
because they have been educated.
Now, another thing is, remember, our program started 15
years ago, before this obesity crisis was there. We started to
focus on children's health.
We have really dedicated--now, remember, Illinois is one of
those few states--it is the only state that mandates daily
physical education. So we have the students every day to get a
chance to make a difference with them.
Mr. Platts. I will hopefully have a chance to come back. I
would just add your example of the water is--I used to consume
about a case of soda a week till 3 years ago. And then sitting
at the dinner table, my then-4-year-old, 4.5-year-old, said--
they had milk or water, and I had my soda--``Dad, if it is so
bad for me, why are you drinking so much?'' And so I drink
nothing but water now. Went cold turkey. I got educated by my
4-year-old.
So thank you, Madam Chair.
Chairwoman McCarthy. See? Listen to your kids.
Mr. Yarmuth from Kentucky?
Mr. Yarmuth. Thank you, Madam Chair.
And thanks to all the witnesses.
I would say in relation to drinking bottled water that I
have had several groups of dentists, including pediatric
dentists, recently in my office who say one of the biggest
problems they face now with kids is that they are drinking so
much bottled water that they are not drinking the water that
has fluoride in it, and so they have--so I mean, you pick up
some, and you lose some.
I do come from a state that I think ranks number one in
childhood obesity. If not, it is very close to it. It is not
nearly as impressive as our basketball teams.
And it seems that while we are talking about schools and
their role in combating childhood obesity--and I think that is
very appropriate--if the numbers are right that 35 percent to
50 percent of food is consumed by kids in schools, that means
50 percent to 65 percent is consumed outside of the school.
And it seems to me that this is a very difficult problem.
For instance, I have talked to many people in my district, an
urban district, who say that in some of the lower income areas
there is no availability of fresh food and fresh vegetables.
And it seems to me that there are so many factors here that
we have to rely on some universal approach to get at this
problem.
And I would kind of leave this as an open-ended question
for the panel as to who much of this problem relates to factors
such as economics, such as lifestyle, where parents don't have
time enough at night to do anything more than put macaroni and
cheese on the stove to feed to their kids.
And so, certainly, we can't rely exclusively on schools,
and I am just kind of wondering whether you can assess the
relative importance of these non-educational factors as well.
Dr. Stallings, please go ahead.
Dr. Stallings. Well, I think your overview is absolutely
true, and any of us in sort of the business looking at obesity
and health in children--and in fact, in adults--recognizes
right off the bat that it is very complex.
And the causes are relatively complex, and the solutions
certainly will be. And the panel is well constructed, because
it is about energy in and energy out, the activity and the
food.
I think keeping all of the stakeholders involved--and
really, a lot of work has been done really over the last 5
years to make the whole country understand that childhood
obesity actually, first, does exist, and second, is important.
And I think that work has been done, and some of the work
that Robert Wood Johnson and others are going to do is just
phenomenal.
But I would contend that one of the few opportunities we
have where we have virtually all children, regardless if they
are urban or rural, if they come from a high-income or a low-
income setting--that we have an opportunity to use the school
setting as one of the steps in the right direction.
Over the course of about a year, about half of the eating
opportunities are in a school setting, and about half are at
home. Now, that is not necessarily calories, but eating
opportunities--meals and snacks.
So our committee and, I think, Congress, through the
request of the report, recognizes that schools have a unique
role in some of the steps forward.
But I agree completely, we should not target any one part
of our complex society of food and activity and work and play
and expect one to pull it off.
But there really isn't anything else where we can model
good food behavior--we can have some influence on the food that
is provided--than the school system.
Dr. Marks. If I could just----
Mr. Yarmuth. Dr. Marks, yes, go ahead.
Dr. Marks.--thank you--add a little bit to that, it is very
clear that to solve this it is going to require efforts from
all of the parts of our society and not just schools.
One of the things I did want to comment on is that we also
have been concerned that in some of the poorer inner-city
neighborhoods there are not fresh fruits and vegetables.
And we have supported a group called the Food Trust that,
in Philadelphia, worked to put together to bring back a grocery
store to an area that didn't have one.
I visited an elementary school there and talked to a 3rd-
grade young girl who had a new favorite fruit. It was a banana.
She had never had one before, because the corner stores can't
stock perishable foods.
And even if she had wanted to, or her parents, they
couldn't have gotten it very easily. There is good data that
when there is a grocery store that serves fresh fruits and
vegetables that people in that neighborhood buy and consume
more.
In addition, part of the way the Food Trust made the case
in inner-city Philadelphia was these were jobs that would be in
that neighborhood. They might not be the best ones, but they
are good for an area that had very few.
So they helped make that case with the city council on an
economic and development point of view as well. And we are
supporting that group to now go to other cities as well.
Mr. Yarmuth. Thank you.
Chairwoman McCarthy. The gentlelady from Illinois, Ms.
Biggert.
Mrs. Biggert. Thank you, Madam Chairman.
I have been to visit Mr. Lawler at the middle school, and I
had the opportunity to ride on the bikes and race against one
of the 7th-graders. Guess who won? And I am competitive.
But what intrigued me about so much of this program is that
it really engaged all of the students.
And you know, you have always got the athletes that are way
into sports, but so many times we lose, I think, kids that
really are not--not to say that they are not competitive, but
they don't think that they are good at sports. And this program
is so good to reach all the students.
And maybe, Mr. Lawler, you could tell us a little bit how
the program--what you use in P.E.
And the other thing that I have to say is that we in
Illinois are so fortunate to have daily P.E. And I know in
serving in the state legislature there was always somebody that
wanted to take it away, and we wanted to make sure that they
didn't.
But if you could just talk a little bit about the different
things--and how kids know how they are doing, the data that
comes out after your participation.
Mr. Lawler. We are, again, fortunate. Without a daily
physical education program, we couldn't be providing--we
wouldn't have the numbers of data that shows the results
without that potential.
But one of the things I comment about our program is that
the biggest difference between the old physical education that
I used to teach and the one we have now is every child feels
comfortable about being there, and they know why they are
there.
We are educating them that every choice they make every day
is going to affect their health the rest of their life.
And we are not molding each student into becoming an
athlete anymore. We still use the sports model for some people,
but we are also providing a lot of other choices.
To be honest, walking may be the best exercise ever
invented. As Dr. Cooper says, walk your dog every day, even if
you don't have one.
So I guess the variety--but the educational part of turning
the responsibility of the health over to the children
themselves, letting them know that every decision they make
every day is going to have consequences--and our students have
really bought into that. They really are. They are truly taking
ownership of their own health.
Mrs. Biggert. Well, I was thinking of, you know, something
like the elliptical or the treadmill, and how they see over the
year that they really----
Mr. Lawler. It is just one dimension of our program. We
have gone to a focus of using a health club concept that as
adults a lot of them won't be playing sports when they are
older.
Now, we do something very unique, and I don't necessarily
recommend this for all schools, but we have taken one of the
enemies, interactive video games--our kids will actually get on
a bike that plays PlayStation, but they have to ride in order
to play it. It only plays racing games.
I think the invention of this new game Wii--I have not used
it yet, but that is the dimension--the video game industry has
a responsibility of helping us fight this also.
And I am using eight different companies right now that are
getting into physical activity, what we are calling exer-
gaming.
Mrs. Biggert. We have had a couple of hearings on this in
the past 2 years, and so many of the states say, ``Well, we
can't afford it. We can't afford to have the P.E. every day or
even twice a week or three times a week.''
Ms. Howley, do you have any recommendations on how we can
change the minds of some of these schools?
Ms. Howley. Well, I think there is a couple of things,
Congresswoman. I think one is, you know, we know from survey
data that parents want this. Parents are the first taxpayers in
their school districts.
We fund our schools locally, and so parents who are the
taxpayers have to demand that this is where their resources are
going to go.
I think secondly, you know, there is a lot of
responsibility on states to equalize spending. And so parents
have to speak to their state legislators and their state
leaders about this is what we want our schools to look like.
You know, from our perspective, the power of the wellness
policy mandate is as much about what is in any individual
policy as it is about the process of bringing parents and other
community members together to address these problems
comprehensively.
We have been able to work with the National League of
Cities and the American Association of School Administrators to
bring together school leaders and city leaders to talk about
the kinds of comprehensive solutions that are needed in a
community, including how do we fund the things we need, whether
it is the P.E. teachers, or the equipment or the space when we
are building new schools. I mean, we don't build schools with
gyms anymore. We need to do that again.
We will pay for this, whether we pay for it now in terms
of, you know, the cost of our buildings or our staff, or in
terms of our health care costs.
And I think, obviously, there is going to be a role--this
is not my area of what the delineation of federal, state or
local roles should be, but since many of those health care
costs will sit at the federal government through Medicare and
Medicaid, there is probably a role of the federal government as
well in helping to equalize some of the spending and looking at
those opportunities.
But we know it is what families want.
Mrs. Biggert. Thank you.
I yield back.
Chairwoman McCarthy. Thank you.
The gentlelady from New York, Ms. Clarke?
Ms. Clarke. Thank you very much, Madam Chair, and to all of
our witnesses today. This has been a very stimulating
conversation.
And it is really putting this issue on the front burner and
putting a spotlight on what I consider to be, really, a
national challenge.
As you well know, New York City is our nation's largest
school system, and this is really presenting a challenge for us
in many directions.
As I think Ms. Howley just stated, we constructed many of
our public schools without gymnasiums, and our school play lots
are now parking lots for a lot of the school personnel.
So to a large extent, we kind of fed into what has become
this challenge around dealing with childhood obesity. Just to
give you some statistical data, 43 percent of the elementary
school children in New York City's public schools are either
overweight and/or obese.
That means that nearly one out of four of New York City
elementary school children--these are our babies--translating
to 100,000 students, are categorized as obese.
And so we are looking to many different tactics for really
addressing this head on. Some of it, I believe, as Mr. Yarmuth
has said, is socioeconomic.
In many of our communities, we are not having access to
fresh vegetables and produce, and so to begin just that
behavioral shift for many families--you are talking about
generations of people who have not been eating properly for
quite some time.
And then you don't have the encouragement in the schools
anymore for physical activity.
What are some of the practical day-to-day measures--I mean,
we are trying to use a school program, lunch and a snack
program, to begin to infiltrate.
And I think it was you, Dr. Marks, that said well, we can
get the kids to help the parents to change the way that people
address their eating habits, their nutrition and need for
physical activity.
Can we talk about some real practical day-to-day--what we
can do in an area like New York City? And let me also add that
a large part of the students in our public school system, over
50 percent, are children of color. Many are immigrants. I mean,
there are so many dynamics.
I would like to see or hear from you some of what, in a
multicultural type of environment, in a socioeconomic lower
income environment, where the investments have not been made,
the behavioral modification needs to take place, what has been
done, how we track it, and how we can pursue it much more
vigorously.
Dr. Marks. Thank you. I mentioned already the issue about
bringing supermarkets that sell fresh fruits and vegetables
into neighborhoods that don't have them.
Also, I wanted to share with you, I was just 10 days ago in
Seattle in an elementary school that was just as you described,
largely minority, very poor, approaching 90 percent on free and
reduced lunch.
It was a place that we had also helped put together a
program in support, and they have done remarkably well. They
had purchased a salad bar server so that everybody in the
school could get them, and all the children did it, and so
could the faculty.
They incorporated nutrition education in the art program,
so the day we were there, they were having them experiment with
Ethiopian food. For those of you who haven't had it, it is
served on a large, round bread with vegetables around.
They had to draw it, and describe it, and figure out which
ones they thought they were going to like ahead of time, and
then they ate it and had to decide whether they were right or
not.
I talked to the librarian. He said that they no longer have
and expect cupcakes or things like that as the snacks around
birthdays. It is almost all fresh fruit. And no one asks for
that anymore. It is just the fresh fruit.
They have in their--at the end of the day, and at a break
during the day, sliced apples and oranges and grapefruit that--
the kids come by the bins and get them and eat a couple.
They have an assembly where a new vegetable is tried, and
the children try it, and then they line up behind a smiley face
if they like it and a frowning face if they don't.
And they had a mini-farmers' market in the school in the
evening that the parents came for, and they had vendors there,
and the children had Monopoly-type money that they would use to
decide what to buy, and the parents went along and would gather
that up, and it was free for the parents.
It has been evaluated, and they have said that more
children at that school than others are eating three or more
fresh fruits and vegetables a day. The parents talk about with
the children, talking about it when they get home, wanting to
go shopping so they can help select that.
Now, that is not something that is everywhere. But that
school has been so successful, other schools in the Seattle
area are going to be trying to do it.
They can use some WIC money. That is, when they teach about
nutrition, that can be used to help support the person in the
school that is doing it.
But it is the kind of model that we are very excited about.
There are models like this scattered about. They are not all
evaluated. But we have a long way to go.
And as I said in the beginning about the Institute of
Medicine's previous report, there are too few, they are too
small, they are too scattered, and there is not the national
and state-level leadership to really pull these things
together.
Chairwoman McCarthy. Thank you.
Mr. Sarbanes from Maryland?
Mr. Sarbanes. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thanks for
holding this hearing.
And thank you to the panel. I have one question, a quick
question. The fast food industry is a huge food distribution
system. And I would like to hear your description of what is
happening in that industry. Is anybody doing anything so they
have some insight into it?
Who are the actors who are stepping up? You can describe
categories if you don't want to get into specific names.
And how are they stepping up? What are the ways in which
there is enlightenment, if it exists, within that industry with
respect to the issues that we are talking about?
And how can enlightened companies step off the cover of
Fortune magazine and onto the cover of Life and Time magazine
because they are being good corporate citizens with respect to
this issue? Anybody.
Mr. Chase. Anybody? Well, I am assuming you have read the
book Fast Food Nation.
Mr. Sarbanes. Excerpts.
Mr. Chase. Excerpts. I would recommend we all take another
look at that book. It is very interesting.
I want to also mention that I am from New York. I grew up
in New York City. And as usual, the poorest people--and as
usual, the poorest are generally people of color--have the
least access to sliced oranges, if, in fact, they have a school
yard to play in and a halftime during a game they can have a
snack. That would be valuable.
And as Dr. Marks has already stated in his example in
Seattle--which is not exactly the same as East Harlem, which is
where I grew up, just of the cusp, and Harlem, but it is still
a very poor area, the area that you spoke of. That would be a
major issue.
I think that kids have to learn at home, to begin with,
that no, we are not going to, if I may say, McDonald's, for
instance, tonight. It may seem cheaper, but in the end, it is
going to be a lot more expensive, because in the end we are
talking about diabetes.
In the end, we are talking about not just No Child Left
Behind, but no child's left behind should be larger than the
child's left and right behind combined. That is what we see in
this country.
So you know, I think this is a question of education in the
family and beginning there, but also access to fresh fruits.
Oranges are not a big deal. I know that bananas can be.
But there are also--let me just mention this one thing, and
I am not really addressing your question exactly, but I am a
fairly wealthy guy. I have made movies that have made all of
you laugh, and I think you all owe me a little bit more respect
than you have given me today. [Laughter.]
And we live up in the country, Jayni and I, with our three
daughters, but when it comes to having dinner, we go into our
canned food area sometimes, and we just take out a can of
beans, and we find an old onion, and we find a tomato that may
be just at the edge, and we chop it all up and put it in a
frying pan.
And I will tell you, that is very, very healthy. There are
things in cans that can be quite healthy and good, and that is
a way of educating your kids how to cook, how to do it on a
very low budget.
I am just telling you what I know in my life. Otherwise I
have nothing else to say, because, really, my wife put me up to
this, and you know, I have got to get to California and get
some work, and--no, I just want you to know that there are
things to do.
And also, I want to just emphasize with Congresslady
Clarke, because I understand that it is the poorest of the poor
who are getting the bad shake. And I think bills of the nature
that we are talking about address those people. Thank you.
Dr. Marks. I was just going to comment--following Chevy is
a little difficult, but in the area of industry, fast food and
other food industry, they are going to have to be part of the
solution.
They have to view this as in their interest. Part of that
is what the public will buy. We are starting to see some of
those changes. But they also have to have a profit.
Some of them are recognizing that the healthier-for-you
foods are where some of their increased profit growth is coming
from. That is terrific.
But there are other things that they could do that might
speed this along. So for example, when you go into fast food
and you purchase a special meal for your child, perhaps the
default could be water and fruit slices, or carrots, and you
have to ask especially for soda or french fries.
It would change what people would buy just by adding that
little extra bit, I believe.
I think if children get healthier foods at schools, they
are likely to look for that when they go out to eat with their
family. So we have to make this a push-pull. But we can't do
this without industry taking it seriously and being part of the
solution.
And I know that in industry there are some parts and some
individuals who want very much to be part of the solution and
others that are finding that hard to embrace and finding that
they are not yet ready for it.
And it will eventually be the public that tells them they
have to be ready.
Mr. Sarbanes. Thank you.
Chairwoman McCarthy. Thank you. As you can tell by the
bells going off, we do have a vote coming up.
But Mr. Platts and I were speaking, and we want to follow
up with one more question, so we are using our power.
And, Mr. Chase, you have made us laugh, but we do
appreciate your time here. And obviously, you listen to your
wife, so you have to be a good guy. [Laughter.]
Mr. Chase. Thank you very much for having me.
Mr. Platts. Mr. Chase, what I was going to say is not only
are you a funny gentleman, but a wise--because listening to our
wives is very important, so I do appreciate you and all here.
In fact, sitting here, I was--how can I bring all of you to
my district and, you know, in the education, Mr. Chase, you
will bring everybody out to get the public's attention, and
then we have got the phys ed expertise, we have got the student
who can connect with her peers on the importance of this, and
we have got the medical and research community that are all
represented, in how to do this back home, because what each of
you have shared is really what we need to replicate at every
level and across every state.
And I am not sure who just referenced--but we can either
pay a little bit now or a lot more down the road.
And so it is one of the wisdoms of--I am a fan of Ronald
Reagan, who said, you know, if we want to do something for our
nation's future, we need to do something for our nation's
children, because they are the future, as our great example
right here exemplifies.
But a quick question on the phys ed side. I wanted to
follow up with Mr. Lawler. I want to make sure I understand. In
Illinois, it is a state mandate for daily phys ed class?
Mr. Lawler. It has been a state mandate in Illinois for
years. We are the only state. But let me tell you the reality
of it. The government got involved. We have a waiver process.
The reality is there are a lot of schools in Illinois that are
not offering daily P.E. That is a reality.
But there are a lot of schools that are, especially at the
high school level. It is almost a dinosaur at the high school
level anymore.
Mr. Platts. And you are in Naperville. It is every day.
Mr. Lawler. At the high school, we have 3,000 students that
take daily physical education all 4 years.
Mr. Platts. Okay. How long of a class--you know, what does
that mean?
Mr. Lawler. Oh, it is the same as all other subject areas.
Mr. Platts. Okay.
Mr. Lawler. It is about a 50-minute period. At the middle
school level, it is a 40-minute period. And they have it daily.
Mr. Platts. And the specific program, the PE4LIFE--was that
a result of school board action saying, ``This is what our
program is,'' or is it more at the teacher level saying, ``Hey,
this is how we are going to do it?''
Mr. Lawler. It was bottom up. Physical education was not an
important part of our community earlier. It is now part of our
community culture, just like it should eventually become part
of the national culture. It is definitely accepted and
respected.
When I first started teaching, you know, I was the Rodney
Dangerfield of education--absolutely no respect for what I did.
But it has truly changed. We changed the delivery, and people
really value it.
Mr. Platts. Well, hopefully, as we move forward, you know,
we are going to take what you share with us and put it to good
success for our children across the nation, all of you.
Mr. Lawler. And I would be glad--you contact me. I would be
glad to bring this information back to the district that your
children are in.
Mr. Platts. Gettysburg, York, Central Pennsylvania. We need
it. You know, we want to do right by children throughout the
country. So again, my thanks.
Madam Chair, thanks for allowing me that second round.
Chairwoman McCarthy. Just to follow up, how long is your
school day?
Mr. Lawler. Our high school starts at 7:45, and the
dismissal time is 3:10.
Chairwoman McCarthy. Okay.
I want to thank everybody for being here. You know, a lot
of things that you talked about, we are already working on.
The Agricultural Committee, the Ag Committee, has put money
in especially for underserved schools so that we will have
fresh fruit into those particular schools. So we are taking not
only what we are doing here, it is in other committees that are
working and looking at how can we make our children healthier.
I live in a suburban area, and yet I am surrounded by low-
income schools. And I see, number one, with those particular
children, they already have a higher rate--whether it is
asthma, whether it is diabetes.
And certainly, if you look at their parents, they have
higher rates of heart disease, diabetes--which, unfortunately,
leads to dialysis, which is costing this nation too much money
because it is all preventable.
And there are three nurses here in Congress. I am one of
them. We are trying to educate our members that it might cost a
little bit more in the beginning, but what it can cost--save
money in the future is a tremendous amount of money.
But more than that, we will have a healthy country. And if
you want to talk about homeland security, if our children are
healthy and our nation is healthy, we are more secure.
So we have already--you know, and you saw us talking back
and forth. We are looking at, again, things that we might not
be able to do in this particular committee, but hopefully we
could follow through and leave no child behind.
This committee is very dedicated to the children, and
everybody on this committee--and I have said this before--we
care about the issues. We are here because we want to be here.
So I thank you for your tolerance for us being late. I
thank you for your testimony. We will take it. We will use it.
And you have to remember one other thing. The wellness program
is only 1 year old, and that is--you know, in our time down
here, that is nothing.
So we can build upon it. We can make it better. And we have
all of you as resources. So give us time. We will keep building
on it. Hopefully, we will make this a better nation for all of
us. I thank you again.
Oh, yes, I have to say we adjourn the hearing.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Altmire follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Jason Altmire, a Representative in Congress
From the State of Pennsylvania
Thank you, Madam Chairwoman, for holding this important hearing
today on how we can best use School Wellness Programs to fight
childhood obesity.
I would like to extend a warm welcome to today's witnesses. I
appreciate all of you for taking the time to be here and look forward
to hearing from you.
Stopping the increasing rate of childhood obesity and improving our
entire nations health is an issue of great importance to me. This week
the House of Representatives passed H. Res 371, a resolution sponsored
by me recognizing the first week in May as National Physical Education
and Sports Week. The goal of this resolution is to bring increased
awareness about the importance of physical activity to all people but
in particular to children.
The lack of physical activity by our nation's young people is one
of the key factors that has contributed to the dramatic rise in
childhood obesity. It is recommended by the Center for Disease Control
that children and teenagers get at least 60 minutes of physical
activity a day. Currently, only 25% of children in this nation get at
least 20 minutes of physical activity a day. Clearly, we are falling
woefully short in terms of providing our nation's children with
opportunities to be physically active and the education that being
physically active is important.
School Wellness Programs provide an opportunity to fight childhood
obesity by providing increased opportunity for physical activity as
well as by helping students develop other healthy habits. Today, I look
forward to hearing how these plans can be used more effectively to
reduce childhood obesity.
Thank you again, Madam Chairwomen, for having this important
hearing and for your support of my efforts in this area. I yield back
the balance of my time.
______
[Additional materials submitted by Mrs. McCarthy follow:]
Prepared Statement of Kathy Cloninger, President & CEO, Girl Scouts of
the USA
Girl Scouts of the USA respectfully submits this testimony to the
Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities of the House Education
and Labor Committee.
Introduction
Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) is the world's preeminent
organization dedicated solely to girls, serving 2.9 million girl
members in every corner of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the
Virgin Islands. GSUSA has a long standing commitment to the well-being
of girls and continues to be an authority on their healthy growth and
development. With over 60 badges related to healthy living and a
historic emphasis on health in the Girl Scout experience, girls are
educated and empowered to take action to strengthen their physical and
emotional health and positively impact their communities and the world.
Our original research report released earlier this year entitled
The New Normal? What Girls Say About Healthy Living confirmed that
girls believe being healthy is not just about physical health, but also
emotional and social health. The report combined focus group research
with surveys of more than 2,000 eight- to 17-year-old girls. We learned
that teaching girls about making healthy decisions is about teaching
them how to decide, not about telling girls what to decide.
Through its long history, GSUSA has learned that comprehensive
approaches are the most effective in combating obesity and instilling
positive health choices in girls. Physical fitness must be combined
with good nutrition skills, a healthy body image and an overall healthy
lifestyle. Since adequate progress is not being made to ensure our
young people live healthy lives and we believe all sectors must be
involved in developing solutions, GSUSA is looking for opportunities to
assist Congress in improving how we as a country promote the health of
young people, especially girls. In order to best meet the needs of
girls and youth, GSUSA recommends the following principles on healthy
living:
1. Policy solutions should embrace a holistic definition of health
rather than focusing on a single aspect of children's health.
2. Community based organizations that serve youth should be seen as
vital partners in developing solutions in the area of health. Schools
cannot address this crisis alone.
GSUSA urges this committee to consider these principles when making
all decisions impacting young people. These principles are especially
relevant to the debate on No Child Left Behind (NCLB), and NCLB
provides a prime opportunity to positively impact the health of all
girls. GSUSA is seeking other legislative developments through which to
recommend these principles. The expansion of the local school wellness
policies is one such development that could be revised to positively
impact the health of youth.
Request to Expand Local School Wellness Policies
Under the No Child Left Behind reauthorization, the Safe Schools/
Healthy Students Initiative could be revised to include an incentive to
schools to revisit and refine their school wellness plans. Schools
should be urged to make more comprehensive wellness plans and utilize
the resources of outside community partners. Activities related to
establishing and implementing a local wellness policy would be eligible
for funding from this discretionary grant program.
Childhood obesity is a multi-faceted problem that must be viewed by
communities on various levels. Since children spend much of their day
in school, nutrition standards and the amount of time children engage
in physical activity are two areas that deserve special attention, but
they must not be the only areas under consideration.
Conclusion
Girl Scouts is a powerful community building tool and we seek to be
a part of the solution to promoting healthy living in your important
work ahead. GSUSA would like to thank this committee for its
willingness to examine this important issue.
______
Prepared Statement of Howell Wechsler, Ed.D, MPH, Director, Division of
Adolescent and School Health, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, thank you for the
opportunity to provide this Statement for the Record for today's
hearing on using school wellness plans to fight childhood obesity. I am
Dr. Howell Wechsler, Director of the Division of Adolescent and School
Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). My statement discusses
what we know about the implementation of local school wellness policies
mandated by the Child Nutrition and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
Reauthorization Act of 2004, along with complementary school-based
efforts to address obesity among children and adolescents.
Analyzing the Early Stages of Local Wellness Policies
The mandate required local educational agencies, usually school
districts that participate in federally-funded school meal programs, to
have wellness policies in place by the beginning of the 2006-2007
school year. It is still much too early to draw conclusions about the
effectiveness of the law in spurring the adoption of scientifically
sound and effective policies or, more importantly, in leading to the
actual establishment of health promoting school environments. A number
of data collection efforts and research studies are under way, but it
will be some time before they are completed and published. In the
meantime, I will share with you the limited information we do have
about the adoption of school wellness policies.
Two national non-profit organizations--Action for Healthy Kids
(AFHK) and the School Nutrition Association (SNA)--are dedicated to
protecting and promoting the health of the nation's youth. These
organizations have conducted analyses of wellness policy adoption
during this school year. AFHK analyzed wellness policy adoption and
content in 112 urban, suburban, and rural school districts, and SNA
looked at the 100 largest school districts in the Nation. From these
two analyses, it appears that the overwhelming majority of school
districts have indeed adopted wellness policies as the law requires and
that the policies they have adopted do include most but not all of the
components required by the law. That is they address: 1) goals for
nutrition education, physical activity, and other wellness activities;
2) nutrition guidelines for all foods and beverages outside of school
meals; 3) guidelines for school meals that are no less restrictive than
federal requirements; 4) a plan for measuring implementation of local
wellness policy, including designation of a coordinator; and, 5)
involvement from parents, students, community members, and others. The
law does not specify what the policies need to say, only that they need
to address these issues.
These two early analyses did show that some district policies are
lacking some of the components required by the law. For example, AFHK
found that many of the policies they analyzed lacked timeframes and
measurable objectives to evaluate; 40 percent of the policies did not
specify who was responsible for implementation. In addition, some
policies do not address some of the more recognized components of a
comprehensive school-based approach to wellness promotion and obesity
prevention. For example, the SNA found that about half of the policies
they analyzed did not include a requirement for recess in elementary
schools, which can provide children with opportunities for physical
activity.
The analyses found a range of approaches to policy content. In the
SNA analysis, 37 percent of the districts had a broad policy with no
procedures for implementation included, while 35 percent included some
specific procedures, and 26 percent included a great deal of
specificity about procedures for implementation. This range of
specificity is not surprising, because school boards tend to vary
substantially in the degree of specificity of their policies on other
educational issues as well. The wellness policies ranged in length from
less than one page to 20 pages, with the average length of a policy
being five pages.
All in all, it seems that the wellness policy adoption process is
off to a good start, though many school districts could certainly
benefit from further technical assistance on policy development.
Wellness policy adoption is clearly feasible for school districts. It
is also clear that a great many school districts have engaged in
thoughtful and diligent processes to craft policies that are consistent
with the science-based recommendations that CDC, the US Department of
Agriculture (USDA), other federal agencies, and trusted scientific
organizations such as the Institute of Medicine have established. AFHK
has a local wellness policy database on its website that highlights
policies from school districts across the nation, and a number of
states have developed similar online databases of thoughtful policies
from school districts in their states.
Research in the Field
The most rigorous and comprehensive analysis of wellness policies
to date is currently being conducted by university researchers with
funding support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). This
study will analyze the content of wellness policies in a nationally
representative sample of 585 school districts. Findings should be
available sometime in 2008. RWJF is also supporting several other
studies that will yield additional information on the impact of
wellness policies and effective strategies for promoting policy
implementation.
USDA is currently supporting the Wellness Policy Demonstration
Project, which is analyzing wellness policy adoption and implementation
in California, Iowa, and Pennsylvania to: 1) assess local wellness
policy activities in selected school districts; 2) document the process
used by these school districts to develop, implement, and measure
policy implementation; 3) document changes resulting from policy
adoption in the school physical activity and nutrition environment;
and, 4) assess the types of technical assistance necessary to help
school districts implement and evaluate a local wellness policy.
Findings from this three year study won't be available until 2009.
We have received many positive reports that strong policies have
been effectively implemented in some school districts, but it will be
some time before we know the magnitude of change in school policies and
practices. For example, CDC's School Health Profiles survey collects
data on physical activity and nutrition policies and practices in
schools across participating states and cities. CDC conducts this
survey every other year, and it will be conducted again in 2008 with
final data available in 2009.
State Actions
The wellness policy law makes no mention of a role for state
agencies in promoting school wellness policies; however, the law has
had a profound effect in stimulating action by states to help school
districts adopt and implement scientifically sound wellness policies.
For example, at least 40 states have produced policy guidance documents
and resources to aid local education agencies in creating wellness
policies, and state agencies in at least 18 states disseminate their
own model wellness policies. At least nine states have passed laws or
adopted regulations that reference the wellness policies required by
the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization of 2004 and establish
content requirements that go beyond those required by the federal
government.
Many states have gone beyond issues of policy content to address
the critical challenge of how to ensure that scientifically sound
policies that are adopted by school boards actually get implemented in
schools. At least 15 state legislatures or state boards of education
have adopted requirements intended to strengthen policy evaluation and
accountability, including mandating that school districts report to the
state on policy implementation and requiring ongoing local level
accountability for implementation of wellness policies.
Strong actions have been taken in the 23 states that CDC supports
to implement coordinated school health programs that promote physical
activity and healthy eating. For example, Arkansas, Rhode Island, and
South Carolina have integrated local wellness policies into their
general accountability system. Arkansas' Consolidated School
Improvement Plan requires each district to incorporate a Wellness
Priority into each of their School Improvement Plans. Rhode Island
mandates that each school district establish a district-wide
coordinated school health and wellness subcommittee that is responsible
for the development of policies, strategies, and implementation plans
that meet the requirements of the Child Nutrition and WIC
Reauthorization Act of 2004. South Carolina requires each school
district to establish and maintain a Coordinated School Health Advisory
Council (CSHAC), charged with implementing and monitoring health
policies and programs, including the district wellness policy.
Districts must collaborate with the CSHAC to develop a school health
improvement plan that addresses strategies for improving student
nutrition, health, and physical activity and is integrated into the
district's five-year strategic improvement plan.
Many of these state-level efforts were stimulated by the January
2006 School Wellness Policy Institute in Atlanta, sponsored by CDC in
collaboration with the USDA and the National Governor's Association.
This meeting brought together teams of education and health agency
officials and representatives of governors' offices from 44 states to
develop collaborative efforts to meet the technical assistance needs of
school districts in their states related to wellness policy adoption
and implementation.
State agency professionals who lead school physical activity and
nutrition programs tell me that the local wellness policy requirements
have been a very positive development. I have also heard from many
school health professionals, as well as from principals,
superintendents, and school board members, who tell me the local
wellness policy requirement was the tipping point for their district,
the decisive factor that prompted educational policy makers to help
schools strongly and consistently promote healthy eating and physical
activity.
Evidence Base for Effective Strategies and Tools for Implementation
The local school wellness policy law builds upon strong progress
achieved in recent years in developing an evidence base that describes
the policies and practices schools can implement to effectively promote
physical activity and healthy eating. CDC has reviewed the research
literature and consulted with leading researchers and practitioners to
identify 10 critical strategies: http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/
keystrategies/index.htm.
Address physical activity and nutrition through a
Coordinated School Health Program (CSHP).
Designate a school health coordinator and maintain an
active school health council.
Assess the school's health policies and programs and
develop a plan for improvements.
Strengthen the school's nutrition and physical activity
policies.
Implement a high-quality health promotion program for
school staff.
Implement a high-quality course of study in health
education.
Implement a high-quality course of study in physical
education
Increase opportunities for students to engage in physical
activity.
Implement a quality school meals program.
Ensure that students have appealing, healthy choices in
foods and beverages offered outside of the school meals program.
In addition, CDC and other federal agencies have, in recent years,
developed a strong product line of technical assistance tools that
support wellness policy implementation by empowering schools and school
districts with guidance on how to effectively implement these
recommended policies and practices. These tools include:
CDC's School Health Index (SHI), a self-assessment and
planning tool that enables schools to identify the strengths and
weaknesses of their health promotion policies and programs, and use
those findings to develop an action plan for improving student health;
Fit Healthy and Ready to Learn, a school health policy
guide developed with CDC support by the National Association of State
Boards of Education, that provides education policymakers and
administrators with sample physical activity and nutrition policies and
information to support the policies;
CDC's Physical Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (PECAT),
which enables educators to evaluate and improve physical education
curricula based on the extent to which the curricula align with the
National Standards for Physical Education developed by the National
Association of Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) guidelines and best
practices for quality physical education programs;
CDC's Building a Healthier Future Through School Health
Programs, which describes promising practices that states should
consider when planning school-based policies and programs to help young
people avoid behaviors that increase their risk for obesity; and
Making It Happen: School Nutrition Success Stories,
developed by CDC and USDA in partnership the U.S. Department of
Education, describes six key strategies used to improve the nutritional
quality of foods and beverages offered on school campuses and
highlights 32 schools or school districts that have implemented
important improvements in the quality of their nutritional environment.
CDC also provided support to the Institute of Medicine of the
National Academies to carry out a Congressionally-mandated study to
develop scientifically sound guidance on what foods and beverages
should be offered and sold at schools. The study focused on identifying
nutritional standards for ``competitive'' foods; these are foods and
beverages sold at school in competition with the nutritious meals
offered through the federal school lunch and breakfast program. The IOM
report, Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools: Leading the Way
toward Healthier Youth, was released in April 2007 and emphasizes the
importance of offering healthful snack foods and drinks, such as
fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and nonfat or low-fat dairy products,
that are consistent with the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans
(DGA).
In addition, the USDA supports efforts to improve school nutrition
through its Team Nutrition program and dissemination of a tremendous
variety of high quality technical assistance resources. Many federal
agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Food and
Drug Administration (FDA), and the President's Council on Physical
Fitness and Sports, have developed and disseminate high quality health
curricula, instructional materials, and after school programs for
elementary and secondary schools.
Challenges Remain
In recent years CDC has helped to develop a much stronger knowledge
base on what constitutes effective policies and practices schools can
implement to help students develop and maintain physically active and
nutritionally sound lifestyles. We have translated that knowledge into
effective tools that make it easier for schools to implement these
policies and practices. At the federal and state levels, our greatest
challenge continues to be the dissemination of this knowledge and these
tools into the more than 14,000 public school districts, and over
120,000 schools across our Nation. At CDC our primary vehicle for
dissemination is the support we provide to state education and health
agencies to deliver the scientifically sound training, technical
assistance, and supportive state policies that local school districts
and schools urgently need.
Another vehicle for dissemination is Secretary Leavitt's Adolescent
Health Promotion Initiative which aims to create a national culture of
wellness that helps young people take responsibility for personal
health through actions such as regular physical activity, healthy
eating, and injury prevention. The School Health Index is central to
this initiative and will enable schools to assess their policies and
programs and develop action plans for improvement. After developing
action plans that include specific research-tested strategies schools
will be able to apply to their State Education Agency for a School
Culture of Wellness Grant. These grants will support the implementation
of HHS-developed tools relevant to the school wellness improvements
featured in their action plans.
At a time when schools are relentlessly focused on student
achievement so they can ensure no child is left behind, it is important
to remember that wellness policies can help students be healthy and
ready to learn. In fact, a growing number of educators have come to
realize that strong school wellness policies can enhance academic
performance, as well as critical health outcomes. The Association for
Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) asserts that decisions
about education policy and practice should begin with strategies that
are comprehensive in nature. ASCD is working to recast the definition
of a successful learner from one whose achievement is measured solely
by academic tests, to one who is knowledgeable, emotionally and
physically healthy, civically inspired, engaged in the arts, prepared
for work and economic self-sufficiency, and ready for the world beyond
formal schooling. The Council of Chief State School Officers and the
Association of State and Territorial Health Officials affirm that
policies and programs built through a coordinated approach to school
health will make a significant contribution not only to individual
students, but also to entire communities, and that these initiatives
will clearly demonstrate that healthy kids make better students and
better students make healthy communities. The National Association of
State Boards of Education maintains that coordinated school health
programs can help young people achieve higher standards of health and
learning through improving health knowledge, attitudes, skills, and
behaviors, and improving health education and social outcomes.
With the requirement for wellness policies and the work of the CDC-
funded state programs in coordinated school health, CDC has seen a
growing number of educators who appreciate the important role of health
and wellness in the mission of our schools. As a nation, we have a long
way to go and many critical barriers to overcome, but some important
progress is being made. I recently had the privilege of visiting a
school in Wisconsin that had just been named the winner of the
Governor's School Health Award, which recognizes and celebrates schools
with policies, programs, and the infrastructure to support and promote
healthy eating; physical activity; alcohol-, tobacco-, and drug-free
lifestyles; and parental and community involvement. In the previous two
years, they had adopted a strong wellness program that included more
time for students to engage in physical activity, enhanced nutrition
education efforts for students and their families, and distribution of
fruits and vegetables as snacks during the school day. I asked the
principal of this school how he could justify spending so much time and
resources on wellness when he, along with all principals, was under
great pressure to improve the academic performance so critical to
students' future success. ``I have no doubt,'' he replied, ``that these
measures we've taken to promote physical activity and nutrition will
help our students' academic performance. And, besides, it's good for
the kids.''
______
Prepared Statement of Monica Garrett, Sr. Manager, US Corporate
Responsibility, NikeGO Programs
Chairperson Rep. McCarthy and other distinguished Members of the
Committee, thank you for the opportunity to address the important role
public-private partnerships play in tackling this issue. The severity
of this epidemic and its impact on our children's future requires new
thinking and new approaches. This hearing presents a unique opportunity
for schools and communities to develop and implement real solutions to
promote increased physical activity, reduce and prevent unhealthy
weight in children, and improve nutritional choices in schools.
Like all of you, we at Nike are very concerned about the current
epidemic of youth inactivity among children in the United States. It is
a troubling fact that as a result of inactivity and diet, today parents
have a longer life expectancy than their children. As the world's
leading sports and fitness company, we are passionate about finding a
solution to this national health crisis and are proud to bring the
commitment of Nike to work with you and others on this issue.
The Challenge
Today, physical inactivity plays a major role in fueling this
national epidemic that that threatens our youth. Health professionals
agree that kids should take part in a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate
to vigorous physical activity daily. Only one in four U.S. public
school students attends regular P.E. classes. A recent study conducted
by the CDC found that less than one in 10 elementary schools and
roughly one in 20 junior and senior high schools provide daily P.E. all
year in all grades.
We know the benefits of regular physical activity. Children who are
physically active:
reduce their risk of cancer and their vulnerability to
depression, anxiety and low self-esteem;
are more likely to graduate from high school;
are less likely to use drugs;
are less likely to have an unwanted pregnancy;
are less likely to join gangs; and
are less likely to develop an eating disorder.
Nike's Response
In many ways, Nike's own thinking and approach toward addressing
this national epidemic are very similar. Nike has a long history of
supporting sport and physical activity programs. But six years ago, as
we began to get a better understanding of the scope and scale of this
health problem, we raised the stakes. We started by talking to experts
in the field about the root causes and cures, and the role Nike could
play in helping to address the issue. We evaluated the most effective
programs that address youth inactivity and unhealthy weight. We looked
for innovative and creative approaches that address youth physical
inactivity from all directions and at all stages of childhood.
As a sports and fitness company, we know firsthand the value that
daily physical activity can offer--both to kids and adults. And we
recognize that through the power of our brand, we are in an excellent
position to help tackle this issue. But we realize that as passionate
as we are about getting kids active, we simply can't do this alone.
That is why we created a long-term, multi-stakeholder initiative to
address youth inactivity called NikeGO. We have partnered with
organizations whose expertise brings greater impact to the programs we
build for inactive kids and the parents, teachers and coaches who
influence their behavior. And we are using this same partnership
strategy with the advocacy efforts we launch regionally and nationally
to drive policy-level changes on this issue and I would like to talk to
you about three NikeGO programs.
NIKEGO PE
Nationwide, kids are rapidly turning into the least physically fit
generation in history, which has implications for their health and
academic performance. In addition, many schools across the nation are
drastically reducing or eliminating physical education and physical
activity from their budgets. In 2003, to help address this problem,
Nike, in partnership with SPARK (Sports, Play, and Active Recreation
for Kids), launched NikeGO PE, a program designed to increase the
quality and quantity of physical activity in America's schools. SPARK
is a research-based organization (of San Diego State University and
Sportime, LLC, a member of the School Specialty Family of companies),
dedicated to creating, implementing, and evaluating programs that
promote lifelong wellness. SPARK strives to improve the health of
children and adolescents by disseminating evidence-based physical
activity and nutrition programs that provide curriculum, staff
development, follow-up support, and equipment to teachers of Pre-K
through 12th grade students.
Unfortunately, in many school districts across the country, the
role of the PE specialist has been eliminated or drastically reduced.
With recent national guidelines recommending that young people
accumulate at least 60 minutes of physical activity daily, having a
quality physical education program in every school should be a national
priority. Through NikeGO PE, Nike seeks to increase the quality and
quantity of PE in schools
NikeGO PE is part of the ``New P.E.,'' a movement where students no
longer stand on the sidelines or in line waiting for a turn to play.
All kids get the same opportunities to participate, develop skills and
feel successful, and all kids are moving for the full 30 minutes.
NikeGO PE is an innovative physical education program designed to
increase the quality and quantity of physical activity in America's
schools with an end goal of improving children's activity levels.
NikeGO PE accomplishes this task by providing ``the essential
components'': curriculum, teacher training, equipment, and follow up
support to elementary PE specialists and classroom teachers. Classroom
teachers are involved because in many districts PE specialists see
students only once a week--insufficient frequency and duration to
achieve health benefits.
Since its inception in 2003, the program has been implemented in
more than 400 public schools, reaching more than 75,000 students. The
program is available in six US cities: Akron, Chicago, Los Angeles, New
York, Memphis and Portland.
Reuse-A-Shoe/Nike Grind
Nike Reuse-A-Shoe takes old, worn-out athletic shoes and other
footwear manufacturing materials, grinds it up into Nike Grind, and
then works with industry leading sports surfacing companies to use Nike
Grind in high quality sports and play surfaces. Many of these fields,
courts, tracks and playgrounds are already installed in top sports
facilities around the world. Then as part of its community investment
strategy, donations are made by Nike to bring some of these surfaces to
communities where new facilities are really needed and kids can enjoy
the many physical and social benefits of play and sport. Since 1993,
Nike has contributed to more than 250 surfaces around the world and
recycled nearly 20 million pairs of athletic shoes.
Reuse-A-Shoe is an integral part of Nike's long-term commitment to
promote healthier lifestyles for kids through physical activity. Kids
win because many of these sports surfaces are donated in communities
where they wouldn't otherwise have access to high-performance sports
surfaces. It's also a win for the environment, as thousands of pairs of
athletic shoes are diverted from landfills and kids learn about the
need to protect the Earth's resources in an exciting and inspirational
way. On May 11, 2007 in Washington D.C. at the Boys & Girls Club,
Clubhouse #11 in Anacostia, in partnership with the U.S. Soccer
Foundation, Nike will be dedicating a new mini soccer field made using
Nike Grind Rubber and you are all welcome to attend and encouraged to
visit.
Native American Diabetes Prevention Program and NikeGO in Indian
Country
Under the leadership of Indian Health Services, Nike Native
American community program helped forge a unique partnership with IHS,
with the signing of an important Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in
November of 2003. Nike and IHS signed the MOU to collaborate on a
promotion of healthy lifestyles and healthy choices for all American
Indian and Alaska Natives. The MOU is a voluntary collaboration between
business and government that aims to dramatically increase the amount
of health information available in American Indian and Alaska Native
communities. The goal of the MOU is to help those communities gain a
better understanding of the importance of exercise at any age,
particularly for those individuals with diabetes.
The MOU supports the President of the United States' ``Healthier
U.S. Initiative,'' the Secretary of Health & Human Services'
Preventative Initiative ``Steps to a Healthier U.S.'' and the Indian
Health Services' ``Health Promotion/Disease Prevention Initiative.''
Nike stands by the words of co-founder Bill Bowerman who said that
if you have a body, you are an athlete. Applying this thinking in
conjunction with the goal of the MOU and through deeper understanding
in working with the IHS, Nike is developing an innovative new shoe that
offers increased comfort and a new fit, uniquely designed for Native
Americans. Nike's goal with this product is to encourage and motivate
these citizens to exercise and maintain their physical fitness by
providing comfortable, appropriate athletic footwear. The shoe is still
in development and will be offered through limited distribution to
qualified Native American Business partners.
Nike's U.S. Community Affairs program has also partnered with
several national stakeholders and government officials to introduce the
NikeGO on Native Lands. Through this pilot program, NikeGO provides a
culturally relevant physical activity curriculum, training, equipment
and incentives, all designed to help Native American youth ages 8-15
discover the joy of movement and the fun of physical activity. Since
2004, NikeGO on Native Lands has expanded to include grants to 67 Boys
and Girls Clubs on Indian Reservation across 20 states. Fifteen of
those grants were awarded this year. Last year, Nike donated more than
$1 million in product to support this program.
Closing
By inspiring, enabling, and encouraging kids to be physically
active, Nike has an opportunity to shape kids lives now, and help them
form positive habits and attitudes that last a lifetime. This
opportunity can be realized in traditional ways--through products that
perform well, images that show movement and athleticism--and through
innovative community affairs programs that provide the resources,
facilities, gear and coaching that kid's need. Through reaching out to
partners in the corporate, nonprofit and government arenas, we can help
kids make changes and choices that remove obstacles between young
people and physical activity. If we do, we can all help kids lead
physically healthier lives and leave a legacy of strong mental, social
and physical health. We thank you for your leadership on this issue and
look forward to working with you.
______
Prepared Statement of the School Nutrition Association
Madam Chairwoman, Members of the Committee, the School Nutrition
Association (SNA) appreciates this hearing and your interest in a major
public heath challenge: childhood obesity. As we all know, the cause of
the problem is complex and there is no easy solution. It will take a
multi-disciplinary approach and full a court press on many fronts.
Our 55,000 SNA members serve over 30 million school lunches a day,
plus almost 10 million breakfasts. Our members are, literally, on the
front line in the fight against childhood obesity. We are also at the
forefront of child nutrition policy.
In 1994, SNA urged the Congress to require all schools to
follow the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Since the 1983 Court of Appeals decision in National Soft
Drink Association v. Block, SNA has urged the Congress to expand the
``time and place'' rule so that the Secretary would have the legal
authority to regulate the sale of all foods and beverages sold in
school, throughout the day and the entire campus. Under current law, as
interpreted by the court decision, the Secretary only has authority to
regulate foods sold in the cafeteria as a part of the school meal
program.
Studies indicate that the school meal program has improved greatly
and does follow the Dietary Guidelines. In fact, the meals are more
nutritious than they appear, so children will eat them. A few of the
many examples of the improvements schools are making include:
1. The use of low fat cheese and whole-wheat flour in pizza.
2. ``Fried'' chicken with whole grain breading and French Fries
that are baked.
3. Hamburg patties that are mixed with soy, or fruit to cut the
fat.
4. Wide use of salad bars, ``shaker'' salads and fruit and yogurt
parfaits.
5. More fresh fruits and vegetables served.
6. More training for employees on healthy food preparation
techniques.
7. Products from manufacturers processed to contain lower fat,
sodium, and sugars while still meeting the ``student acceptance'' test.
Nonetheless, as the IOM report, and other studies indicate, we must
do more. Further, the effort must be consistent throughout the country
and we must practice what we preach. It is not enough to teach
nutrition education and have nutritious reimbursable meals if the foods
sold outside of the cafeteria are sending a different message.
SNA supports several specific actions that we believe would help in
the fight against childhood obesity.
First, we urge the Congress to reactivate the Nutrition Education
Program. Nutrition Education has gone from an entitlement program to an
authorized program without any funding.
Second, we urge the Congress to expand the time and place rule as
called for in the Child Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch Protection
Act of 2007 pending in both the House and Senate.
Third, we ask that whatever nutrition rules are adopted by the
Secretary, after a public rulemaking period, are implemented
nationwide. Our goal is one single uniform national nutrition standard
for all foods and beverages sold in school during the entire day.
In recent years, many States and local school boards, despite the
best intentions, have gone off in very different directions regarding
how to implement the Dietary Guidelines. Some states are concerned
about sodium, and some are more concerned about fat. Some jurisdictions
average the nutrients over a week, while some require administrators to
follow the Dietary Guidelines on a daily basis.
In America, we have a wonderful tradition of deferring to local
jurisdictions on education. However, children need the same nutrients
whether they live in New York, California or South Dakota.
Allowing every State and local jurisdiction to each interpret the
Dietary Guidelines differently is creating a very practical problem. As
you know, the federal reimbursement rate for each meal served is very
limited. The diversity in standards is driving up costs significantly.
If this trend continues it will force schools out of the federal
program and then there will not be any nutrition standard in that
school.
We are urging the Congress to require USDA to establish one uniform
national standard for all meals. USDA should then be required to
enforce that standard. States or local communities that want to deviate
from the federal standard should have to seek a waiver based on sound
science.
The ideas we have shared here today will not, of course, solve the
obesity epidemic in America. While the role of parents should not be
ignored, schools have an important role to play. The current generation
of children has been identified as having the greatest obstacles to
overcome regarding obesity and diabetes. However, they are not the
first generation to overcome such obstacles as their parents before
them are a part of the ``super size'' generation.
Recent research from Ohio State concluded that children gain weight
during the summer and lose or maintain weight during the school year
when they have access to healthy school meals and organized physical
activity. We now need to educate children and parents as to proper
portion and caloric intake. Children are eating more and more of their
meals at school as society changes and both parent's work outside the
home. In addition, we must recognize the important role schools play in
nutrition education and incorporate greater physical education. I am
referring to both the formal role we play by what is taught in the
classroom and the example set by what foods and beverages we allow to
be served and placed in the vending machines.
We hope you will agree that the time to act is now. Thank you very
much.
For more information, please contact:
Cathy Schuchart, SVP, Child Nutrition and Policy Center, SNA, 703-
739-3900, ext. 113 or [email protected]
attachments
1. Proposed Amendment: National Nutrition Standards for School
Meals
2. Correspondence from Industry Members Supporting a National
Nutrition Standard
3. A Foundation for the Future: Analysis of Local Wellness Policies
from the 100 Largest School Districts (October 2006)
4. A Foundation for the Future II: Analysis of Local Wellness
Policies from 140 School Districts in 49 States (December 2006)
______
PROPOSED AMENDMENT
National Nutrition Standards for School Meals
Section 9 (f) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act
is amended by adding----
1. A new subsection (3) (A) (iii) as follows:
``(iii) enforce the current nutritional requirements in order to
implement the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and Recommended Daily
Allowances in a uniform manner for all meals provided under this Act,
averaged over each week; and''
2. A new subsection (6) as follows:
``(6) WAIVER OF NATIONAL NUTRITION STANDARDS.----
Effective upon enactment, notwithstanding any other provision of
law, in order for a state or local school foodservice authority to
deviate from the nutrition standards established by the Secretary, the
state or local food service authority must seek a waiver from the
Secretary.''
richard b. russell national school lunch act
Sec. 9
SEC. 9. (f)
(1) NUTRITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.--Except as provided in paragraph (2),
not later than the first day of the 1996-1997 school year, schools that
are participating in the school lunch or school breakfast program shall
serve lunches and breakfasts under the program that----
(A) are consistent with the goals of the most recent Dietary
Guidelines for Americans published under section 301 of the National
Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5341);
and
(B) provide, on the average over each week, at least----
(i) with respect to school lunches, 1/3 of the daily recommended
dietary allowance established by the Food and Nutrition Board of the
National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences; and
(ii) with respect to school breakfasts, 1/4 of the daily
recommended dietary allowance established by the Food and Nutrition
Board of the National Research Council of the National Academy of
Sciences.
(2) State educational agencies may grant waivers from the
requirements of paragraph (1) subject to criteria established by the
appropriate State education agency. The waivers shall not permit
schools to implement the requirements later than July 1, 1998, or a
later date determined by the Secretary.
(3) To assist schools in meeting the requirements of this
subsection, the Secretary----
(A) shall----
(i) develop, and provide to schools, standardized recipes, menu
cycles, and food product specification and preparation techniques; and
(ii) provide to schools information regarding nutrient standard
menu planning, assisted nutrient standard menu planning, and food-based
menu systems; and
(iii) enforce the current nutritional requirements in order to
implement the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and Recommended Daily
Allowances in a uniform manner for all meals provided under this Act,
averaged over each week; and
(B) may provide to schools information regarding other approaches,
as determined by the Secretary.
(4) USE OF ANY REASONABLE APPROACH.----
(A) IN GENERAL.--A school food service authority may use any
reasonable approach, within guidelines established by the Secretary in
a timely manner, to meet the requirements of this subsection,
including----
(i) using the school nutrition meal pattern in effect for the 1994-
1995 school year; and
(ii) using any of the approaches described in paragraph (3).
(B) NUTRIENT ANALYSIS.--The Secretary may not require a school to
conduct or use a nutrient analysis to meet the requirements of this
subsection.
(5) WAIVER OF REQUIREMENT FOR WEIGHTED AVERAGES FOR NUTRIENT
ANALYSIS.--During the period pending on September 30, 2009, the
Secretary shall not require the use of weighted averages for nutrient
analysis of menu items and foods offered or served as part of a meal
offered or served under the school lunch program under this Act or the
school breakfast program under section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of
1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773).
(6) WAIVER OF NATIONAL NUTRITION STANDARDS.----
Effective upon enactment, notwithstanding any other provision of
law, in order for a state or local school foodservice authority to
deviate from the nutrition standards established by the Secretary, the
state or local food service authority must seek a waiver from the
Secretary.
______
A Foundation for the Future: Analysis of Local Wellness Policies from
the 100 Largest School Districts
Executive Summary
From Los Angeles to Miami, most of the nation's 100 largest school
districts by enrollment are requiring nutrition education, adding
recess and tightening nutrition standards. More than 92% of these
districts, which educate 23% of American students, have passed a local
wellness policy that addresses nutrition standards for a la carte foods
and beverages, according to new analysis conducted by the School
Nutrition Association (SNA).
School nutrition professionals continue to play leadership roles in
the ongoing trend toward healthy school environments and the
development of mandated local wellness policies. Section 204 of the
Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 required that all
school districts that participate in the National School Lunch Program
approve a local wellness policy by July 1, 2006. The law mandates that
these policies include goals for nutrition education, physical activity
and other school-based activities, as well as nutrition guidelines for
all foods and beverages available on school campuses.
A Foundation for the Future outlines key characteristics of local
wellness policies approved by the largest 100 school districts by
enrollment in the United States. According to the National Center for
Education Statistics, the top 100 school districts make up less than 1%
of the school districts in the nation but account for 16% of the
schools, 21% of the teachers and 23% of the nation's K-12 students.*
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Dalton, B., Sable, J., and Hoffman, L. (2006). Characteristics of
the 100 Largest Public Elementary and Secondary School Districts in the
United States: 2003-04 (NCES 2006-329). U.S. Department of Education.
Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Among the key findings, of the local wellness policies approved by
the top 100 school districts are the following:
99% address school meal nutrition standards. (Note that
the U.S. Department of Agriculture has set federal nutrition standards
for meals served through the National School Lunch Program and School
Breakfast Program.)
93% address nutrition standards for a la carte foods and
beverages.
92% address nutrition standards for foods and beverages
available in vending machines.
65% address nutrition standards/guidelines for fundraisers
held during school hours.
63% address nutrition standards/guidelines for classroom
celebrations or parties.
65% address nutrition standards/guidelines for teachers
using foods as rewards in the classroom.
50% of school districts address a recess requirement for
at least elementary grade levels.
96% require physical activity for at least some grade
levels.
97% require nutrition education for at least some grade
levels.
95% outlined a plan for implementation and evaluation,
utilizing the superintendent, school nutrition director or wellness
policy task force as the entity responsible for monitoring the policy.
______
A Foundation for the Future II: Analysis of Local Wellness Policies
from 140 School Districts in 49 States
Executive Summary
During 2006 the nation's school boards approved local wellness
policies that require nutrition education, add recess and tighten
nutrition standards for foods and beverages available in schools.
School nutrition professionals continue to play leadership roles in the
ongoing trend toward healthy school environments and the development
and implementation of mandated local wellness policies. Section 204 of
the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 required that
all school districts that participate in the National School Lunch
Program approve a local wellness policy by July 1, 2006. The law
mandates that these policies include goals for nutrition education,
physical activity and other school-based activities, as well as
nutrition guidelines for all foods and beverages available on school
campuses.
A Foundation for the Future II outlines key characteristics of
local wellness policies approved by a sample of 140 school districts in
seven regions of the United States. These districts account for 3.5% of
the nation's K-12 students. This report follows the release in October
2006 by SNA of an analysis of the local wellness policies approved for
the 100 largest school districts by enrollment.
Among the key findings of this second report on the local wellness
policies approved by 140 school districts in 49 states:
98.6% address school meal nutrition standards. (Note that
the U.S. Department of Agriculture has set federal nutrition standards
for meals served through the National School Lunch Program and School
Breakfast Program.)
88.6% address nutrition standards for a la carte foods and
beverages.
87% address nutrition standards for foods and beverages
available in vending machines.
69% address nutrition standards/guidelines for fundraisers
held during school hours.
65.7% address nutrition standards/guidelines for classroom
celebrations or parties.
55% address nutrition standards/guidelines for teachers
using food as rewards in the classroom.
72.5% of school districts address a recess requirement for
at least elementary grade levels.
91.7% require physical activity for at least some grade
levels.
95% require nutrition education for at least some grade
levels.
89% outlined a plan for implementation and evaluation,
utilizing the superintendent, school nutrition director or wellness
policy task force as the entity responsible for monitoring the policy.
______
[Whereupon, at 5:21 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]