ResearchManycomplicationscanoccurlaterinlifeduetochildhoodobesitysuchas:(1)• Type2Diabetes• Hypertension• MetabolicSyndrome• Cardiovasculardisease• Higherstressrisk

Thereisanincreasednumberofchildrenwhoareoverweightandobesewhenattendingschoolswhoofferfoodsthatcontain:(3)

• Emptycalories• Addedsugar• Highfat• Lowfiber

Schoolsshouldfocusonadding:(4,5)

• Fruitsandvegetables• Wholegrains• Breakfast• Morephysicaleducation

Manystudentscurrentlylacknutritionknowledge.Inaddition,childrenarenotparticipatinginnutrition-relatedactivitiessuchas:(6)

• Gardening• Choosinghealthyfoods• Recycling• Composting

CombatingChildhoodObesityThroughNutritionBasedEducationJosieManspergerandCourtneyMosler

IntroductionWorldwide,approximatelyonethirdofadolescentsage2-19yearsoldareclassifiedaseitheroverweightorobese(1).ChildrenandadolescentswhohaveaBMIatorabovethe85th percentileandbelowthe95th percentileforchildrenoftheirsameageandsexareconsideredoverweight(2).Inthesamerespect,childrenandadolescentswhohaveaBMIatorabovethe95th percentileforchildrenoftheirsameageandsexareconsideredobese(2).Childrenwhofallwithinthesecategoriestendtobeatahigherriskforadulthoodobesityandobesity-induceddiseases(1).

Nutritionandphysicalactivityplayacrucialroleinhealthychildhooddevelopment.Childrentypicallyenterschoolaroundagefive;therefore,schoolsplayanimportantroleinprovidingphysicalandnutritioneducationtopromotehealthiergrowth.Itiscriticalforschoolstoimplementnutritioneducationtocombatchildhoodobesity.Propernutritioneducationgiveschildrentheknowledgeandtoolstheyneedtomakehealthychoicestohavethroughouttheirlife.

ExperienceDuetothelackofpublicpolicyregardingnutritioneducationinschools,anutritioncourseshouldbeexecutedinallschoolsystems(7).Nutritioncoursesshouldbetaughtbyanutritionprofessional.Coursesshouldbeofferedatleastonceaweekforanentireacademicsemester.Implementationofnutritioncoursesinschoolshavebeenshowntoincreasestudentnutritionknowledge,academicperformance,andpromotehealthierlifestylehabits(5,8).

SeventhgradestudentsatChristtheKingSchoolinToledo,Ohiocurrentlyhave:

• Nonutritioncourse• Cateredlunches• AccesstoclassroomChromebooks

Anutritionclasswasofferedforthesestudentstolearnabouthownutritioncanimpacttheirlife.Pre- andpost-tests(2weeksposteducation)wereusedtoassessknowledgegained.

Areasofeducationincludetheimportanceof:

• Breakfast• PhysicalActivity• FruitsandVegetables• WholeGrains

Parents,guardians,andteacherswhoarethechildren’ssupportsystemneedtounderstandtheimpactnutritionhasonhealth(9).Waystoeducatesupportsystem:

• Providehandouts• Holda”NutritionNight”onceperacademicsemester• Mandatoryquarterlyfacultymeeting• Promotequarterlynutritionrotations

• Physicalactivity,fruitsandvegetables,wholegrains,mentalhealthpositivity,etc.

SummaryIthasbeenshownthatwhenchildrenareeducatedonnutrition,theyaremorelikelytoleadahealthierlifestyle(4).Resultsofpre-testwillmostlikelyshow:

• Highsugarconsumption• Highfatconsumption• Lowfruitandvegetableintake• Highscreentime• Adequate– lowphysicalactivity• Adequatebreakfastconsumption• Moderatestress• Moreboughtlunchesthanpacked

Resultsofpost-testwillmostlikelyshow:• Somethingnewlearned• Increasedconsumptionoffruitsandvegetables• Increasedbreakfastconsumption

PracticalApplicationWhatcanbedonetopromotenutritioneducationinschoolssothatchildhoodandadolescentobesityratesdecline?Hereareafewactionsthatcanbetaken:

• Contactyourlocallegislatorstoadvocateforanutritioncoursetoimplementinschoolsystems.

• Take10minutestogospeakwithsomeonetodayaboutwhynutritionissoimportant

• Volunteertohelpserveschoollunches• Promotechildrentotakethefruitsandvegetables

• Talkwithyourparentsorchildrenaboutnutritionrelatedtopics

• Promotechildrentopackhealthylunchesasopposedtobuyinglunchesatschool

• Reducescreentimeforallageswhilepromotingphysicalactivity

• Haveagoodcopingmechanismwhenstressedinsteadofturningtofood

• Physicalactivity• Coloring• Talkingwithafriend• Listentomusic• Writeinajournal

Summary

Research

Introduction Experience

PracticalApplication