COORDINATED DISTRICT HEALTH

Schools often frontline in obesity war

Photo by FRANK JOHNSON

Elaine Bischoff, far left, squirts some ketchup on her tray while Samantha Bishop grabs a banana from the lunch line at Bardstown Middle School. Despite government guidelines strictly regulating what is served to students, childhood obesity continues to be a problem across Kentucky and the United States.

By FRANK JOHNSON fjohnson@kystandard.com

The era of soda-filled vending machines on school campuses may be coming to an end, but local districts are continuing to battle against student populations growing in width instead of volume.

Administrators at the Nelson County and Bardstown school districts said they have implemented a number of changes in recent years in an effort to trim down waistlines, concentrating on increasing nutritional values in school meals and creating more opportunities and options for students to be active.

“It used to be, in the old days, you used to have snack machines that had candy bars and you’ve seen that whole overhaul,” Nelson County Schools superintendent Jan Lantz said.

A large part of this change is because of federal regulations governing minimums for nutritional content and maximums for fats and sugars, along with setting requirements for physical activity and health education.

However, a recent report by Mission Readiness, a nonprofit organization of retired military leaders, is calling on the U.S. Department of Education to take further steps. According to the group, it’s a matter of national security.

In a report released April 20, the group says 9 million young adults, 20 percent of all Americans 17-24 years old, are too overweight to join the military. As a culprit, Mission Readiness has targeted school lunches and is pushing Congress to enact legislation that would get rid of junk food at schools, pour more money into lunch programs and develop new ways to combat childhood obesity.  

However, while the legislative wrangling continues on the federal level, local school districts are making their own efforts to address this nationwide problem.

Changing trends in school lunches

A central front of school district’s efforts to combat obesity is the lunch line. Local school officials said they have made great strides in cutting out snacks and soda from vending machines and providing nutritional meals.

“The requirements are going to be even tighter soon. Childhood obesity is really a concern for everyone,” Nelson County food service director Charlotte Lewis said.

Lewis said she doesn’t think the contents of school lunches have really been a contributing factor, considering how closely regulated they are.

 “We are required to limit sodium, fat and sugars. We don’t have any deep fat fryers,” she said.

Lewis added that although the district still serves pizza, it is working on incorporating more grains into its menus. She said they are trying to make changes gradually to accommodate for kids already sensitive to what foods they like and which ones they don’t.

“Some of the kids have never had the whole grain, and they may not like it (at first),” she said. “But I think it’s like anything, you’ll like it once you get used to it.”

Fresh fruit is another item districts are increasingly trying to provide. Lewis said Nelson County is also baking and steaming more of its vegetables, a process which helps hold in the nutritional value.

Of course, items can also be purchased a la carte, allowing students to effectively build their own, potentially unhealthy, meals. Schools have attempted to tackle this problem in two ways.

First, the snacks themselves must meet set nutritional standards. Lewis said the maximum fat is 30 percent from calories and 10 percent saturated fat with sugar limited to 32 percent by weight and no more than 14 grams per serving.

Second, districts are trying to increase parent involvement in supervising what their kids are consuming. Programs such as Meal Payplus at Nelson County allow parents to track exactly what items their child has purchased, including meals and a la carte items.

“If you want to be sure you know what it is your child is eating, you can know it,” Lantz said.

More than meals

The efforts of local schools will always face an inherent limitation, one that has proven difficult to overcome. While the experience in the classroom and the cafeteria can be regulated and structured, districts have no control over a student’s habits once he or she leaves for the day.

“A lot of things they do here are negated when they go home,” Bardstown City Schools associate superintendent J.W. Mattingly said. “Once they leave here, all things are back in play.”

Despite these efforts to provide nutritional meals and limit sugar, fat and salt intake, obesity rates remain stubbornly high. Putting the right food on the lunch line is one thing, but helping students develop the healthy habits that carry on past the cafeteria is a more difficult task.

Mattingly said that’s why districts are increasingly turning to raising awareness as a primary tool for reducing childhood obesity.

 “We are hoping that if we keep it up and front in everybody’s mind — proper eating, exercise and adequate rest — we can have some influence that way,” he said.

For Bardstown, this means using school health councils to put on informational meetings and health fairs. It also continually works to develop a comprehensive health plan for the district, which includes healthier snacks in vending machines, an emphasis on the school breakfast program and body mass index screenings twice a year.

Mattingly said it also means trying to provide students with enough choices, in terms of nutrition and exercise, so that they can find healthy options they enjoy.

 “We can certainly help. The real key is teaching them a lifetime love (of exercise),” Bardstown City Schools Superintendent Brent Holsclaw said.

 Photo by FRANK JOHNSON

                                                                                         P.E. classes have long been a staple of school curricula, but local academic administrators say they are looking for more ways to incorporate activity into the classroom as well.

Another key component is introducing activity into the classroom. Holsclaw said at lower levels, teachers are encouraged to use structured playtime to combine physical actions with educational instruction.

To help give teachers ideas and coordinate their physical education program across grade levels, Mattingly said the district uses curriculum from SPARK, a company that creates research-based wellness programs for schools.

In the end, the growing epidemic of childhood obesity demands a combination of many individuals and organizations working together to successfully create a healthy future for the country’s children.

Editorial: Schools can help prevent suicide

By Kentucky Standard Editorial Board

Last week at a luncheon at Bardstown First Christian Church, educators were given first-hand information about the devastating impact teen suicide has on the lives of family and friends and the efforts that are being made to halt this rising phenomenon.  

States, Kentucky included, are starting to mandate training for teachers and school administrators, the second line of defense against the disturbingly high incidence of young people making the ultimate bad decision.  

The first line of defense against suicide, of course, is family and friends, but these are the very people who can be fooled into believing everything is going fine in the life of a teen because they do not want to think something as drastic as ending it all could be contemplated by a loved one. The schools thus can have a unique perspective and play an extremely valuable part in spotting tell-tale signs and helping head off a death.  

All of us live pressure cooker lives these days, but the added expectations we thrust onto immature young people has the potential to feed the hopelessness and depression that can lead to a tragedy. Statistics quoted at the luncheon were pretty unbelievable. Almost 15 percent of Kentucky high school students have seriously considered attempting suicide, more than 12 percent actually put together a plan and almost 9 percent made the attempt. The statistics for middle school students were not much better.  The luncheon theme was SOS “Signs of Suicide” and the red flags that constitute the signs should always be taken seriously.  

Here at the end of the first decade of the new century, there are more programs and resources than ever before available to offer help to troubled teens.

It is ironic that with such help available, the rate of young people taking their own lives is increasing. Part of the answer is alert and trusted adults. We hope those will be found at home, but it is clear that educators can and must play a large role in stemming this growing stain on society.

Editorial board members include:

• Jamie Sizemore, publisher

• Lisa Tolliver, editor

• Stephanie Hornback, news/photo editor

• Tom Isaac, PLG TV-13 news director.

Editorials published in The Kentucky Standard represent a consensus of the paper’s editorial board.

Keeping schools free of tragedy

Luncheon offers suicide prevention programs to local educators

By Frank Johnson

On Oct. 9, 2006, Bullet East High School principal David Marshall was enjoying a typical high school tradition, the annual powder puff game. As he watched the action on the field, an employee came up to him and delivered some devastating news.

One of his students, a junior named Rachael Neblett, had taken her own life.

In the fall of 2006, Neblett had walked into Marshall’s office with a stack of papers — printed e-mails full of increasingly disturbing threats. He then took what he thought was the necessary action, setting up escorts for her as she moved about the campus, so the news of her suicide shocked him to the core.

“I felt my knees buckle. What did we do wrong?” Marshall said. “I thought we were taking the right steps.”

Tragically, the suicide was just the first in a string of three that rocked Marshall’s district for the next two years.

Marshall was one of two speakers at a luncheon for local education administrators and other health workers Thursday at First Christian Church emphasizing the need for effective suicide prevention programs to prevent stories like his.

With new legislation requiring schools to have suicide prevention awareness programs in place by fall 2010, the state Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities is promoting an initiative called Signs of Suicide as an option. It offers free prevention toolkits to middle and high schools.

Statistics show the prevalence of suicide among youth is disturbingly high. According to the 2009 Kentucky Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 14.6 percent of Kentucky high school students seriously considered attempting suicide, 12.5 percent made a suicide plan and 8.8 percent actually tried. Middle school students are also affected, with 17.4 percent saying they have thought about killing themselves and 6.5 percent making the attempt.

Old Kentucky Home Middle School principal Ryan Clark was one of the many school leaders who attended. He said there have been no suicides in his six years at the institution but that the presentation stressed to him the importance of having a program in place.

“I feel pretty confident that we will be [implementing the Signs of Suicide] program,” he said.

The program teaches students how to identify the symptoms of depression and suicidality in themselves or their friends and encourages seeking help though the use of the Acknowledge, Care, Tell (ACT) techniques.

The luncheon used personal stories to convey the need for school districts to be properly prepared to prevent such tragedies or deal with them when they occur.

Marshall’s story continued six months after Neblett’s death with Kristin Settles, a student and friend of Neblett’s. A third suicide followed in the fall of 2007, this time a former Bullitt East Student who had transferred to another high school.

Marshall told the story of what his district had learned through these troubles, the measures and policies adopted and how eventually he realized that it was a problem facing not just his schools but also the whole state.

In general, Marshall recommended schools have a plan in place ahead of time, train their staff and train their students in suicide prevention techniques.

“Open up that awareness issue in your school. Students need to know it’s OK to say ‘I’m scared,’” he said.

The second speaker, youth suicide prevention coordinator Jan Ulrich, talked more specifically about the programs being offered the Kentucky Department for Behavior Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities.

“I urge you to make sure your school is not one of these schools that does not have a plan for this,” she said.

In addition to the mandated programs, legislation in the senate also requires school staff to have two hours of training in suicide prevention. In addition to helping students, the Signs of Suicide program also trains teachers in a technique called QPR — how to ask the questions about suicide, persuade someone to get help and refer them to specific help.

As the luncheon winded down and Ulrich closed her speech, she flipped to the last slide of her PowerPoint. It showed a young male basketball player in a Western Kentucky University uniform. Standing on the sidelines, his face held an expression of jubiliation, perhaps cheering on his fellow teammates, with the words “What does suicide look like?” hovering above the picture.

Ulrich then explained that it was a picture of her son, who shot and killed himself during his sophomore year of college.

“I do this to show you how it happens,” she said. “He had begun to develop the signs of depression and suicidal thoughts, signs that I would miss, his friends would miss, his coaches would miss, that everyone would miss.”

Two weeks later, Ulrich became involved in the field of suicide prevention. She finished by asking the assembled educators and health workers to look closely at the information and practices provided by the Signs of Suicide initiative rather than just let it become “another piece of paper.”

Resolving the Confidence Crisis

British educator Terri Apter notes that the ersatz sophistication adopted by tweens—typically, kids from ages 10 to 14—often misleads adults into thinking they are more able, confident, and grown up than they actually are. This media-fueled image of savvy early adolescence, often accepted unquestioningly by adults, doesn’t help matters when it comes to really supporting youngsters maturing into adulthood.

As they enter the tween years, children become aware of just how complex and difficult life can be in terms of academics, social interactions, and family. They can lose the confidence of a younger child, who accepts the slight ups and downs of his or her own abilities more readily. For tweens, the range of highs and lows in confidence and behavior is much wider because they feel the pressure of their own expectations and those of adults.

In the past, many experts recommended that we feed children who lack confidence, particularly in school, a constant diet of success. The experience of success, these experts believed, would convince children that they are successful individuals and give them the confidence to persist when things got difficult. Research has shown, however, that praise and success do not increase young people’s ability to persist when the problems they face become more complex.

But if students believe that they have succeeded because of their own hard work, concentration, and practice, they will believe that future successes or failures are within their control. The belief that their own efforts lead to improvement and achievement helps young people persist in difficult tasks, Apter writes. For example, a student unhappy with an art project should be allowed to verbalize what she likes or doesn’t like about her work and encouraged by the teacher to follow through on improvements.

Apter concludes:

We need to give tweens the message that they may sometimes fail, that they will face difficult tasks ahead, but that they can overcome difficulties with practice, with dedication, and sometimes with a parent’s or teacher’s help. We may have to remind ourselves that our rapidly growing children, who may be adept at disguising their self-doubt and dependency, continue to need our support to put forth the persistent efforts that will shape them into the adults they hope to become.

Nurturing Healthy Brains

Nurturing Healthy Brains

Patricia Gilmour

Ask school-age youngsters what they couldn’t live without, and they will most likely refer to some kind of 21st century technology—an iPod, text messaging, or video games. Ironically, enjoyment of modern-day technologies occurs only through the biology of our long-evolving brains, which we are just beginning to understand.

We are bombarded every day with studies from the emerging field of neuroscience. The constant barrage can cause some educators to dismiss brain research as the next pop-culture fad. Even for believers, sifting through the enormous amount of information being generated can be daunting.

However, we must remember that brain change is the essence of the education profession. As Zull (2002, p. 5) reminds us, “Teaching is the art of changing the brain.” We owe it to our students to understand and implement evidence-based neuroscience applications that support healthy brains and optimize learning.

Where can we start? Not unlike coaches who assist athletes in daily drills to improve their performance, educators can support children’s cognitive function by helping them (and their parents) understand daily behaviors that support healthy brains. Fernando Gómez-Pinilla, a UCLA professor of neuroscience and physiological science, has made a career of studying the effects of behaviors on brains. He notes that diet, exercise, and sleep have the potential to alter our brain health and mental functions (Wolpert, 2008).

Garbage In, Garbage Out: Nutrition

Nutrition has serious implications for brains of all ages but especially for those in the early stages of development. Evidence suggests that attention to dietary input helps build not only healthy bodies for students but also healthy brains.

The human brain is undeniably the most complex and amazing organism on earth. However, it has a shortcoming: the brain has no mechanism for storing the fuel that it needs to function. Our brains depend totally on our consistent consumption of appropriate foods to manufacture their energy. Complex carbohydrates offer the brain a steady flow of glucose, its essential fuel. That’s why complex carbohydrates, such as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, should be the cornerstones of any diet.

But protein, long considered the centerpiece of the all-American meal, is essential as well. It is the basic building block of the brain’s tissue and helps in production of its transport molecules and chemical messengers, neurotransmitters. Low-fat dairy products, legumes, lean meats, and tofu are excellent sources of high-quality protein. But beware of some cuts of meat that can be high in fatty acids that are not so brain-healthy.

Speaking of fats, there are some good ones. Those highly touted omega-3 fatty acids that are so good for your heart are also good for your brain. They help build brain cell membranes and insulation for nerve fibers. The fats are found primarily in fish like mackerel, tuna, and salmon, but you can gain similar benefits by using linseed, canola, or walnut oils in food preparation. Stay away from high-heat cooking, however; it turns such oils into the dreaded trans-fatty acids health experts tell us to avoid.

The phrase “garbage in, garbage out” is borrowed from computer science. However, it appears to be true for brains as well. Brains function only as well as we feed them. The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 mandated that school districts and other federally funded child care programs revisit nutrition policies and practices. However, many local education agencies stopped short of including nutrition education in the school curriculum. This is a problem because children must learn from a young age that healthy food builds healthy brains.

No Pain, No Gain: Aerobic Exercise

“Inactivity is killing our brains.” That is the argument that John Ratey (2008) sets forth in his publication Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. Ratey maintains that the modern sedentary lifestyle of most American families contributes to not only obesity and related health conditions but also the shrinking of our cognitive hardware. If we truly want a better life for future generations, we need to get them off the couch.

Aerobic exercise actually changes our brain chemistry by elevating and balancing the neurotransmitters dopamine, serotonin, and adrenaline. This chemical mix results in a brain that is more alert, attentive, and ready to learn. Exercise research on children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is especially encouraging. In some case studies, students previously diagnosed with ADHD have discontinued prescribed medications after participating in daily exercise regimens.

Another group of brain chemicals called neurotrophins also plays a dominant role in brain function as a result of exercise. While neurotransmitters support the communication between brain cells, neurotrophins build cell infrastructure. One in particular, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), has been identified as a link between brain biology and learning. In human studies, researchers have established a relationship between increased levels of BDNF due to exercise and improved vocabulary recall. The body of evidence connecting exercise, cell growth, and increased cognitive function is robust enough that neuroscientists often refer to BDNF as “the brain’s Miracle-Gro.”

This research presents significant implications for education policy and practices. At a time when elementary recess is being eliminated or reduced and secondary physical education is most often an elective, educators need to rethink the benefits of the healthy body–healthy brain connection.

And it’s important to note that exercise means aerobic exercise—the heart-pounding, sweating, out-of-breath activity that many of us try our best to avoid. Very little supportive research is available regarding the effect of nonaerobic forms of exercise on cognitive function. In the meantime, let’s hedge our bets and get up out of our seats with our students. Our brains are depending on it.

Sleep Tight, Wake Bright: Golden Slumber

For the developing brain, nothing tops off a day of learning, healthy eating, and exercise like a good night’s sleep. However, the 2006 National Sleep Foundation poll tells us that 45 percent of teens surveyed reported getting less than eight hours of sleep on school nights. Worse yet, 90 percent of the parents surveyed thought their children were getting enough sleep. Herein lies the problem.

The sleeping brain has often been portrayed as inactive. Nothing could be further from the truth. Recent research suggests that sleep does something for the brain that our waking hours do not. Stickgold and Ellenbogen (2008) tell us that sleeping brains are very busy stabilizing, copying, and filing newly formed memories—what neuroscientists call “consolidation.” Our brain actually strengthens the previous day’s learning while we sleep by refiring newly created neural connections. The consequences of fitful sleep are significant for students.

Sadeh, Gruber, and Raviv (2003) conducted a sleep deprivation study involving elementary students. The researchers discovered that the loss of one hour of sleep on the night prior to testing resulted in a measurable average loss of two years of cognitive maturation and development. Other imaging studies on healthy adults demonstrate that people missing one night’s sleep had brain activity associated with mental illness.

The long-term repercussions of sleepless nights can be devastating. Researchers believe that the brain perceives lack of sleep as a threat to health and safety. It responds by releasing the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol plays an important role in the flight-or-fight response. However, when released over a longer period of time, it can actually damage the hippocampus, a region of the brain that is active during the acquisition of semantic knowledge, the kind of learning done in school.

So how do educators influence the sleep behaviors of our students? After all, this is one activity that is not generally supported in the school setting. We need to help families understand the influence of sleep on learning and general health. Our 24/7 culture has developed the attitude that sleep is discretionary time. Parents should understand that sleep is as important as, if not more important than, many waking activities. Not coincidentally, sleep researchers know that eating the right foods and engaging in aerobic exercise promote healthy sleep habits.

Nurturing Fragile Brains

This generation of school-age children is very fortunate, and not because of modern-day technology. This is the first generation of students to have access to research about their brains that can help them live longer, higher-quality lives. Educators have taught several generations of students about health-related issues like smoking and alcohol and substance abuse. Now we have an obligation to help the children of the 21st century nurture their fragile brains.

It’s our job as educators to engage students in experiences that result in physiological changes to their brains. This is not a responsibility to be taken lightly. I hope even those who cannot fully embrace neuroscience can agree that sound nutrition, exhilarating exercise, and a good night’s sleep create the conditions that support learning.

Effective instructional practices will always be the principles that define teaching and learning. But student achievement presupposes that the brains we are attempting to educate are healthy and ready to learn.

References

National Sleep Foundation. (2006). 2006 Sleep in America poll: Teens and sleep. Retrieved from http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/sleep-america-polls/2006-teens-and-sleep

Ratey, J. (2008). Spark: The revolutionary new science of exercise and the brain. New York: Little, Brown and Company.

Sadeh, A., Gruber, R., & Raviv, A. (2003). The effects of sleep restriction and extension on school-age children: What a difference an hour makes. Child Development, 74(2), 444–455.

Stickgold, R., & Ellenbogen, J. (2008, August/September). Quiet! Sleeping brain at work. Scientific American Mind, 23–27.

Wolpert, S. (2008, July 9). Scientists learn how what you eat affects your brain—and those of your kids. UCLA Newsroom. Retrieved from http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/scientists-learn-how-food-affects-52668.aspx

Zull, J. E. (2002). The art of changing the brain: Enriching the practice of teaching by exploring the biology of learning. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.

Availability of Less Nutritious Snack Foods and Beverages in Secondary Schools —Selected States, 2002–2008

Availability of Less Nutritious Snack Foods and Beverages in Secondary Schools —Selected States, 2002–2008

Foods and beverages offered or sold in schools outside of U.S. Department of Agriculture school meal programs are not subject to federal nutrition standards (1) and generally are of lower nutritional quality than foods and beverages served in the meal programs. To estimate changes in the percentage of schools in which students could not purchase less nutritious foods and beverages, CDC analyzed 2002–2008 survey data from its School Health Profiles for public secondary schools. This report summarizes the results of those analyses, which indicated that, during 2002–2008, the percentage of schools in which students could not purchase candy or salty snacks not low in fat increased in 37 of 40 states. From 2006 to 2008, the percentage of schools in which students could not purchase soda pop or fruit drinks that were not 100% juice increased in all 34 participating states. Despite these improvements, in 2008, the percentage of schools among states in which students could not purchase sports drinks ranged from 22.7% to 84.8% (state median: 43.7%), and the percentage in which students could not purchase soda pop ranged from 25.6% to 92.8% (state median: 62.9%). The percentage of schools in which students could not purchase candy or salty snacks also varied widely among states (range: 18.2%–88.2%, state median: 61.2%). School and public health officials should increase efforts to eliminate availability of less nutritious foods and beverages at school, as recommended by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) (2).

School Health Profiles surveys have been conducted biennially since 1994 to assess school health practices in the United States (3). States, territories, large urban school districts, and tribal governments participate in the surveys, either selecting systematic, equal-probability samples of their secondary schools* or selecting all public secondary schools within their jurisdiction. Self-administered questionnaires are sent to the principal and lead health education teacher at each selected school and returned to the agency conducting the survey. Principals (or their designees) are asked questions about foods available for purchase by students outside of the school meal programs in their schools.† Participation in School Health Profiles is confidential and voluntary. Follow-up telephone calls and written reminders are used to encourage participation. Data are included in this report only if the state provided appropriate documentation of methods and a school response rate of ≥70%. For states that use a sample-based method, results are weighted to reflect the likelihood of schools being selected and to adjust for differing patterns of nonresponse. For states that conduct a census, results are weighted to adjust for differing patterns of nonresponse.

This report includes data from 40 states§ that provided weighted Profiles data in 2008 and at least 1 other year during 2002–2006. For each of these states, a composite variable was created to measure the percentage of schools in which students could not purchase candy or salty snacks.¶ For 31 states with at least 3 years of weighted data, temporal changes during 2002–2008 were analyzed using logistic regression analyses that simultaneously assessed significant (p<0.05) linear and quadratic time effects.** For nine states†† with only 2 years of data, t-test analyses were used to test for significant (p<0.05) differences between years. For 34 states§§ that had weighted Profiles data in 2006 and 2008, the percentage of schools in which students could not purchase soda pop or sports drinks is reported.¶¶ Analysis by t-test was used to determine significant (p<0.05) differences between results from 2006 and 2008. Statistical software used for all analyses accounted for the sample design and unequal weights.

From 2002 to 2008, the percentage of schools in which students could not purchase candy or salty snacks increased in 37 of 40 states. Among the 31 states with at least 3 years of weighted data during 2002–2008, a significant linear increase in the percentage of secondary schools in which students could not purchase candy and salty snacks was detected in all states except Nebraska (Table 1). A significant quadratic trend also was detected in nine of these 31 states. The quadratic trends indicated that, except in Washington, the rate of increase was greatest from 2006 to 2008 and from 2004 to 2008. Among the 34 states with weighted data for both 2006 and 2008, the median percentage of schools in which students could not purchase candy or salty snacks increased from 45.7% in 2006 to 63.5% in 2008 (Table 1).

Compared with 2006, in 2008 the percentage of secondary schools in which students could not purchase soda pop was significantly higher in all 34 states, and the percentage of schools in which students could not purchase sports drinks was significantly higher in 23 states (Table 2). Among the 34 states in 2008, the percentage of schools in which students could not purchase soda pop (range: 25.6%–92.8%) or sports drinks (range: 22.7%–84.8%) varied widely. The median percentage of schools in which students could not purchase soda pop increased from 37.8% in 2006 to 62.9% in 2008, and the median percentage of schools in which students could not purchase sports drinks increased from 28.4% in 2006 to 43.7% in 2008.

Reported by: N Brener, PhD, T O’Toole, PhD, L Kann PhD, R Lowry, MD, H Wechsler EdD, Div of Adolescent and School Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC.

Editorial Note:

School food environments and practices that promote consumption of less nutritious foods and beverages are associated with poorer diets and higher body mass index among students (4). The findings in this report indicate that progress was made during 2002–2008 in increasing the percentage of secondary schools in which students cannot purchase less nutritious foods and beverages from vending machines at the school or from a school store, canteen, or snack bar.

This progress, however, has varied among states. For example, in Connecticut, Hawaii, and Maine, in more than 80% of schools students could not purchase candy and salty snacks in 2008; however, this was true in only 18.2% of schools in Utah. Similarly, in 92.8% of schools in Connecticut and 82.4% in Hawaii, but in only 25.6% of schools in Utah, students could not purchase soda pop in 2008. Although Connecticut and Hawaii had nutrition standards for foods sold outside of the school meal programs that specifically addressed calories, fat, saturated fat, trans fat, sugars, sodium, and nutrient content, Utah had no such standards at the time these data were collected. However, in July 2008, Utah enacted a revised policy setting nutrition standards (5). From 2006 to 2008, the largest increases in the percentage of schools in which students could not purchase candy, salty snacks, and soda pop were observed in Mississippi and Tennessee. These two states have been among those with the highest rates of adult obesity in the United States (6) but have now adopted statewide nutrition standards for foods in schools outside of school meal programs (7,8).

The findings in this report are subject to at least two limitations. First, these data apply only to public secondary schools and, therefore, do not reflect practices at private schools or elementary schools. Second, these data were self-reported by principals or their designees and the accuracy of their identification of the food products described in this report was not verified by other sources.

In response to growing concern over obesity, federal and state agencies and national nongovernmental organizations have continued to provide technical assistance to schools who seek to adopt and implement nutrition standards. From 2004 to 2009, the number of states with nutrition standards for foods outside of school meal programs increased from six to 27 (9). Despite these improvements, greater efforts are needed to ensure that all foods and beverages offered or sold outside of school meal programs meet nutrition standards, such as those recommended by IOM (2). Schools should implement nutrition standards that provide students with healthy choices throughout the school day and throughout the school campus.

Acknowledgments

The findings in this report are based, in part, on data collected by state School Health Profiles coordinators.

References

Schools Cut Back on Unhealthy Food

CDC Sees Improvement in Reducing Sale of Candy and Soda to Students

Oct. 5, 2009 — U.S. schools have cut back on certain “less nutritious” foods and drinks, and Mississippi and Tennessee are leading the way, the CDC reports.

The CDC today released new survey data on the percentage of students in public secondary schools who cannot buy candy, salty snacks, fruit drinks that aren’t 100% juice, sports drinks, and soda at school.

The percentage of students who couldn’t buy candy or salty snacks increased in 37 of the 40 states that participated in the survey.

When the survey started in 2002, about 46% of the students couldn’t buy those items at school. That percentage had grown to 64% in 2008.

The percentage of secondary school students who couldn’t buy soft drinks at school rose in all 34 states that tracked that from 2006 to 2008. And 23 of those same states also nixed sales of sports drinks to students during that time.

The CDC calls that “progress,” and notes that some states made more progress than others.

Mississippi and Tennessee — home to some of the nation’s highest rates of adult obesity — made the biggest gains in the percentage of secondary school students who can’t buy candy, salty snacks, and soft drinks at school.

Utah ranked lowest on the percentage of students who can’t buy candy or salty snacks at school. But that ranking doesn’t reflect Utah’s revisions to its school nutrition standards in 2008.

The findings appear in an “early release” edition of the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

CDC: Fewer schools selling candy, soda to students

By MIKE STOBBE (AP) – 22 hours ago

ATLANTA — Fewer U.S. high schools and middle schools are selling candy and salty snacks to students, the federal government said in a report released Monday.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report was based on a survey of public schools in 34 states that compared results from 2006 to 2008. The study did not report the total number of schools that have changed. Instead, it looked at the proportion of schools in each state.

It found that the median proportion of high schools and middle schools that sell the sugary or salty snacks dropped from 54 percent to 36 percent.

The share of schools that sell soda and artificial fruit drinks dropped from 62 percent to 37 percent.

The improvements were most dramatic in some Southern states. In Mississippi, the proportion selling soda dropped from 78 percent to 25 percent. In Tennessee, it dropped from 73 percent to 26 percent. Those two states also saw dramatic reductions in sales of candy and salty snacks.

The report marked a continued effort by health officials to combat childhood obesity.

“Efforts to improve the school nutrition environment are working and Mississippi and Tennessee are excellent examples of this progress,” Howell Wechsler, director of CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health, said in a statement.

American Heart Association officials celebrated the progress, attributing it to aggressive legislation and school policy changes in some states that they hope will get children and teens accustomed to healthier eating.

“What kids do in school in large measure dictates what they do away from school,” said Dr. Clyde Yancy, the association’s president.

• CDC report: http://www.cdc.gov/schoolhealthprofiles

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

A Fit Body Means a Fit Mind

by Vanessa Richardson

 Credit: Hugh D’Andrage

Forget the term “dumb jocks.” According to the latest research, that’s an oxymoron. New findings from biology and education research show that regular exercise benefits the brain in numerous ways. Not only can regular workouts in the gym or on the playground improve attention span, memory, and learning, they can also reduce stress and the effects of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and even delay cognitive decline in old age. In short, staying in shape can make you smarter.

“Memory retention and learning functions are all about brain cells actually changing, growing, and working better together,” says John J. Ratey, clinical associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and the author of Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. “Exercise creates the best environment for that process to occur.”

Although researchers aren’t exactly certain how exercise leads to better cognitive function, they are learning how it physically benefits the brain. For starters, aerobic exercise pumps more blood throughout the body, including to the brain. More blood means more oxygen and, therefore, better-nourished brain tissue. Exercise also spurs the brain to produce more of a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF, which Ratey calls “Miracle-Gro for the brain.” This powerful protein encourages brain cells to grow, interconnect, and communicate in new ways. Studies also suggest exercise plays a big part in the production of new brain cells, particularly in the dentate gyrus, a part of the brain heavily involved in learning and memory skills.

It wasn’t until recently that researchers turned their interest to children — in whom exercise may have more impact. The brain’s frontal lobe, thought to play a role in cognitive control, keeps growing throughout the school years, says Charles Hillman, associate professor of kinesiology and neuroscience at the University of Illinois. “Therefore, exercise could help ramp up the development of a child’s brain,” he says.

In a 2007 study published in the Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, Hillman put 259 Illinois third and fifth graders through standard physical education routines such as push-­ups and a timed run, and he measured their body mass. Then he checked their physical results against their math and reading scores on the Illinois Standards Achievement Test. “There was a relationship to academic performance,” says Hillman. “The more physical tests they passed, th­e better they scored on the achievement test.” The ef­fects appeared regard­less of gender and socioeconomic differences, so it seems that no matter his or her race or family income, the fitness of a child’s body and mind are tightly linked.

The bigger the dose of exercise, the more it can pay off in academic achievement. In a study published the same year in the Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, researchers found that children ages 7–11 who exercised for 40 minutes daily after school had greater academic improvement than same-aged kids who worked out for just 20 minutes.

Phillip Tomporowski, professor of exercise science at the University of Georgia, and one of the team members who conducted the study, says much of the research today seems to negate the old notion that recess sends kids back to class more hyper and rowdy. “It appears to be the other way around,” he says. “They go back to class less boisterous, more attentive, and better behaved compared with kids who have been sitting in chairs for hours on end.”

Hillman also tested that notion in a study published this year in Neuroscience and found that kids had more accurate responses on standardized tests when they were tested after moderate exercise, as opposed to being tested after 20 minutes of sitting still. His results lend support to the idea that just a single aerobic workout before class helps boost kids’ learning skills and attention spans.

Exercise in School

Naperville Central High School, in Naperville, Illinois, has put that idea into practice for nearly four years. It started when officials created learning-readiness PE in 2005, an early-morning class for 12 students who needed extra help with literacy skills. For 30 minutes, they rotated through different aerobic activities, wearing heart monitors to ensure that their heart rate was in the target zone of 160–190 beats per minute. Then they joined other students, who had not exercised, in a special literacy class. According to Paul Zientarski, the school’s instructional coordinator for physical education and health, students who took PE prior to class showed one and a quarter year’s growth on the standardized reading test after just one semester, while the exercise-free students gained just nine-tenths of a year.

He then used the same approach for math-troubled students, scheduling some in PE before an introductory algebra class. The results were even more dramatic; exercising students increased their math test scores by 20.4 percent, while the rest gained 3.9 percent. “It doesn’t matter if they work out in the morning or afternoon, just that they’re in the class right after PE,” says Zientarski. “It calms them down, it makes them more willing to learn, and they feel good about themselves.”

So, which types of exercise are best for brainpower? Hillman and other researchers tout aerobic and cardiovascular activities, such as running, swimming, and playground games. “In my studies, only cardiovascular exercise was related to higher academic performance,” he says.

Naperville also focuses on cardiovascular exercise. However, in addition to running sprints and jumping rope, students do juggling, gymnastics, and tumbling, which require concentration and provide positive stress to the brain, which helps learning.

PE on the Chopping Block

Zientarski’s program is an admired model for gym classes nationwide, and it’s all the more notable at a time when schools are cutting back on PE and reducing recess hours. In fact, Illinois is the only state that requires daily PE for all grades. “Others are working toward it, but it’s a huge challenge with budget restraints and No Child Left Behind,” says Shanna Goodman, communications manager for PE4life, a nonprofit organization in Kansas City, Missouri. Her organization has trained some 250 schools nationwide to create productive PE classes and recess activities.

One inner-city school in Kansas City, after implementing PE4life, boosted PE from one day to five days a week. In a year, cardio fitness scores shot up 200 percent, and the school saw a 59 percent decrease in disciplinary incidents. In rural areas, PE4life has helped schools such as Titusville Middle School, in Pennsylvania, incorporate activities including snow­shoeing, cross-country skiing, and skateboarding into PE.

Of course, teachers can reap rewards from exercise just as their students do. To manage body weight and prevent unhealthy weight gain, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise most days. Researchers believe that the more regular your exercise routine, the more long-term benefits your brain will get. So it’s important to keep working out regularly. Try your own 20-minute romp around the playground or gymnasium. A regular workout will make both you and your students feel like “smart jocks” for the rest of the school day.

Vanessa Richardson is a freelance writer in San Francisco.

This article was also published in the June 2009 issue of Edutopia magazine.

Ky.’s adult smoking rate drops but what about school-aged?

State no longer leads the nation

By Deborah Yetter
dyetter@courier-journal.com

For the first time in years, Kentucky no longer leads the nation in adult smoking, state public health officials said yesterday.

Kentucky now trails first-place West Virginia and Indiana, according to the latest numbers from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The rate of adult smoking in Kentucky dropped to 25.2 percent in 2008 from 28.3 percent the previous year, said Irene Centers, manager of the tobacco program with the Kentucky Department of Public Health.

“It’s very exciting,” she said. “I do hope we continue to see a downward trend.”

Centers said 2005’s increase in Kentucky’s cigarette tax from 3 cents a pack to 30 cents and the growing number of communities that ban smoking in public buildings might explain the drop in adult smoking.

Lawmakers this year raised Kentucky’s cigarette tax to 60 cents, which Centers said she hopes will discourage even more smokers. And 21 communities, including Louisville and Lexington, have public smoking restrictions.

The state didn’t fare so well on youth smoking, according to numbers from a separate state survey released yesterday.

While smoking among Kentucky’s middle school youths decreased slightly in 2008, it increased among high school students, based on the survey that compared youth smoking rates between 2006 and 2008.

Dr. William Hacker, Kentucky’s public health commissioner, yesterday said the survey results show the state is “moving in the right direction” to discourage youth smoking.

But advocates found that the slight decrease in middle school smoking is offset by a nearly identical increase in high school smokers and said it shows the state isn’t doing enough to educate youths about the health hazards of tobacco.

The survey found that 9.7 percent of middle school students smoked last year, compared with 12.1 percent in 2006. But it found 26.8 percent of high school students smoked in 2008, compared to 24.5 percent in 2006.

The state conducts the survey every two years.

“We’re not making any progress because we’re not doing things that work,” said Amy Barkley, with the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids.

Advocates say the state needs to put far more money into smoking prevention and cessation efforts and that lawmakers should raise the cigarette tax even higher — the best way, they say, to discourage youth smoking.

An anti-smoking coalition had lobbied this year for a cigarette tax increase of at least 70 cents a pack but lawmakers approved only 30 cents.

And Kentucky spends about $3.7 million a year on smoking prevention, a fraction of the $57 million a year the CDC says it should spend. Meanwhile, the tobacco industry spends far more on marketing, Barkley said.

“We’re outgunned,” she said.

But Centers noted smokers must now pay an additional 91 cents a pack because of the 30-cent state increase and this year’s federal cigarette tax increase of 61 cents.

Centers said calls to the state’s toll-free quit line — a free counseling service to help people stop smoking — jumped around the time of the April 1 tax increase.

Still, Kentucky has some of the nation’s highest rates of older youths and pregnant women who smoke — each with rates of about 27 percent — indicating the state must work harder to reduce smoking and improve health of its citizens, advocates said yesterday.

“We have a long way to go,” Barkley said. “We’re not doing enough.”

Reporter Deborah Yetter can be reached at (502) 582-4228.

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