Health and School: What’s the connection?
With childhood obesity at the forefront of national concern, many people are asking, what role do our schools have in fighting this battle? It starts in a lot of places: with parents, teachers, coaches, and in the lunch rooms. This page offers links and resources for all those interested in helping our school create healthy citizens.
It’s a fact: healthier students learn better. At least half of a child’s daily calorie intake happens at school and children in Appalachia tend to weigh more and are at a higher risk of developing lifestyle related health problems. All these things taken together mean that schools are on the front line of preventing and reversing the childhood obesity trend
Healthy Lesson Plans
Re-think Your Drink: Be Sugar Savvy
Resources
Weight of the Nation: Children in Crisis (HBO)
Available streaming for FREE online is HBO’s acclaimed documentary Weight of the Nation. The third part in the series, Children in Crisis, shows the interaction between the school environment, health care providers, and the home in combating some of the contributors to childhood obesity. The movie presents practical ideas for schools like healthier lunch patterns and more active gym classes to be a part of the solution.
Lets Move! Resources for Schools
Let’s move is First Lady Michelle Obama’s initiative to fight childhood obesity. Resources for schools on this site include starting a school health team, planting a school garden, healthier school food policies and practices through the Healthier US School Challenge as well as ideas for incorporating nutrition and physical activity during the school day.
Healthier US School Challenge
The HUSSC provides standards for schools to work toward to promote healthier eating and physical activity during the school day. The website provides resources for cafeterias to assess ala carte items and build healthier school menus as well as training for school health teams to spark the effort to meet the Challenge criteria.
Action for Healthy Kids
Action for Healthy Kids is a national movement based on the idea that healthy students learn better. Their mission is to lead volunteer efforts to transform our schools with opportunities for students to live healthier lives. Action for Healthy Kids Resource Page has a searchable database of promotional materials (posters, flyers, worksheets) as well as webinars and access to tools like GameOn! to empower teachers, school health teams, and parents to make a difference
Visit OhioAFHK.org for information on how to get involved with a local team. AFHK teams are great resources, occasionally have grant funding for school available and do frequent training for school cooks and physical education teachers.
Exercise Makes you Smarter!
Attributed to OnlineCollegeCourses.com
