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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Sandra B. Sherman, MS, EdM, EdD, The Food Trust, 1201 Chestnut Street, 4th fl., Philadelphia, PA 19107, 215-568-0830 Ext.12, sbsherm@msn.com
The percentage of young people who are overweight has doubled since 1980. The prevalence of children nationwide who are overweight has more than tripled in children aged 6 to 11 (from 4 to 13 percent) and more than doubled in children aged 12-19 (from 6 to 14 percent). In response to these high obesity rates, the Comprehensive School Nutrition Policy Task Force, a Philadelphia-based group, is working toward the adoption of a comprehensive school nutrition policy for the School District of Philadelphia. This proposed policy has the potential to positively change eating habits, behavioral outcomes and ultimately the incidence of obesity among school children. The school nutrition policy was adapted from CDC’s guidelines and includes: insuring that all foods sold and served in the schools are consistent with the specified guidelines, conducting 10 hours of nutrition education training for teachers, integrating 50 hours of nutrition education as part of an interdisciplinary, integrated curriculum, initiating a social marketing campaign to reinforce messages about health eating, involving family members and the community in promoting healthy eating. The policy is being piloted in four schools (K-5, K-8, 6-8, and 9-12). A process and outcome evaluation is being conducted to examine the extent to which the policy has been adopted and the goals and objectives have been met. This session will discuss the development of the Task Force, development and implementation of the policy, available evaluation data, and barriers and opportunities to changing the school environment to reduce the incidence of childhood obesity.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: School-Based Programs, Public Health Policy
Related Web page: www.philanuted.net
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.