Assesing the impact of the Healthy Schools Program: Preliminary findings

Schools have the potential to play a major role in preventing childhood obesity. They are in a prime position to promote improved nutrition and physical activity through the foods offered and the physical education programming provided, and by developing a school culture that values health education and promotes healthy behavior. The Healthy Schools Program (HSP) takes a comprehensive approach to addressing the issue of childhood obesity by helping schools improve access to healthier foods and increased opportunities for physical activity for students and staff. The HSP is an initiative of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a joint venture between the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation and funded primarily by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. To date nearly 1000 schools in 17 states have sought onsite support by enrolling in the program. The evaluation of the HSP is being conducted by RMC Research Corporation and is intended to help the Alliance and its partners understand how to better support schools with the implementation and maintenance of the intended policy and program changes and how the changes might affect behaviors related to childhood obesity. This presentation will provide: (1) an overview of the HSP; (2) an overview of the evaluation design; (3) a discussion of evaluation challenges; and (4) a review of baseline data that characterize the current state of schools' policies and action plans concerning nutrition and physical activity as well as students' current nutrition and physical activity behaviors and Body Mass Indexes.