CPPW Accelerates Nutrition and Physical Activity Changes to Improve School Environments

INTRODUCTION: Public Health Seattle & King County awarded CPPW funds to the seven school districts with the highest obesity-related health inequities in King County. METHODS: Districts address childhood obesity through improving nutrition and physical activity environments in schools by implementing policy, systems or environmental changes. Projects include systems changes to provide healthier (and when possible, more local) foods in school meals, engaging students in creating healthier school environments and transforming school culture through media campaigns, and digital menu boards displaying nutrition messages. Over 150 school food service staff will attend a new training course that teaches how to prepare whole food recipes for inclusion into school meals. A Farm to School program is being developed along with a toolkit and training plan for other districts. The Board of Health is developing nutrition guidelines that go beyond IOM and USDA standards by emphasizing whole and unprocessed foods and will provide a resource to King County schools. To increase access to physical activity, districts are implementing high quality physical education, Safe Routes to School, joint use agreements, and recess before lunch policies. RESULTS: We will describe the progress by school districts in implementing these policy and system change strategies, barriers they have encountered, and how these are being overcome. DISCUSSION: Schools are motivated to make policy, systems and environment changes to reduce childhood obesity. CPPW resources have greatly accelerated the change process through support of school districts, availability of technical assistance and integration into a broader healthy communities movement.