Minnesota Curbs Childhood Obesity Rate With Health Initiatives

Posted July 5, 2012 | By csponline

America’s children face serious growing pains: the growth of their waistlines. According to the 2007 National Survey of Children’s Health, an average of 31.6 percent ofthe nation’s youth are classified as overweight or obese. Many states throughout the country see much higher rates of childhood obesity in their own school yards. A state-by-state breakdown shows Mississippi with the highest rate of overweight or obese children in America at nearly 44.4 percent, while Minnesota and Utah have a relatively low rate in comparison at 23.1 percent. These startling nationwide statistics show a generation at risk and a need for action at the local level. While Minnesota is ahead of the curve in lowering the risk for childhood obesity, the state still has room for improvement.

The Cost of Childhood Obesity in America

The effects of obesity resonate throughout children’s lives. From social problems to major health risks, obesity has many serious and immediate effects on a children’s wellness, including:

Increased likelihood of exhibiting cardiovascular disease risk factors, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure

Increased likelihood of prediabetes

Increased risk for bone and joint problems

Increased risk for sleep apnea

Increased risk for low self-esteem or distorted body image issues

Unfortunately, these health concerns often follow obese children well into their adult years. Most obese children grow up to become obese adults who face major health risks that grow in severity and scope as they age. These health risks are frightening. Overweight adults are more prone to heart disease; type 2 diabetes; stroke; osteoarthritis; some types of cancer, such as breast, colon, kidney, pancreas, gall bladder, thyroid and prostate; and even death. Unhealthy weight gain causes more than 300,000 deaths in the United States each year. Obesity costs all taxpayers regardless of their weight. New projections estimate that the annual health care cost of obesity-related ailments totals nearly $200 billion, which doubles earlier estimates. Higher taxes filter costs down to taxpayers to support Medicaid and higher health insurance premiums for all Americans. The average person pays a high price for the nation’s obesity epidemic. Addressing the nation’s weight issues will save taxpayers money and potentially save their lives.

Minnesota Moving to Help Kids Get Healthy

Curbing childhood obesity promotes healthier individuals, workplaces and communities in Minnesota. The state has started educating children at a young age about the importance of lifelong wellness through healthy lifestyle decisions. At the state level, Minnesota has adopted the National Standards for Physical Education (NSPE), which every school district must adopt by the 2012 – 2013 school year. Many school districts have already implemented the NSPE health initiatives due to 2003 legislation that required all school districts to adopt some form of local standards for health and physical education; however, this recent push raises the standard of physical education in schools across the state. These new standards should bring health and physical education to the forefront of curriculum. Minnesota is also creating other statewide health and wellness initiatives. The Minnesota Department of Education has created a recess advisory council to develop quality recess guidelines and encourage children to move. The state is also initiating a Healthy Kids Reward Program to identify and reward participating schools that encourage healthy eating and physical activity while at school. These and similar efforts have helped Minnesota curb the obesity epidemic facing today’s youth.

Minnesota Schools Joining Healthy Schools Program

Motivating children to move and eat healthily does more than help control their waistlines. Research has shown both nutrition and physical activity can directly impact students’ level of academic achievement by helping students’ concentration, attendance and classroom performance. To this end, 65 Minnesota schools have signed on with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s Healthy Schools Program (HSP). The state launched HSP in 2006 to address physical activity and nutrition for students and staff members. The program works with each school’s individual needs to establish an action plan that promotes healthy behaviors. HSP offers resources to participating schools to encourage better lifestyle choices and overall health and wellness. The American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation founded the Alliance for a Healthier Generation in 2005 in reaction to the dramatic increase in childhood obesity across the country. The Alliance seeks to reduce the rate of childhood obesity significantly by 2015 through various initiatives, including HSP. A grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funds HSP.

A Minnesota School District Making Smart Choices

Many Minnesota school districts are taking charge of their students’ health on their own. Dakota County, located in southeastern Minnesota, is committed to the health and wellness of its students. In early 2009, 43 schools in five of the county’s school districts kicked off the healthy eating initiative known as Smart Choices. Smart Choices was born out of a survey of Minnesota students that found only about one in five students had eaten the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables the previous day. The county designed Smart Choices to help spark healthy eating habits and positive lifestyle choices to encourage total wellness. Today, Smart Choices reaches children in more than 90 schools throughout Dakota County.

How Smart Choices Works

Smart Choices focuses primarily on providing students and staff members with healthy food choices. When districts sign up, Smart Choices assesses them to identify their current food environment and determine areas for improvement. Each school then creates ways to increase access to healthy foods, such as fruits and vegetables, and reduce access to less healthy food choices, including sodas, creating a positive food environment for students and staff. Smart Choices receives funding through Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota’s Prevention Minnesota initiative and the Minnesota Department of Health’s Statewide Health Improvement Program.

A Generation Changing Shape

An increasingly sedentary lifestyle and poor eating habits have created a generation that is out of shape and at risk for serious health problems that have a lasting impact. Statistics show that one in three students in many states across the nation could be classified as overweight or obese. While childhood obesity is easy to recognize, it is much more difficult to treat. Many school districts simply do not have the resources to provide nutritious meals or snacks to students. Meanwhile, school districts throughout the nation are rapidly cutting recess and physical education programs as a misguided cost-saving measure in the nation’s school districts. However, the country’s overall health depends on a proactive approach to the obesity epidemic facing today’s children. Educators who want to impact the health and wellness of Minnesota’s youth should consider earning a Bachelor of Arts in Exercise Science from Concordia University, St. Paul. Offered fully online, the bachelor’s program offers a convenient way to earn additional qualifications and enhance your knowledge base and skill set so you can promote a healthier classroom and school.