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Tennessee Schools Making Efforts to Prevent Childhood Obesity
Tennessee is using student body mass index (BMI) data to evaluate current efforts to address childhood obesity and better target future interventions, the Daily News Journal reports. Last school year, the state began requiring that schools perform BMI evaluations of students in kindergarten, second, fourth, sixth and ninth grades. The BMI data are collected by the Office of Coordinated School Health. According to data on more than 5,000 students attending Murfreesboro City Schools, 38.1 percent of students are overweight or obese, a decline of 3 percent from the previous school year. To help reduce childhood obesity rates, the state requires that students engage in 90 minutes of physical activity per week, and school cafeterias are required to offer a greater number of healthy food choices. In addition, several schools are implementing the Take 10! program, which teaches elementary school teachers how to incorporate physical activity into classroom instruction. For example, students may count jumping jacks to learn math concepts. Meanwhile, to improve nutrition, three Murfreesboro City Schools are participating in a program that provides fresh fruits and vegetables, while 11 county schools are involved in a program that offers students free refills on fruits and vegetables under the Coordinated School Health programs. Education officials note that carving out more time for physical activity and offering more nutritious food options can not only help reduce childhood obesity, but may also help improve academic performance (Gunn, Daily News Journal, 10/22/09).