To: Betsy DeVos
From: Summer Anderson
Date: January 16, 2020
RE: Federal Mandate for Changes in Schools to Address Childhood Obesity
Statement of Issue:
Pediatric obesity rates are rising, with over 9 million children over the age of 6 who are obese. Obesity prevalence was 13.9% in 2-5-year-olds, 18.4% in 6-11-year-olds, and 20.6% in 12-19-year-olds (Childhood Obesity, 2019). Childhood obesity is the biggest predictor of obesity status as an adult. Additionally, obesity in childhood is associated with cardiovascular disease risk factors, with 60% of overweight children having one risk factor already (Children’s Health, 2019).
- Schools are not mandated to teach health information directly focused on preventing obesity. The current school policies require addressing alcohol or drug use prevention, HIV prevention, infectious disease prevention, STD prevention, tobacco use prevention, violence prevention in elementary school, adding suicide prevention in middle schools. There is no clear mandate to teach obesity prevention or specific health promoting behaviors as it pertains to dietary habits (SHPPS, 2019).
- Only 24% of children get the recommended physical activity each day (Winterfeld 2013). The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) promotes school-based PE through funds to train teachers on how to incorporate physical activity breaks into class, putting PE or similar classes on report cards, and requiring that PE is an indicator of school quality. While this encourages every state to have some type of statewide standards for physical education or activity at school, the scope of each varies greatly—there are discrepancies in time standards, days physical education is offered, qualifications of instructors, and recess time for physical activity. In fact, the 2016 “Shape of the Nation” report showed that only Oregon and the District of Columbia meet national recommendations for weekly time in PE both in elementary and middle school (Physical Education). There are only federal recommendations for physical activity, including from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, rather than policy.
- Federal policies monitor food and nutrition provided by schools, but states can implement their own requirements. The federal policies from the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act requires increased availability of healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, but does not limit the school from providing unhealthy options as well (USDA, 2012). State standards vary greatly and need to be modified to further strengthen the federal policy.
Policy Options:
Given the broad scope of factors that impact childhood obesity and the range of methods to reduce it, a three-pronged approach to adjust specific aspects of the policies that currently exist is necessary. There needs to be policy implementation and change within school curriculum requirements for health education, physical activity standards within schools, and continued legislation promoting healthier choices in schools. I would recommend a federal mandate that consists of the following three points:
- The federal mandate would require schools to
implement curriculum directly focused on preventing obesity through teaching
things like reading nutrition labels, understanding dietary information, and
promoting healthy choices for students. This would require all schools to
implement updated school health policies specifically related to health
education and would mandate a required amount of time be allotted to do so. In 2016,
only 52.3% of schools had specified time requirements for middle school health
education and that has been steadily decreasing, when the need for it is
increasing (SHPPS, 2019). Support would be given by state legislation and
programs like the CDC, who are already working to promote similar programs.
- Advantages: A federal mandate would ensure that every school is adhering to the same minimum requirements in terms of educating students about their physical health and dietary choices as they relate to obesity. Already, there are policies in place at schools to cover critical topics—this would be adding obesity prevention. It would also promote the sharing of information with families and communities. Improving knowledge of health through programs like Project Healthy Schools has been shown to lead to improvements in total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, and triglyceride levels in students.
- Disadvantages: It is difficult to implement a broad program, and the curriculum would most likely not be standard—it may be too expensive to develop. This would leave the burden on states, and the implementation would vary greatly as each state enacted their own standards. Additionally, many may feel this takes more time away from traditional school curriculum subjects.
- The mandate would also cover a federal
requirement of physical activity standards rather than guidelines. Currently,
the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans from US Department of Health and
Human Services recommends 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity
daily for children, but it is only a recommendation (Winterfeld, 2013).
- Advantages: This would change the “guidelines” to requirements and would ensure that each child had at least 60 minutes of physical activity a day. The implementation could vary—physical education classes, after school physical activity programs, or even structured recess to promote high physical activity.
- Disadvantages: This may lead to increased burden on schools to provide an increased amount of physical activity instructors or use other teachers to do so when resources are scarcer. It would also require direct help from states and districts for implementation in schools.
- A requirement for states to implement nutrition
standards directly supporting and promoting the federal Healthy, Hunger Free
Kids Act. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act has allowed the USDA to make rules
for national school lunch program and school breakfast program, like
establishing nutrition standards for all foods. The act currently increases
federal reimbursements to schools who serve meals that meet the standards
(USDA, 2012). However, support is needed from state standards to strengthen
these federal standards.
- Advantages: States would be able to implement their own nutrition standards if they are directly in support of federal standards. This would strengthen the impact of the current act and directly impact the food provided to students at schools.
- Disadvantages: The USDA would need to expand guidance and support to states in meeting standards. There could also be variation among states that would be hard to monitor to ensure success in every state.
Policy Recommendation:
With continuously rising rates of childhood obesity, there is not one measure alone that will lead to its treatment and prevention. Reform on a national scale is necessary to ensure that all children and schools are working towards preventing obesity. State reform has been at the front of obesity-related policy interventions, but it can be extremely variable in the policies enacted (Chriqui, 2013). A federal mandate should be made to address childhood obesity through implementing health education specifically related to obesity, requiring standardized physical activity time, and demanding state legislation directly supporting current nutrition standards as it pertains to food provided in schools. Doing so would increase awareness of the issue and the need for obesity prevention, as well as work to teach and promote healthy habits in children that are directly affected. A federal option is necessary to ensure that every school is working towards obesity prevention and that every child is learning healthier habits in their schools.
Sources:
Childhood Obesity Facts. (2019, June 24). Retrieved from
https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html
Children’s Health Team. (2019, November 19). Obese Children Have Greater Risk for Adult
Heart Disease. Retrieved from https://health.clevelandclinic.org/obese-children-have-greater-risk-for-adult-heart-disease/
Chriqui, J. F. (2013, September). Obesity Prevention Policies in U.S. States and Localities:
Lessons from the Field. Retrieved from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3916087/#!po=10.7843
Final Rule: Nutrition Standards in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs.
(2012, January 26). Retrieved from https://www.fns.usda.gov/school-meals/fr-012612
Physical Education and Physical Activity in Schools. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://stateofchildhoodobesity.org/policy/physical-education/
School Health Policies and Practices Study (SHPPS). (2019, May 7). Retrieved from
https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/shpps/index.htm
Winterfeld, A., & Garcia, A. (2013, March 1). Childhood Obesity Legislation. Retrieved fromhttps://www.ncsl.org/research/health/childhood-obesity-legislation-2013.aspx#SN
