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Make a Difference: Key Strategies to Prevent Obesity
Build a Strong
Foundation
Strategies 1-4
Schools can build a strong foundation that will enable them to
effectively promote physical activity and healthy eating, as well as
other health-enhancing behaviors. The first four strategies help schools
develop a tailored approach that meets their specific, local needs and
interests; earn the support and commitment of the school community; use
the insights gained from scientific research; and emphasize teamwork and
collaboration to maximize effectiveness and efficiency.
1. Address physical activity and nutrition
through a Coordinated
School Health Program (CSHP).
Eight components that can strongly influence student health and learning are
involved in a typical CSHP. These components, including health education,
physical education, and school meals, already exist in most schools. CSHPs
focus on improving the quality of each of these components and expanding
collaboration among the people responsible for them. This coordination results
in a planned, organized, and comprehensive set of courses, services, policies,
and interventions that meet the health and safety needs of all students from
kindergarten through grade 12. CSHPs provide a systematic approach to
promoting student health and learning that emphasizes assessing programs and
policies; planning based on data, sound science, and analysis of gaps and
redundancies in school health programming; establishing goals; and evaluation.
-
health education
- physical education
- counseling, psychological and social services
- health services
- nutrition services
- healthy school environment
- parent/community involvement
- staff wellness
Health Is Academic: A
Guide to Coordinated School Health Programs.*
Developed by the Education Development Center with support from CDC and in
collaboration with more than 70 national organizations, this book describes how
the eight components of a CSHP can work together to support students and help
them acquire the knowledge and skills they need to become healthy, productive
adults. It includes CSHP implementation action steps for schools, districts,
state agencies, national organizations, colleges, and universities. Available at http://store.tcpress.com/0807737135.shtml#364.
2. Designate a school health coordinator
and maintain an active school health council.
Establishing
a school health council (SHC) is an effective way to achieve an enduring focus
on promoting physical activity and healthy eating. SHCs can help schools meet a
federal law passed in 2004 that requires all school districts that participate
in federally funded school meal programs to establish a local school wellness
policy through a process that involves parents, students, school
representatives, and the public.Comprising representatives from the home,
school, and community, SHCs establish goals for the school health program and
facilitate health programming in the school and between the school and
community. Guided by the SHC’s vision, a school health coordinator manages and
coordinates all school health policies, programs, activities, and resources.
SHCs have helped create lasting changes in school environments, such as the
adoption of nutrition standards, establishment of student and staff walking
programs, the provision of adequate class time for physical education and health
education, and the opening of school facilities for after-school physical
activity programs.
Promoting Healthy
Youth, Schools, and Communities: A Guide to Community-School Health Councils* [pdf
2.6Mb].
This how-to manual offers a practical, 5-step approach to planning, developing,
maintaining, and evaluating SHCs. It was developed by a number of CDC
partners—originally produced by the Iowa Department of Public Health, it was
adapted for use by the American Cancer Society in collaboration with the
American School Health Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the
National Center for Health Education.
 Effective School Health Advisory Councils: Moving from Policy to Action*
[pdf 3.3Mb].
This guide was developed by CDC’s partners at the North Carolina Department of
Public Instruction to help school district personnel and others develop new SHCs
or strengthen existing ones that can effectively support school health policies
and programs.
3. Assess the school's health policies and programs and develop plans for
improvement.
Self-assessment and planning provide structure to a coordinated school
health program in the way that a map provides guidance to a driver. The
self-assessment describes where the program is now, and the plan
provides the destination and directions to get there. A school health
plan is most likely to be effective when it is based on a systematic
analysis of existing policies and practices, guided by insights from
research, and developed by a school health council that includes
teachers, parents, school administrators, students, and the community.
 CDC’s
School Health Index (SHI). This easy-to-use self-assessment and planning tool enables school health
councils and others to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of their
school health policies, curricula, and services. The SHI features eight
self-assessment modules, each corresponding to one of the CSHP
components. Based on their self-assessment, school health teams identify
goals and create an action plan tailored for their school. Many schools
are incorporating these plans into their overall educational improvement
plans. The SHI can be completed using a paper or online version.
4. Strengthen the school's nutrition
and physical activity policies.
School policies can dictate how often students attend physical
education, which items go into school vending machines, which topics and
skills are taught in health education, which foods are served in the
cafeteria, and much more. School policies directly affect students’
opportunities for physical activity and healthy eating and can support
the implementation of all other strategies listed in this catalog.
 Fit, Healthy, Ready to Learn: A School Health Policy Guide (FHRTL).*
Developed by the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE)
with CDC support, this practical guide helps schools and local school
districts establish strong policies on physical activity, nutrition, and
other health issues in the context of a coordinated school health
program. FHRTL features sample policies that reflect best practice and
can be adapted to fit local circumstances; it also includes explanations
of the points addressed in the sample policies, and excerpts of actual
state and local policies.
NASBE also maintains a database of
state school health policies* that can serve as models for new policy
development.
Wellness Policy Guidance. Developed in collaboration with the CDC and the U.S. Department of
Education, this U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Web site provides
information on how to create, implement, and evaluate wellness policies
that meet the requirements of federal law.
Wellness Policy Tool.* Developed by Action for Healthy Kids in partnership with CDC and USDA,
this searchable online database consists of existing or model nutrition
and physical activity policies from states and districts around the
country. Schools can easily use language from policies in the database
to build local wellness policies.
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Links to non-Federal organizations are provided solely as a service to our users. Links do not constitute an endorsement of any organization by CDC or the Federal Government, and none should be inferred. The CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages found at this link.
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