More Resources Press Release

Thank you for having us here today. I am excited to be at North Ridge Elementary to announce the new 2004 Carol M. White Physical Education Program grants, also known as PEP grants. The programs that began here in Wake County in 2003 with a PEP grant represent the kinds of comprehensive health and physical education programs that best illustrate the PEP program. The Wake County initiatives help children to eat healthy and engage in physical activity. Teachers are also trained to support students in these endeavors.

I am pleased to announce that North Ridge Elementary has received another grant for this year, which will provide funding to continue and expand its excellent work.

Today America's children are threatened by a preventable epidemic: obesity. Millions of our K-12 students are out of shape; many are overweight or obese. And there are many reasons why: consumption of high-fat, high-calorie food, consumption of soda, lack of physical exercise, and too much time on the Play Station or watching television or hypnotized by computer games. When our children are unhealthy, they are not ready to learn.

Well, we can change this, and we must. President Bush has directed that our schools work to make children healthier through a new initiative. It is called "Schools for a Healthier U.S. Challenge." Today I am joining Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, Agriculture Secretary Anne Veneman, the surgeon general, and other senior health officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) to highlight the importance of this initiative. Each one of us is speaking today about involving all parents and teachers and students ... everyone in the community. We can make our schools more successful in educating the mind and shaping the body. We can educate our children and keep them healthy. And it only takes the right incentives, some common sense, and a resolute will to make this happen.

For example, parents and schools can present healthier choices for their children. Children need the healthiest possible meals for a balanced diet: low-fat, low-sugar, high-protein meals with vegetables and fruit, no soda, more water, fruit juice, or low-fat milk. Serve child-size portions. Present a variety of food. Parents should also be diligent about between-meal snacks. We need to use common sense and dietary information to construct a balanced diet for every child.

Children also need exercise. Parents need to schedule exercise at home for their children. A new report, using data from my Department, found that only 16 percent of kindergarten programs have daily PE. Almost 60 percent of kindergartners have PE only once or twice a week. Thirteen percent provide PE less than once a week. Some schools have no PE classes or time at all.

And surprisingly, PE is not available to many students from low-income or minority backgrounds. The report found that small schools and those with a high percentage of low-income or minority students are more likely than others to have no PE in kindergarten.

This is simply unacceptable. We commit a great disservice against our children when we ignore their physical well being and growth. Our children need to exercise, now! The CDCP recommends daily PE for all students grades K-12. That should be the standard for every school—PE for all students every day.

According to the CDCP, if we could simply provide an hour of PE each day, our students would become much healthier very rapidly. There are important studies of kindergarten and first-grade girls that are instructive. These studies found that expanding PE to at least five hours per week for girls in kindergarten could reduce the percentage of girls classified as overweight from 9.8 percent to 5.6 percent. A one-hour increase in PE per week leads to a 0.31-point drop in body mass weight among overweight and at-risk girls in first grade.

And for the children here today, you can help make America healthier. When you watch your diet and eat right, you become stronger. When you leave the computer and videos, and go outside to play, you will become healthier. And exercise should not interfere with your studies; you have time each day for both. You need to read passionately and conquer mathematics and science. If you can do all of this, you will have a world of opportunities before you.

Of course, information is one important tool for making our children healthier. So my Department, in conjunction with the Departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture, has produced a brochure titled Healthy Lifestyles: A Family Affair! Help Your Child Grow Up Healthy and Strong It will help parents and teachers understand their own roles in presenting healthy choices for students. It includes information about diet and exercise. It also has a schedule of activities to help build a healthy life. And because good nutrition doesn't have to be expensive, there is information about economical, healthy choices. There is also information about helpful publications and Web sites. I strongly recommend that every parent and teacher review this brochure.

I realize that some schools may benefit from additional resources. Let me give you an example of how the Carol White grant can be helpful. In Spokane, the school district there used a Carol White grant to initiate a comprehensive health and fitness curriculum, including programs to develop better food alternatives, measure heart rates, encourage physical exercise, better utilize fitness and wellness centers, and avoid risky behavior like tobacco, drug or alcohol use.

There is an old saying, "you are what you eat." I would add, you are what you do. We can all become healthier, happier, and more fit if we simply watch what we eat and exercise regularly. One important advantage to this program is that it will help our children become the vanguard of a new culture ... a culture that prizes good health, education, exercise, and good choices. It will be a culture of character, where we encourage each other to live responsibly and wisely. Our children can teach their parents and their teachers about good lifestyle choices. I hope parents and teachers are also ready to learn.

In matters of good health and exercise, we can all learn from each other. And by learning together, we can become healthier as a family, community, and nation.

Thank you.

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