During the academic year, children spend nearly half their waking hours at school. Comprehensive school-based physical activity and nutrition programs can help students live healthier lives. For many children, schools provide their only access to healthy foods and a safe place for physical activity.
Active Living in Schools
Children and adolescents should spend 60 minutes a day being physically active. Comprehensive
school-based physical activity programs can help students meet most of their physical activity needs. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), physical activity can affect academic achievement. For example:
- Elementary school girls who participated in more physical education had better math and reading test scores than girls who had less time in physical education.
- Physical activity can help students improve concentration, memory, and classroom behavior.
Schools can improve physical activity by providing:
- Quality Physical Education
- Recess
- Physical Activity Breaks
- Intramural Sports
- Interscholastic Sports
- Walk and Bike-to-School Programs
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The following are evidence-based interventions that have been shown to improve physical activity in schools:
- Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs (CSPAP)
- Require Physical Education in Schools
- Screen Time Interventions for Children
- Safe Routes to School
- Extracurricular Activities for Physical Activity
- Walking School Buses
- Active Transport to School
- Strategies to Increase Healthy Eating and Physical Activity in Early Care and Education
- Obesity Prevention Standards in State Regulations of Licensed Childcare Facilities
Healthy Eating in Schools
For most American children and adolescents school is not only a place of learning, but also a place of eating. Many students participate in the school-lunch and school-breakfast programs. Schools are in a unique position to support nutritious eating and influence the eating habits of children. By offering healthier food and beverage options schools are empowering students to make healthy choices – a skill that will benefit students long after they graduate.
Schools can support healthy eating in the following ways:
- Develop, implement and evaluate healthy eating policies and practices
- Establish a school environment that supports healthy eating
- Provide a quality school meal plan
- Ensure students only have appealing, healthy food and beverage choices offered outside of meals
- Employ qualified individuals for health education and nutrition services
- Implement an education program providing students with the knowledge and skills needed to make healthy eating decisions
- Partner with families and community members to develop healthy eating policies, practices and programs
Source:
CDC:Healthy Schools
Healthy Eating Resources
The following are evidence-based interventions that have been shown to improve nutrition in schools:
- Limiting the Availability of Less Nutritious Foods and Beverages in Schools (including fundraising)
- Establish Policies to Incorporate Fruit and Vegetable Activities into Schools
- Healthy School Lunch Initiatives
- School Breakfast Programs
- School Nutrition Standards
- Farm-to-School Programs
- School Gardens
- Strategies to Increase Healthy Eating and Physical Activity in Early Care and Education
- Obesity Prevention Standards in State Regulations of Licensed Childcare Facilities
Mental Wellness in Schools
Mentally healthy children have a positive quality of life and can function well at home, in school, and in their communities. Physical and mental wellness are both important to a child's success in school. When children are physically healthy they are better able to perform academically. Additionally, children who are overweight or obese risk becoming targets of social discrimination and stigmatization which can result in stress, lowered self-esteem, and decreased academic and social success. School health programs play a vital role in promoting healthy behaviors in children and youth. They can have positive effects on educational outcomes and help maintain physical and mental wellness.
Source:
CDC