School-Based Prevention of Child and Adolescent Obesity
Schools have the potential to make valuable contributions to help improve children’s eating and physical activity behaviors and thus to reduce child and adolescent obesity. More than 95% of American youth ages 5 to 17 years are enrolled in school, and no other institution has as much continuous and intensive contact with children during their rst two decades of life. Four major components within schools provide a strong and viable forum for promoting good nutrition, physical activity, and healthy weights among youth: (1) the school food environment (e.g., healthy school meals and foods available in schools), (2) the school physical activity environment (e.g., physical education [PE], recess), (3) classroom health education, and (4) school health services. Because children eat a substantial portion of their daily energy at school, schools should provide an environment where children eat healthy foods and are exposed to and learn healthful eating patterns. PE classes and recess could be major resources for increasing energy expenditure in students. In addition, school facilities such as gyms and swimming pools could be open after school and on weekends and serve as community resources for students and families to increase physical activity. Classroom health education could help youth develop the knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral skills needed to establish and maintain healthy eating and a physically active lifestyle. Both primary and secondary prevention efforts are also feasible in school settings. Schools have access to school nurses and other health personnel who can provide screening, counseling, and a continuum of care. School-based health centers available in some schools provide health care and preventive services to students and thereby offer the potential for serving overweight youth. This chapter discusses these issues and the role of schools in obesity prevention and treatment efforts.
