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PUBLISHED
MONDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2003 Task
force forming plan for fit students
Group
targeting obesity in schools
Jenny
LaCoste PensacolaNewsJournal.com Students in
Escambia County schools could be eating healthier and exercising more next
school year. A task force to study childhood obesity issues is
working on recommendations for the School Board to help combat the health
problems school nurses and pediatricians are seeing in local children. The task force - brainchild of School Board member John
DeWitt - met for the first time this month and will meet again in January.
Recommendations will go to the School Board by March. Among the ideas under consideration: limiting vending
machine choices to healthy foods and snacks and noncarbonated beverages;
offering a healthy list of a la carte items for school lunches; increasing
physical education requirements, particularly at the elementary level; and
providing nutrition and fitness education for students and parents. "We need suggestions we can implement right
away," DeWitt said. Health officials say they're seeing problems in
children and adolescents usually associated with older people, such as Type 2
diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease and high cholesterol. One in four
Florida students is overweight by the time he or she reaches the ninth grade,
according to a survey last year of the state's schools. In Escambia and Santa
Rosa counties, the problem is even worse. Both counties have more people at risk for obesity than
the state average, according to the 2000 Partnership for a Healthy Community
assessment. Escambia and Santa Rosa also have higher instances of death
associated with diseases prevalent among obese people, such as heart disease and
diabetes. Gov. Jeb Bush created a task force in October to
address the state's obesity epidemic, focusing largely on problems in children
and teens. So far, state committee members have discussed banning sodas and junk
foods in schools and requiring daily gym classes from prekindergarten through
high school. Escambia's committee members, which include local
doctors, nurses and nutrition and fitness specialists from the school district,
Pensacola Junior College and the University of West Florida, are discussing
similar solutions. Rhoda Warren, a mother and retired home economics and
nutrition teacher, is on Escambia's task force, and said daily exercise in
schools is a good idea. "In today's society, I think parents are afraid to
let their kids go out in the neighborhoods and play, especially when parents are
working," Warren said. "I know schools have to worry about testing and
preparing the kids, but I'm a firm believer that kids who exercise regularly do
better in school." Last year, the Escambia County School Board lowered
physical education requirements for high- school students to one semester of
physical activity during their four years of high school. Elementary school
principals determine how much P.E. elementary students get. Most get recess or
P.E. two to three times a week, though some forego it completely to prepare for
the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. Mallory Heath, who also serves on Escambia's committee,
has a very personal reason for being interested. Her mother suffered a heart
attack in September and was just diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. "I want to see healthier choices in the
cafeteria," said Mallory, 16, a sophomore at Washington High. "I think
if they offered them, and educated students on the importance of nutrition, it
would make a difference." The problems associated with obesity affect everyone,
said committee member Wanda Kotick. Poor nutrition and inactivity is considered
the second leading cause of death in Florida, carrying an associated health cost
of $38.6 billion in 2001, trailing only tobacco use. "From a parent's point of view, I do feel like it
is ultimately up to me to make sure my children are eating nutritious meals and
exercising, but it's so limited what kids can get in schools," said Kotick,
an Escambia PTA member who also has worked in fitness and nutrition fields for
two decades. "We need to find a way to make people understand what an
important issue this is." Obesity
task force
Escambia
County's task force to study childhood obesity issues formed two subcommittees: A committee on
food and nutrition with chairwoman Janet Levins, professor of nutrition and
biological sciences at Pensacola Junior College, meets at 4 p.m. Jan. 8. A committee on
physical activity and education with chairman Manny Harageones, physical
education specialist for the Escambia County School District, meets at 4 p.m
Jan. 15. Both groups
meet in room 131 of the J.E. Hall Center, 30 E. Texar Drive. |