| In: Public Health Policy, Scientific Research
Government Survey Finds Fewer French Fries, More Physical Education In Schools
U.S. schools have made improvements in the last six years, according to data from a survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
The survey, which is conducted every six years, shows that more schools than six years ago offer salads and vegetables and that fewer permit bake sales. More states and school districts insist that elementary schools schedule recess and that physical education teachers have at least undergraduate training. More states have enacted policies to prohibit smoking at school and to require courses on pregnancy prevention.
Perhaps most striking, 30 percent of school districts have banned junk food from school vending machines, up from 4 percent in 2000. Schools offering fried potatoes in their cafeterias declined, to 19 percent from 40 percent.
The results of the survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention elicited cheers on Friday from public health and education officials, as well as warnings against complacency.
In some instances, the officials pointed out, progress toward healthier living and learning was notable only because so many schools had started from such low points.
The percentage of districts that require elementary schools to teach physical education increased, to 93 percent last year from 83 percent in 2000.
But just 4 percent of elementary schools, 8 percent of middle schools and 2 percent of high schools provided physical education each school day, as is recommended by the disease control agency. One-fifth of schools did not require physical education at all.
Although the researchers found that the proportion of schools selling bottled water grew, to 46 percent from 30 percent, they also said three-fourths of high schools sold soft drinks and that 61 percent sold potato chips and other high-fat snacks.
“What we’re seeing is that the nation’s schools really are making progress in addressing the obesity crisis and teenage tobacco use,” said Howell Wechsler, the director of the division of adolescent and school health at the disease agency and an author of the study. “But large numbers of schools are still not implementing recommended policies. We need all the nation’s schools to have environments that make it easy for children to make healthy choices.”
You can read the entire report, The School Health Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS), on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention Web site.