On school playgrounds across Ohio, one of the most visible but difficult to treat health problems is obesity. Childhood obesity is growing at an alarming rate, tripling over the last 25 years and affecting nearly one in five Ohio children.i Ohio ranks 12th nationally in prevalence of childhood obesity.ii
Overweight and obese children are not only at risk for health problems such as heart disease, type II diabetes and high cholesterol, but also psychosocial problems such as low self esteem and bullying. And the problem is not easily outgrown – overweight adolescents have a 70 percent chance of becoming overweight or obese as an adult.iii
Obesity means not only health concerns but major health costs for all Americans: it is a factor in nearly 10 percent of annual medical expenditures.iv The annual cost of national childhood obesity alone is over $3 billion.v
Improving the health of Ohio’s children charts a course for a healthier Ohio, both physically and economically. More than 730 Ohio children have made improvements this year thanks to the efforts of four Ohio hospitals and Hospitals for Healthier Children grants awarded by OHA’s Foundation for Healthy Communities. In addition to hospitals, legislators, schools and other stakeholders also are embracing this challenge, acting on proven ways to reduce childhood obesity in Ohio.
Eating Right
Growing portion sizes, eating out, frequent snacking on energy-dense food and sugar-sweetened drinks are a major culprit behind the excess calories being consumed by today’s children.vi Learning that many Marysville kids thought water contained more protein than apples, red beans and green peppers, Memorial Hospital of Union County targeted healthy eating as a way to improve the health of local children.
At the start of the hospital’s “5-4-3-2-1-Go!” program, only 43 percent of students correctly answered nutritional questions, but the program taught the importance of getting five servings of fruits and vegetables, four servings of water, three servings of low fat dairy, two or fewer hours of “screen time” and one or more hours of physical activity per day. Students improved in all areas, with consumption of fruit and vegetables improving by 32 percent, and consumption of water improving by 30 percent.
Exercising More
A key to getting kids off the couch and active is making exercise fun. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation reports that recess can serve as the most powerful strategy for getting kids involved in a physical activity.
Whether it’s old school red rover, dodge ball, 4-square and double dutch, or new games like fire and lightning, North Elementary students have more options now that Dunlap Community Hospital, has provided a playground facilitator to organize active recess games. At the start of the program, approximately 100 third and fourth graders were overweight or at risk for being overweight. More than 32 percent of the school’s third and fourth graders decreased their BMI score by participating in the new program and teachers also noted a decrease in behavioral problems.
In Cleveland, a 2008 survey reported that more than 11 percent of the area’s youth were either overweight or at risk of becoming overweight.vi A partnership between Cleveland Clinic and Lakewood Public Schools includes strategies to help students cut down on TV, video game and Internet time and to bolster physical activity.
Building a Healthy Environment
Children are likely to develop lifestyle habits similar to their parents, with interactions at home affecting the behaviors of children related to calorie intake and physical activity.viii Minority and underserved children are at an even greater risk, as they are more likely to live in neighborhoods with limited access to high quality nutritious foods.ix At the start of the Miami Valley Hospital’s Mahogany’s Child program in Dayton, the BMI of 53 percent of the children classified them as overweight. Seventy percent of the participating families had a history of heart disease or diabetes.
From reviewing grocery receipts, learning how to make lower fat home-style meals and making family cookbooks to participating in exercise classes, the program teaches how to be a positive and healthy influence for their children at home.
Sessions like “Fats Aren’t Phat,” as well as journaling about eating habits, helped 73 percent of participants choose healthier foods and 84 percent cut back on fast foods.
Recognizing that the school environment also plays a major role in moving children toward healthier lifestyle choices, Healthy Choices for Healthy Children legislation passed in early June encourages schools to opt-in to pilot programs to provide 30 minutes of daily physical activity in grades K-12, as well as improve nutritional options and do regular BMI testing. Other provisions in the bill provide free breakfast to eligible children during the school day, and increase parents’ awareness of their children’s health through BMI screenings.
Research has shown that the best opportunity to affect change is before a child reaches adolescence. Hospital, school and family
efforts to reduce and prevent obesity are making positive changes in Ohio’s children that will have a lifelong impact on families and communities.
Sources:
iWake Forest University Baptist Medical Center (2009, July 30). Rates Of Severe Childhood Obesity Have Tripled. ScienceDaily. Retrieved July 23, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com¬ /releases/2009/07/090729121708.htm iiF as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future 2010 report from the Trust for America's Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). http://healthyamericans.org/reports/obesity2010/release.php?stateid=OH
iiiOffice of the Surgeon General. Overweight and Obesity: Health Consequences http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/topics/obesity/calltoaction/fact_consequences.htm
ivObesity Costs U.S. About $147 Billion Annually, Study Finds http://www.rti.org/newsroom/news.cfm?objectid=329246AF-5056-B172-B829FC032B70D8DE
vhttp://www.cdc.gov/about/grand-rounds/archives/2010/06-June.htm
viCenters for Disease Control and Prevention, http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood/causes.html
viiYouth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), conducted by Case Western Reserve University Center for Adolescent Health.
viiiOverweight and Obesity: Contributing Factor http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood/causes.html
ix "Access to Affordable and Nutritious Food: Measuring and Understanding Food Deserts and Their Consequences", United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, June 2009
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