Role of Schools on Childhood Obesity Eating and Exercise Behaviors of School Professionals

What Should Schools Do to Make a Difference?

Address physical activity and nutrition through a Coordinated School Health Program (CSHP) approach.

Designate a school health coordinator and maintain an active school health council.

Assess the school's health policies and programs and develop a plan for improvement.

Strengthen the school's nutrition and physical activity policies.

Implement a high-quality health promotion program for school staff.

Implement a high-quality course of study in health education.

Implement a high-quality course of study in physical education.

Increase opportunities for students to engage in physical activity.

Implement a quality school meals program.

Ensure that students have appealing, healthy choices in foods and beverages offered outside of the school meals program.

Conclusion

References

Role of Schools on Childhood Obesity

Executive Summary

Schools have been identified to preclude eating disorders and child obesity as accurate ambience. Several health professionals and school professionals have the capability to be integrated in the treatment or prevention of child obesity and eating disorders so they are accurately positioned. The eating behaviors and the physical activity affecting weight are affected by most of the sectors of society such as community organizations, families, faith-based institutions, health care providers, the media, businesses, government agencies and schools. Promoting healthy eating and physical activity are the major elements of educational institutions in several countries. Schools professionals should implement prevention programs for the purpose to reduce eating disorders and obesity. In promoting ultimate healthy eating and physical activity, there should be some guidelines that recognize the school practices most probable to be efficient.

Introduction

Schools have been identified to preclude eating disorders and child obesity as accurate ambience because of the recurrent and intense access to large group of persons at a particular age of development. School-based programs provide the prospect for reinforcement and curriculum base employing complete school perspective to health promotion, besides providing retrieve to adults and children. Few studies have examined the nutrition and weight control understanding, behaviors and attitudes of those who are conveying them, although lot of evaluation and focus has been guided towards the theoretical basis as well as matter of prevention strategies. Several health professionals and school professionals have the capability to be integrated in the treatment or prevention of child obesity and eating disorders so they are accurately positioned. This paper is highlighting an issue about the child obesity that what role should the teacher or school play in addressing the childhood obesity epidemic.

Health teachers and physical education have both formal and informal right to use many of the young people in an atmosphere stimulating discussion and give lessons about nutrition, weight control and body image (Bryan, Broussard & Bellar, 2013). These teachers also have an opportunity to start the corroboration of prevention programs that use the entire school perspective. Science, Dance, English and home economics teachers can be involved in the preventive activities within a particular curriculum and also through contribution in the pastoral care activities like student welfare coordinators, year advisors and head teachers.

Discussion

The Role of Schools

The eating behaviors and the physical activity affecting weight are affected by most of the sectors of society such as community organizations, families, faith-based institutions, health care providers, the media, businesses, government agencies and schools. According to Karnik & Kanekar (2012), to reserve the epidemic, the integration of every sector would be required. Schools cannot work out the obesity epidemic on their own qualities; however it is improbable without any school-based strategies and programs. Significant role can be played because more than ninety-five percent of the young people are enrolled in the schools. Promoting healthy eating and physical activity are the major elements of educational institutions in several countries. Therefore, schools are not being required to take on new responsibilities.

It is indicated by the research that well-implemented and well-designed school programs may efficiently enhance health eating, physical activity as well as minimizing the television viewing time. The relations between good nutrition, nutrition programs, physical activity, physical education and academic performance are documented by the emerging research. Now a question arises "What can schools do to make a difference?." Significantly, schools may assist the students to adopt and regulate physical activities behaviors and healthy eating. Guidelines identifying school strategies as well as practices most probable to be operational in the promotion of lifelong physical activity and healthy eating has been published by CDC.

Eating and Exercise Behaviors of School Professionals

Therefore, there has been no former exploration of their professional and personal ability in these roles. For eating disorders and obesity, evaluations of prevention programs have communicated the significance of the eating behaviors and the personal body image of the presenters of these programs (Cale & Harris, 2013). Same socio-cultural factors which affect the adults, also affect the school professionals. Due to a personal preoccupation with weight control and food exercise lead the teachers into the professional field of study, the probability is also there that the physical education and the home economics teachers can be more liable to the eating problems and body image.
What Should Schools Do to Make a Difference?

Schools may assist the students to adopt and regulate healthy eating and physical behaviors. In promoting ultimate healthy eating and physical activity, there should be some guidelines that recognize the school practices most probable to be efficient. The guidelines should contain various suggestions that can be summarized as ten prominent strategies.

1. Address physical activity and nutrition through a Coordinated School Health Program (CSHP) approach.

A CSHP incorporates efforts of the eight elements of the school community that may strongly affect the student health: health services, health education, nutrition services, physical education, social services, counseling and psychological services, health promotion for the staff and family and community integration (Lee, 2012). This approach emphasizes on enhancing the excellence of every element and increasing collaboration among the people working on them.

2. Designate a school health coordinator and maintain an active school health council.

For controlling and cooperating in all of the school health strategies, resources, programs and activities are governed by school health coordinator. From several segments of the schools and community, such as teachers, parents, students, health care providers, religious and civic leaders, social service professionals and school administrators, the school health council (SHC) should be composed of illustrative components. For the school health programs, the SHC offers the guidance to the school health cooperative as well as school administrators on the school health activities and revives the support. As part of the basic mission of school district or school, SHC may assist institutionalize health promotion.

3. Assess the school's health policies and programs and develop a plan for improvement.

For the identification of strengths and the weaknesses of the present health practices and strategies, SHCs should use School Health Index of CDC. With every module associating to one of the CSHP elements, the SHI characteristics an eight module checklist and a strategy for the improvement process in order to help school teams should prefer the possible changes. According to Bryan, Broussard & Bellar (2013), the device emphasizes on the school activities should be associated with the nutrition, physical activity, injury prevention and tobacco use. With different states, schools as a minimum 46 states have marked use of the SHI incorporating Montana, Missouri and Michigan, are testifying use by the dozens of schools.

4. Strengthen the school's nutrition and physical activity policies.

The ongoing efforts should be imposed for the implementation of the strategies and distribution of information regarding the strategies to the school community. By assuming new school strategies, states are taking action to the obesity epidemic through state board of education, legislative or state agency action. For instance, elementary schools should prevent selling food or soft drinks in selling machines to the students as per a 2003 Arkansas law. In 2004, a Connecticut law passed needs the school boards providing K-5 students a period of the physical exercise every day (Lee, 2012).

5. Implement a high-quality health promotion program for school staff.

Staff health promotion programs are said to be a reliable policy in order to enhance staff attendance, staff morale and the whole performance. By providing the staff the skills as well as required motivation to be influential role models for the good health, they also may produce significant contributions. Health screenings and free or low-priced physical activity as well as health-eating programs can be included in the staff health promotion services.

6. Implement a high-quality course of study in health education.

A sequential curriculum dependable with the state or the national health education standards and appropriate numbers of instructional time has a feature of state-of-the-art health education. Health education curricula must focus the significance of applying the strategies in order to raise healthy eating and the physical activity and decrease the television examining to address the obesity. Curricula are very efficient in enhancing the student health behaviors when they teach the skills required to approve the healthy behaviors (Cale & Harris, 2013). It also offers abundant opportunities to put into practice the skills to focus on assisting the students conquering the hurdles for…