Student obesity in Washoe County
by admin on Dec.07, 2010, under Uncategorized
The wide availability of unhealthy foods and beverages sold on school grounds may be a thing of the past for Washoe County students. Following the 2006 recommendation and now mandatory tip, sent by the USDA, all fried foods will no longer be an option in cafeterias.
The school district’s next plan of attack is their Student Wellness Policy that’s been in effect since late August. The policy carries three unique brands that are meant to satisfy the oldest grade level within that school. In the next few months cafeterias will be getting makeovers to transform them into whole new dining environments. The transformation will include new service areas and equipment, freshly – painted walls, and student- friendly nutrition. The planning began early in July with a new partnership with Aramark EDUCATION, who is a leading provider of food and nutrition programs. With this new partnership students are sure to receive fresh and nutritious foods even during breakfast.
Like any other nutritious plan physical activity is crucial to staying fit. In September 2010 Washoe County Health District conducted a study on Body Mass Index on Washoe County children. They were grouped into four different categories underweight, healthy weight, overweight, and obese. A graph of student shows where elementary, middle and high school students fit into each category.
In order to take their research to another level they also split the information into gender and race/ethnicity.
gender, race/ethnicity and grade graphs
All in all they found many positive and negative notes to their research. They found school-aged girls have a higher percentage of overweight issues than school aged boys with obese issues. Students of American Indian and Hispanic ethnicities have much higher rates of overweight at percentages higher than 18.9%. As well as a much higher rate of obesity more than 24.0%. On a positive note between 2008 and 2010 an improvement was seen in school aged students who filled the overweight and obese categories. They went from 35.3% to 33.9% compared to the U.S who sat at a 31.9%. During the years they also discovered the percentage of healthy weight increased from elementary to high school. It went from 62% in elementary, 62.9% in middle school, and 65.4% in high school. The percentage of overweight/obese students from elementary to high school also had a positive look to it. Elementary students were only at 35.3%. Middle school students were at a 35% and high school students were at 33%.
Those who were involved in the project decided that school age students need resources and guides to help them learn what their bodies really do need. The school district is actually already on top of that with a web site dedicated to health and nutrition. www.gethealthywashoe.com is a site with guides, resources and information for students and parents. Nutrition services also has helpful resources on their page like their new nutrition calculator. This allows students to calculate their nutritional intake from their breakfast and lunches at school.
Watch the following video with Director, Tony Cook and Marketing and communications, Keziah Calmese, for a further elaboration on what Nutrition Services, in Washoe County, has achieved and plans to bring.
Another way Washoe County school District and the Food Bank of Northern Nevada are making sure kids and youth are getting the right nutrients. Even during their third meal.
