Healthy Schools Campaign

Fit Kids Scoring on Academics

By Mark Bishop, Deputy Director

In a study that alters my perception of my childhood, researchers say it seems that physically fit students students post higher academic scores than less-fit peers. Put another way, it's no longer the geek who shall inherit the earth. According to the study:

To examine the correlation between physical fitness and academic performance, researchers reviewed the academic and fitness records of students attending kindergarten through eighth grade in New York City public school who participated in the New York City FITNESSGRAM, a standards-based fitness curriculum and assessment. The researchers found that scores on standardized English language arts and math tests increased accordingly with higher FITNESSGRAM assessment scores for all racial and ethnic groups.

One of the problems that we see in schools is that the current focus on testing has reduced time and resources devoted to non-core school programming. So many important elements of a healthful school environment are cut -- including PE, nutrition programs, maintenance -- and the list goes on.

While it's helpful to have more and more research showing that better health means better education, what would be even more helpful is to start directing resources to expand health promotion programs.We know that healthy kids are better learners. Now it's time to start putting that knowledge into practice.

Maybe what we need is a new learning index that goes beyond just math and English and also includes physical education, nutrition, even the quality of the school building. By looking at developing the whole child, maybe we can then take steps to really improve our academic outcomes.

Get Them Moving

By Rochelle Davis, Founding Executive Director

As principals and teachers are mapping out their plans for the coming school year, we want to call their attention to a new study that documents the impact of daily physical exercise on students’ ability to learn. The issue of exercise is not just about health and wellness but also about academic performance, according to James Pivarnik, president-elect of the American College of Sport Medicine and a professor of kinesiology at Michigan State University. 

“It’s not only Johnny’s getting fat, and heart disease down the road — all that’s true. But it’s also that he might not do as well in school,” said Mr. Pivarnik, about his study, the most recent study linking physical activity with academic performance, which found that students who were the most fit scored 30 percent better than students who were least fit.   

Experts speculate that there might be a variety of reasons for this, including: burning off pent-up energy and allowing kids to pay attention better and focus on their work; boosting self-esteem and mood; and increasing blood flow to the brain, helping with memory and concentration.

I certainly know how much better I feel and how much better I can concentrate after a rigorous game of tennis or a yoga workout.  It is not surprising that the same applies to students.

For more information, read this article from MSNBC.

Japan Fights Fat with Staff Wellness

By Rochelle Davis, Founding Executive Director

Check out this story on CNN about efforts in Japan to address the problem of obesity. The government fines employers and charges them extra for health insurance if they go above a certain percentage of employees (or their family members) who are overweight. The employer featured in the segment pipes in exercise music twice a day, encourages employees to take the stairs with exercise stations at each landing and provides employees with healthy meals.

All employers -- including schools --  can greatly increase the health and well-being of their entire staff by providing such resources and creating a work environment that supports healthy lifestyles.

Find out more about staff wellness programs in schools in our Quick & Easy Guide to School Wellness: www.healthyschoolscampaign.org/wellness.

Running Clubs Recruit for Wellness

by Allie Krass, Charity Athletics Manager

A recent article in Crain’s Chicago Business highlights the role that running clubs play in shaping the corporate culture and employee satisfaction at organizations around Chicago, from hospitals to financial institutions.

At HSC, we love to hear about efforts to instill a “culture of wellness” in the workplace, much as we work to make schools healthy workplaces for the millions of adults who spend their days there.

Our Charity Athletics Team offers the chance for running clubs to make races more meaningful by supporting HSC’s work to create healthy school environments. Right now, we are recruiting runners and running clubs to join our teams in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon in Oct. 2008 and the ING New York City Marathon in Nov. 2008.

Individual runners or groups of runners may join HSC’s team. Corporations may sponsor their employees’ participation, match their gifts, or sign on as an official corporate sponsor, with all the accompanying benefits.

As the weather gets warmer and runners begin to prepare for these Fall races, a few are taking the opportunity to share their passion with co-workers who may never have defined themselves as runners. The article profiles one devoted runner who makes it his mission to recruit teammates:

As companies around Chicago sign up workers for races . . . other Dr. Shalhavs likely will be sticking their heads in cubicles and trying to give non-runners a taste of their addiction. Aficionados expect that at least a few of the runners who try a race for the first time this summer or watch from the curb might find themselves inducted into the runners club. Before long, they'll be throwing around lingo like "fartleks" as they talk about doing speed work, and logging the miles they've run in a particular shoe.

Co-workers are "initially like, 'What do you want? Leave me alone,' " Dr. Shalhav says. "Then slowly but surely they're getting into running."

He's persuaded a number of residents, fellows and other co-workers to join him in races, recently taking a group to Indianapolis for the half-marathon that is part of the Indy 500 festival.

One of the best parts about this story is the way it captures the contagious zeal of “obsessed” runners who recruit co-workers to join them on the trail. We invite runners around the U.S. – “obsessed” or not – to grab a few friends and run this Fall for healthy schools.

You can learn more or register online at our Charity Athletics Team page.

Another Child Left Behind

by Claris Olson, HSC Environmental Health Specialist

Last week, I had a conversation with Francine, a nurse who was caring for one of my family members.  Francine is a hard working mother of two children at a public school on Chicago’s south side.  As usually happens with moms, our conversation quickly turned to our children and school.

Her 13-year old daughter, she told me, is a great student and loves school so much that she gets up to arrive early to school every day.  Her son, on the other hand, is more like my own twelve-year-old: his favorite subject through elementary school was recess and now that he is in middle school, it’s P.E..  (And yes, I am grateful that both of our sons still have these programs at their schools.)   

Francine told me that her daughter, besides doing well academically, loved playing volleyball and cheerleading. Now, her daughter doesn’t have the chance to do either of these things.

Because the test scores at her school were below a limit set by No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation, her daughter’s beloved volleyball, cheerleading, and other programs that were not core academic subjects had to be cut.

My heart ached for Francine, her children, and all the children at schools that are being forced to eliminate the programs that light the fire in our children’s hearts.

We know the research showing that physical activity supports academic achievement, and that healthy students are better learners. But I also know, with or without research to prove it, that P.E. is one of the main reasons my son likes going to school.

How can we expect children to learn and have a good attitude about school when we deprive them of the activities that bring them joy? Instead, children like those at Francine’s daughter’s school spend hours on critical subjects without a break for physical activity or the sports they love, which have been cut because the school has failed to meet a standard that to the children must seem arbitrary.

All children deserve the chance to be physically active, even if they happen to attend schools that – for a variety of reasons that almost always include limited resources – do not meet NCLB standards.

We know well the role that sports and exercise play in children’s health and well being -- for a few children, it provides their motivation for getting up in the morning.  Let’s not take that away.

Shaq's Big Challenge: Real Problems, Questionable Solutions

by Mark Bishop, HSC Deputy Director

It can't be a bad thing when one of the world's biggest sports stars elevates the problems of childhood obesity. In Shaquille O'Neal's new "reality" television show, "Shaq's Big Challenge," Shaq won't be taking on the NBA, but will be taking on America's youth –- and trying to make them fit.

He does a pretty good job of hitting some of the important issues, though he seems to be lacking in his solutions.

What was the first thing that he said when asked by ESPN about the problems of childhood obesity? "[O]nly six percent of all schools in America have mandatory gym. When I was growing up, I changed schools 10 times, and they all had mandatory PE."

Shaq goes on to talk about the prevalence of fast food, limited physical activity –- all the right issues. Bringing in high profile stars is great a raising awareness and it can engage parents and help them understand these important issues.

However, the solutions the show comes up with include putting kids through tough drills and a mini exercise boot camp (check out this review in the L.A. Times). Binge exercising and dieting don't work very well for adults in the long-term, and I have a hard time thinking they will work for 12-year-old kids.

Hopefully this will help the six children in the show, but sustainable solutions need to integrate parents, schools and the community.

These changes do not need to be dramatic and painful, but they do need to be sustainable and long-term. Let's walk more, play fewer computer games, eat less junk food, eat more fresh vegetables, learn about cooking and nutrition and learn to enjoy physical activity. 

The only "reality" depicted in this show are the problems of childhood obesity, not the solutions.