Recent research has helped us understand the multiple tolls that excess weight takes on both mental and physical health. Depression, behavior problems, the metabolic syndrome, Type 2 diabetes, and heart disease make up a short list of health problems related to being overweight that are endangering this generation. We've also learned that the longer a child's weight remains in the unhealthy range, the greater their risk of suffering more severe health problems later in life-and the harder it becomes to solve these problems. The good news is that most childhood overweight is preventable.
More than 53 million American students spend much of their time in the classroom, school cafeteria, gym, or on school grounds. With the exception of the home, school is probably the only other place with the structure, influence, resources, and acess to make a significant and sustained difference in terms of fostering a healthy weight.
It is no surprise that being fit can boost a child's self-esteem, which in turn can have a positive effect on their experience at school. Among the findings are that overweight girls are significantly more likely to be identified as having problems including anxiety, loneliness, sadness, low self-esteem, acting out, anger, impulsive acts, and difficulty being accepted by peers. The presence of these behavior problems predicted future weight gain among overweight girls. Furthermore, the study found that over-weight children tend to score lower on both reading and math standardized tests as the beginning of kindergarten, and their lower scores track into the 1st grade.
Our organization in partnership with some of the high schools will operate after-school programs that advance the goal of preventing childhood overweight through high-quality classroom instruction, maintenance of health-promoting school nutrition environments and programs that engage children in recommended level of physical activity. We will develop some incredible resources to improve young people's fitness and health so that they have better mental and physical capacity to learn and meet important academic standards.
