What happens when students of all economic backgrounds are exposed to a school-based obesity prevention intervention that included dietary, curricula, and physical activity components? How does this intervention impacted body mass index (BMI) percentiles and academic performance among low-income elementary school children?
Well, its been done for two consecutive years involving 5,488 students of which 48% were Hispanic. Think about simplicity of the intervention: helping students understand their eating habits, promote healthier choices and increased physical activity. This in itself is a worthy effort to pursue by any school who serves free and reduced lunches. But when one adds the outcomes from this study in is inexplainable why such an intervention is not mandated on a national level.
What researcher, Danielle Hollard and her team from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine found is astonishing:
1) Obese children experienced a drop in their Body Mass Index (BMI) - probably expected
2) Regular students maintained their healthy BMI's -probably expected
3) Significant increases in math scores were experienced during both years of the study - surprising!
4) Improvement in math scores occured in both Hispanic and White students - surprising!
5) Higher readings scores were experienced as well for both years but not as high as math scores - surprising!
It is therefore possible to have a regular school program that impacts both the health and academic performance of students. Furthermore it makes the healthy body / healthy mind connection yet again. How many more of these studies are needed to make the same point?
Visit http://ajph.aphapublications.org/cgi/reprint/AJPH.2009.165746v1 to see the complete study.
Michael Cordier
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