Ohio Gets It Right!

The legislation in Ohio just signed the Healthy Choices for Healthy Children into law and will take affect in the new school year. They are obviously serious about curbing obesity in this state where it is estimated that 19% of all kids are overweight. The legislation calls for:

1. Healthy interventions from Kindergarten through 12th grades;
2. Schools to use Body Mass Index (BMI) to estimate a healthy body weight (but parents can opt out);
3. PE teachers hired after 2012 must be certified and licensed;
4. All schools are required to offer a pilot program with 30 minutes of rigorous physical activity each day - aside from recess;
5. Schools are forced to provide healthier options in cafeterias and vending machines.

We know that an obese 10-year old has an 80% chance of being obese as an adult. These initiatives from Ohio will go a long way towards proper education for healthy lifestyles in the long term. It is a big step closer to stem the the obesity growth and who knows, see a decline in a generation. Well done to all the legislators from both parties who supported these efforts.
Michael Cordier

The Crux of the Matter

Cleveland.com reported that lawmakers in the Ohio State House voted 77 - 21 to approve legislation which pushes out candy machines and soda pop in favor of low-fat milk, fruit juices, water, and healthier food in Ohio's school lunch rooms by 2014. The bill furthermore requires Ohio schools to measure student's body mass index in Kindergarten, third, fifth, and ninth grades and calls for 30 minutes of physical activity a day. So far, so good.

Then the infighting started. Republicans say that government is interfering too much and taking responsibility away from parents. They admit that one third of students in Ohio is obese. It is therefore a difficult argument to make because one third of parents are contributing to the obesity problem. The Democrats argues that they know physical activity and nutrition will improve the health of youth but there are possible exceptions. Immediately the door opens for both parties to 'pull the teeth' from good legislation for their own political purposes.

The end result is that school districts can seek a waiver to drop the body mass index measurement. Who is going to add more work on an overburdened system? It is fair to assume that this initiative has already failed. Furthermore, school districts successfully lobbied to turn the 30 minutes of daily exercise into a pilot project for districts who want to participate. Guess what's going to happen amongst scheduling nightmares? It's not going to happen.

So the winners are the politicians who tackled a 'tough subject' and passed some legislation and the school districts which can opt out in the primary areas of assessment and activity.

The biggest losers? The students - again!
Michael Cordier

The Truth and Nothing But the Truth

Finally someone spoke up and reported it: the state mandates for physical education is a farce in most cases. It lacks the teeth to be effective due to the rising number of mindless waivers and exemptions that students and parents can use not to partake in physical education.

The Associate Press reported on a study by the American Heart Association and National Association (AHA) for Sports and Physical Education (NASPE) that shows more states requiring physical education at elementary, middle, and high schools but few require students to exercise for a specific amount of time. AHA's Nancy Brown comments that "the movement has not been more significant and it is more of a sporadic approach".

Waivers and exemptions include participation in band, ROITC, one semester of organized sport, dress-out restrictions, and the list goes on. The end result is that students are denied proper teaching of healthy lifestyles. It is well documented that physical education counters obesity and long-term health problems in addition to better academic performance.

84% of states require PE for elementary students, 76% for middle and junior high schools, and 90% in high schools. This is significantly higher than a few years a go. Interesting to note that only five states require PE consistently from K - 12.

Both the AHA and NASPE recommend 150 minutes a week of instructed physical education for elementary students and 225 minutes a week for middle and high school students. The issue remains to get students in the PE class!
Michael Cordier