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First, let’s set the stage with a tale of
two Texas shopping trips and an
experiment that shows why we are all
fighting an uphill battle.
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BUDGET: $56.75, the national average weekly SNAP benefit in 2011
for a family of four – one mom and three school-aged children.
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BUDGET: $56.75, the national average weekly SNAP benefit in 2011
for a family of four – one mom and three school-aged children.
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Unhealthy Shopping Difference:
Putting Obesity in Perspective: A Growing Problem
OBESITY AND OVERWEIGHT PREVALENCE
AMONG CHILDREN AGED 10 TO 17, 2003 vs. 2011
Source: National Survey of Children’s Health, 2003 and 2011
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Texas Is Not The Largest State In The Union, But…
PERCENT OF ADULTS CLINICALLY OBESE, 2012
TEXAS: 29.2%
ALASKA: 25.7%
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Legacy For Our Children?
PERCENT OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS OBESE, 2011
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Legacy For Our Children?
PERCENT OF OVERWEIGHT/OBESE
CHILDREN, 10–17, 2011
⅓
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Schools Have an Obligation
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Why Focus on Schools? That’s Where the Kids Are…
TEXAS
Children 6-18 must
attend school.
ALASKA
Children 7-16 must
attend school.
Education Code, Sec. 25.085. |
Compulsory School Attendance.
(a) A child who is required to attend
school under this section shall attend
school each school day for the entire
period the program of instruction is
provided.
(b) Unless specifically exempted by
Section 25.086, a child who is at least six
years of age, or who is younger than six
years of age and has previously been
enrolled in first grade, and who has not
yet reached the child's 18th birthday
shall attend school.
Chapter 14.30 Pupils and Educational
Programs for Pupils | Article 01. |
Compulsory Education | Sec. 14.30.010.
(a) Every child between seven and
16 years of age shall attend school at
the public school in the district in which
the child resides during each school
term. Every parent, guardian or other
person having the responsibility for or
control of a child between seven and 16
years of age shall maintain the child in
attendance at a public school in the
district in which the child resides during
the entire school term, except as
provided in (b) of this section.
Must Change the Culture of Food at School
OPPORTUNITIES:
• Better food choices
• Fresher food choices
• Portion sizes
• Active fun
• Non-food rewards
CHALLENGES:
• Too much “screen time”
• Convenience food
• Public engagement
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What We Did In Texas
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Major Policy Provisions
• Took competitive foods out of
elementary schools and replaced
fried foods with baked.
• Restricted fried, minimally nutritious
food, and candy from middle schools
until after last class period.
• Lowered permissible fat and sugar
content of foods.
• Cut portion sizes.
 For example, limited servings of
fried potato products to no more
than 3 oz.
 Disallowed soda in containers
larger than 12 oz. (for high
schools).
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Food Providers Making an Effort
These companies took responsible
steps in the wake of policy changes:
•Pizza Hut reconfigured its school pizza
to meet fat requirements.
•Aramark offers popular dishes like
penne Alfredo made with less fat.
•Frito-Lay brought in baked chips and
cut portion sizes.
•Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Nestle hustled in
healthier new offerings as well.
Process hasn’t been painless for all:
•One high school in Dallas had to
shutter its student store that sold candy
to pay for classroom VCRs and choir
music.
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But We Also Did More To Educate & Inspire
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Posters to school
cafeterias to encourage
kids to eat healthy
and exercise.
Educating Families to Change Perceptions of Portion
Show proper portions in
everyday ways; distributed
to more than a million
students in 1st through
4th grade in Texas public
schools.
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Engaging Kids and Their Parents
Engaged kids with hands-on
activities such as recipe
contests, which were featured
statewide on book covers, in
magazines and at school events.
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Engaging Educators and Families
As of 2010, nearly 30% of Texans spoke
Spanish as their primary language.
Communicated policies and
best practices to schools and
families via every channel: print
materials (sent home to
parents), Web, broadcast.
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Making the Most of One-Time Federal Funding
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Promoting specialty crops to introduce Texas kids to fresh
produce at school tasting events. Tasting is believing.
In 2001, Texas was allocated $2.6 million to promote specialty
crops, and Alaska received $20,000 (based on production).
As the State’s Chief Fiscal Officer
In 2007, issued the Counting Costs and Calories
special report outlining the staggering cost of
obesity to business in Texas.
• We reported that everything
is bigger in Texas — nearly
two-thirds, 64.1 percent, of
the state’s population was
overweight or obese in 2007.
• Obesity cost Texas
businesses $3.3 billion in
2005 (absenteeism,
presenteeism, disability and
healthcare costs).
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Investing State Funds
Texas Fitness Now
As Comptroller: Allocated $40 million in
grants in 2007–2011 to support in-school PE
and nutrition programs for grades 6-8.
•
Texas Fitness Now for middle
school students in economically
disadvantaged schools
•
Base grant of $1,500, plus
additional funds added to total per
student served. (E.g., in 2007–08,
$1,500 + $32 per student.)
•
Funds used for PE equipment,
fitness measurement, curriculum,
teacher training and nutrition
education.
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The Impact of Texas Fitness Now
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“We cannot say enough about the TFN
grant. It let us get equipment our
students needed for a long time.”
“TFN is a godsend to help attack our
childhood obesity problem.”
Comments from the 2009–10 Texas Fitness Now End-of-Year
Progress Report
School Year
Texas Fitness Now
Campuses Served
Potential Students Served
2007–08
605/37 percent
254,392
2008–09
575/35 percent
256,485
2009–10
981/59 percent
425,333
2010–11
1,115/65 percent
453,911
The Texas Legislature did not fund Texas Fitness Now beyond 2011.
An Update on Obesity Issues in Texas
In 2011, issued Gaining Costs, Losing Time special
report updating projections of obesity’s cost to
individuals, businesses and the state.
• From 1980 to 2011, the
prevalence of obesity
among children and
adolescents tripled.
• Obesity cost Texas
businesses $9.5 billion
in 2009.
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Added Annual Health Care Cost Per Person U.S., 2009
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Cost to Texas Businesses, 2009
With current trends: cost projected to be $32.5 billion by 2030.
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Keeping The Issue On The Front Burner
Launched ReshapingTexas.org in 2012, a Web portal
designed to be a one-stop spot for obesity information
and resources in Texas, including the following:
• Data on the costs/economic impact of obesity,
• Grant opportunities for treatment and prevention,
• Ongoing initiatives to prevent and treat obesity,
• Success stories from across the state,
• The latest obesity research and news, and
• Feedback mechanisms to include social media, email.
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And Provide Tools Needed
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Integrated searchable GIS mapping with statewide FITNESSGRAM BMI data
to identify school districts at highest risk.
Pinpointing the Issue
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Students with scores that fall in the Healthy Fitness Zone (HFZ) are considered to have a body
composition sufficient for good health.
MIAMI ISD
Percent BMI achieving HFZ: 60
Percent BMI at Some Risk: 19
Percent BMI at High Risk: 21
SAN DIEGO ISD
Percent BMI achieving HFZ: 34
Percent BMI at Some Risk: 14
Percent BMI at High Risk: 52
Feast Or Famine: School Health Legislation
• Texas Legislation has alternately bolstered and
weakened health standards for students.
• Contentious points between schools and health advocates:
 Physical education requirements (e.g., duration,
frequency). PE and arts curricula often conflict.
 Time and expense can limit reporting of student
physical fitness to the state, parents and ISDs.
 Empowerment of School Health Advisory Councils
(SHACs): What is the appropriate level of their purview?
• SHACs expanded in scope in 2013. Now they make specific
recommendations to ISDs to increase physical activity and
improve student fitness. They also seek opportunities to
share community facilities for the sake of exercise/fitness.
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The Battle Never Ends
One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
HB 1781, passed by Texas Legislature in May 2013:
Allows high schools to have junk food fundraisers, disallowing fines.
And in Mexico, the WSJ tracks
the health battle over sodas:
Ad campaigns to reduce
consumption of sodas countered by
soda company campaigns. Yet,
seven out of 10 Mexican adults
over the age of 20 are either
overweight or obese, and an
estimated 10 million Mexicans
have diabetes. Mexico recently
overtook the U.S. as the world’s
fattest nation.
Breaking News: WSJ recently reported on efforts to tax Mexican junk food:
The lower house of Congress passed a “special tax on junk food” on Oct. 17. The
measure “is seen as potentially the broadest of its kind, part of an ambitious Mexican
government effort to contain runaway rates of obesity and diabetes.”
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Continuing to Meet the Challenge & Raising an Alarm
•
Partnered with Texas elementary school
libraries in economically disadvantaged
areas and public libraries to provide 25,000
books/DVDs on healthy eating and exercise.
•
Boxes contained 7 to 10 books/DVDs
selected from 17 titles.
•
900+ public libraries and 1,100+ school
libraries received boxes of books.
•
Those school libraries serve more than
600,000 students, and the public libraries
serve 23.6 million Texans.
•
Provided sports equipment to 3,500+
schools with 5-8 graders at the highest risk
of obesity. Those schools serve more than
2 million students.
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Feedback Shows Challenges, Opportunities
Perception Problem — More than one third of Texas children, age 10-17,
are obese or overweight. BUT, public librarians, principals and school
librarians said the following when surveyed.
 Public libraries: 73% of respondents say their communities have only
an average or normal prevalence of obesity.
 School principals: 75% said the same about their schools.
 School librarians: 68% said the same about their schools.
Are they really aware of the extent of the problem?
However, we also were heartened to receive this feedback regarding
Reshaping Texas outreach.
 “I plan to put together a prominent display of these books and DVDs
in the children’s area and to tell the parents about the
ReshapingTexas.org website.”
 “With your donation, we will be able to educate our students on the
importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle.”
 “We will do all that we can to encourage the local families to use the
books and make decisions based on what they learn.”
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So, What Does This Mean?
• Even in the face of facts, people aren’t facing
facts. We must keep messaging the scope and
implications of the problem.
• Fighting this battle will never be easy. There’s a
reason proponents of healthy eating feel
outnumbered, outgunned and outmuscled —
$1.8 billion spent on food advertising directed at
youths in 2009.
• This is an entire culture change. We must convey
the dire need to shape a new vision on health and
take the steps necessary to realize that vision.
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Some Rays of Hope as Texas Businesses Step Up
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HEB’s Slim-Down Contest (public, statewide 2013 and 2014):
•Fifteen people will be chosen from applicant pool to attend a “fit
camp.” Then they return home to apply what they know and receive a
pantry makeover with help from dietician.
•Grand prize winner will receive $10,000 award.
•HEB used to sponsor Slim-Down contest internally, but has now
opened campaign to the public.
USAA Take Care of Your Health program (internal):
•Addresses employee health issues through 20 initiatives such as
healthy points which could be earned by participating in wellness
activities and could be spent to reduce health plan premiums.
•Reduced absences and saved $105 million over three years.
Working Together
The magnitude of the challenge requires an equally
bold response.
 Must facilitate engagement at all levels: policy
makers, schools, businesses and individuals.
We have a moral obligation to our children and their
future.
 Make bold policy choices — even though they
may not receive a 100% positive reception.
Working together, we can help each other reshape
the future.
 Create forums like Reshaping Texas to identify
challenges and highlight proven strategies.
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Let’s Cut Obesity Down to Size
Susan Combs
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
www.ReshapingTexas.org
susan.combs@cpa.state.tx.us
To download this presentation, please visit
www.ReshapingTexas.org/docs/alaska.ppt
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