Summer Conference Roundtable Session
BJCC/Sheraton Hotel
July 22, 2009
11:45-1:00 p.m.
Miriam J Gaines (Mim.gaines@adph.state.al.us)
Nutrition and Wellness Presentation Outline:
I.
Health Status of Alabama
II.
Wellness Policy Overview- what is it and what it is not
a. Assessments
b. Environmental changes
c. Lifestyle changes
III.
Personal Wellness
a. In the classroom/ worksite
b. At home
Nutrition and Wellness Presentation Objectives:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Demonstrate knowledge of the prevalence of obesity and related diseases.
State wellness policy categories
List lifestyle changes needed to prevent chronic diseases.
Describe how to become involved in accomplishing changes.
Summary Points:



Obesity is related to 30 different disease states, including diabetes, cancer, heart
diseases, hypertension, high cholesterol, sleep disorders, reflux, etc.
These illnesses have direct and indirect costs. School indirect costs include poor
concentration, poor test scores, increase absenteeism, class misconduct, etc.
BMI of 30 is obese. For your BMI calculation:
weight (lb)
x 703
[height (in)]2
Calculate BMI by dividing weight in pounds (lbs) by height in inches (in) squared and
multiplying by a conversion factor of 703.
Example: Weight = 150 lbs, Height = 5’5” (65”)
Calculation: [150 ÷ (65)2] x 703 = 24.96

Our children have adult health problems as a result of over nutrition and under
physical activity.
 School wellness polices are much more than the cafeteria plans and have the
potential to make a large impact.
 Areas of impact include nutrition, physical activity, and other school based
activities.
1









Assessments include looking at the same things with “new eyes.”
Environmental changes vary from green policies to gardens.
Policies (laws) versus policies (“ways of doing things”).
Lifestyle changes require role models.
Make healthy policy changes at work, home, church, clubs, etc.
Personal goals need to be realistic. What do you really want?
Changes need support at home, work, and in the community.
Self evaluations and worksite assessments are essential.
Make small, realistic changes that will last for a lifetime.
Possible Topics to Consider in Policy Changes:
Examples of school/worksite policies:
Think about the food (outside the cafeteria) and physical activity opportunities. What
is provided in vending machines or stores? Is there a community fruit basket in the
teacher break room? What foods are served at functions? Does your school follow
nutrition standards for foods and beverages served at parties and sponsored meetings
(meals and breaks)?
Are unspoken messages given about physical activity? For example, breaks are
allowed, but what would others think if you took the time to walk around the school
campus for 15 minutes? Is there a teacher exercise class right after school or early
morning hours? Are there scheduled walking breaks for teacher student conferences
instead of in the classroom or office?
Are fund raisers supporting healthy messages? Are fruits or non food itemspedometers- sold instead of empty calories? Can students physically do something-yard
work, car wash, grocery shop-instead of selling something?
Are meetings away from the school which requires contracting with facilities, in
locations with walking/ exercise areas? Are stretch breaks planned at these
meetings/conferences? What green policies are encouraged?
Example of classroom policies:
Is water consumption allowed in class- with a plastic recycle bin in the room? Can
you encourage water consumption from reusable containers? Are all recipes used in
class evaluated by a health standard.
Are organized stretch breaks offered after 45 minutes of lecture time?
Are students encouraged to volunteer in afterschool programs with physical activity
responsibilities?
Are joint homework projects assigned: the English term paper is on a such as family
meals, childhood diabetes, etc.; the math word problems focus on calories needed
versus calories spent, a food recall is required as a math project; science fair projects
about lifestyles and chronic diseases are encouraged; the cafeteria serves as a learning
lab for students- having certification for food handlers as the goal.
Example of home/family policies:
Families may not have written policies, but will have a way of doing things. Consider
grocery store, gas station, and “Wal-mart” type store behaviors. Are snacks kept at
2
home healthy (fruit and water vs. chips, cookies and cola, 10-10- 5 guides)-or are colas
and chips bought each time? Consider family meals routines. Are family meals at the
table, fruits and vegetables served, and frequency of eating out limited? Consider family
time. How can you get physical activity routines established versus watching TV; are
times for the TV limited (even for adults)?
Examples of church policies:
Does the food served at Wednesday night suppers and at Sunday school meetings,
etc follow any health guidelines? Could vending machines follow the same standards
found in the school guidance (10-10-5)? Could you start a committee?
Is fellowship hall-or other space- available for exercise class? Can you have walking
prayer time (Have printed prayer requests and walk outside the church-or inside.)
Examples of local and/or state Policies:
Does your community implement SMART codes? Would you get a group to go to
your council to discuss possible environmental changes? These may include
supporting green space mandates for new subdivisions, sidewalks added and/or
repaired, making the community an interesting place to walk, creating bike lanes and
walking paths, developing community gardens, supporting your local school’s wellness
policy, etc.
State and national: Contact your congressman to express support in issues around
obesity and health, sustainable land use, etc.
Resources:
Action for Healthy Kids is a nonprofit organization formed specifically to address the
epidemic of overweight, undernourished, and sedentary youth by focusing on changes
at school. Alabama’s AFHK often provides small grants for school interventions.
Contact Molly Killman at molly.killman@adph.state.al.us for the process used to award
these small grants. Action for Healthy Kids Food Choice Challenge Resource is a new
publication. For more information visit “www.actionforhealthykids.org”.
The above resource is also found on the Association of State and Territorial Public
Health Nutrition Directors web site, as well as a community assessment too. For more
information visit “http://astphnd.org/resource”.
School Health and Healthy youth issues, as well as tool kits to use at schools are
covered at http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/index.htm Another CDC site, describes
nutrition standards for foods in schools. Fact sheets are available at
“http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/nutrition/standards.htm”
This website provides lesson plans to teach children about healthy snacking,
recycling, exercising, etc. “http://www.lessonplanet.com”
This website has many tools for getting schools active (including lesson plans and a
link for kids). “http://aom2.americaonthemove.org/For-Schools.aspx”
3
The Strategic Alliance for Healthy Food and Activity Environments (Strategic
Alliance) is a coalition of nutrition and physical activity advocates based in California.
The Strategic Alliance is shifting the debate on nutrition and physical activity away from
a primary focus on personal responsibility and individual choice to one that examines
corporate and government practices and the role of the environment in shaping eating
and activity behaviors. “http://www.preventioninstitute.org/sa/children.html”
The MMWR article, “Assessment of Body Mass Index Screening of Elementary School
Children --- Florida, 2007—2008” provides information on the quality of policies and
guidelines used. If your school is doing height and weight measurements, this article
may provide good insight. “http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview”
The guide to use for procedures to follow when measuring heights and weights of
students is found at “http://adph.org/obesity/” on the childhood obesity page.
Information on the process the Birmingham City Schools followed to remove their
fryers from all school cafeterias and how to design a local community farm for
classroom credit can be learned from Bree Garret (nutrition@jvuf.org) from the
Jones Valley Urban Farm in Birmingham “http://www.jvuf.org/”.
Guides to use to evaluate vending machines and school stores’ food and beverage
content is found at “http://www.adph.org/NUTRITION/Default.asp?id=824” and are
called “Healthy Vending Machines” and “Check Your Choice- Is it a Healthy
Snack?”.
North Carolina recently released the Move More North Carolina: Recommended
Standards for After-School Physical Activity. The Standards provide a guide to
create practices, policies and environments supportive of physical activity in after-school
programs. The Standards are available at:
“http://www.eatsmartmovemorenc.com/AfterSchoolStandards/AfterSchoolStandards.ht
ml”
Walking meetings are described at
“http://www.chipolicy.org/pdf/5678.Walking%20Final%20After%20Public%20HW.pdf”
Resources for community interventions, general information, nutrition related
topics, parenting skill topics, physical activity topics, school interventions and
policy changes, and wellness programs are found at “http://adph.org/obesity/” on the
resource page.
Community policies that support sidewalks, green space mandates, walkable and
bikeable communities, etc/ are found at
“http://www.smartgrowth.org/library/articles.asp?art=691&res=1024” at Smart Growth
On Line. River Region Smart Growth is found at
“http://riverregionsmartgrowth.blogspot.com/”
4
The “Built Environment and Health” web pages describe the process followed in
transforming communities to become healthier places to live.
“http://www.preventioninstitute.org/builtenv.html”
The Maternal and Child Health library at Georgetown provides resources on topics
ranging from child care/early childhood education, food marketing to children ,
food safety, food security and nutrition assistance programs, school-based
nutrition education, and food service.
“http://mchlibrary.info/KnowledgePaths/kp_childnutr.html"
Bright Futures is a national health promotion initiative dedicated to the principle that
every child deserves to be healthy and that optimal health involves a trusting
relationship between the health professional, the child, the family, and the community as
partners in health practice. “http://www.brightfutures.org/”
The USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP) works to improve the
health and well-being of Americans by developing and promoting dietary guidance that
links scientific research to the nutrition needs of consumers. CNPP is an agency of
USDA's food, nutrition, and consumer services. “http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/”
SparkPeople is growing into one of the largest free diet and health-related sites in the
world at “http://www.sparkpeople.com/”. The recipe web pages,
“http://www.sparkrecipes.com/” help you find healthy recipes. You can also submit your
own recipes and use the free recipe calculator.
Scale Back Alabama is a statewide campaign held the first of each year to encourage
Alabamians to get healthier by losing weight and exercising. It is a joint project of the
Alabama Hospital Association (AlaHA) and the Alabama Department of Public Health
(ADPH), with underwriting from Barber's Dairies and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of
Alabama. This is a great way to start or build to a worksite wellness program at school.
“http://www.scalebackalabama.com/”
5