1. Tykisha West, MPH student
Why is a healthy nutritional environment important in primary and secondary schools?
Tykisha West, MPH student
Walden University
PUBH
Dr. Rebecca Heick
Spring, 2010
Hello my name is Tykisha West and I’m a MPH student at Walden University. My presentation today will be on Why is a healthy nutritional environment important in primary and secondary schools?

2. Objective
Educate the state board of education, teachers, students, and parents on the importance of nutrition in primary and secondary schools.
Promote environments that support physical activity and healthy eating.
Recommend community programs and messaging campaigns.
The objectives of this presentation will be to educate the state board of education, teachers, students, and parents on the importance of nutrition in primary and secondary schools, promote environments that support physical activity and healthy eating, and recommend community programs and messaging campaigns.

3. Why is nutrition important?
Children need good nutrition because their bodies are growing and developing.
Their diets tend to be high in sugar and starch, depleting their bodies of essential nutrients required for optimal growth and energy.
Why is nutrition important? Children need good nutrition because their bodies are growing and developing. Yet many children simply cannot resist the appeal of junk food, like calorie-heavy candy bars and sugar-filled soft drinks. Their diets tend to be high in sugar and starch, depleting their bodies of essential nutrients required for optimal growth and energy. Starting kids out right with healthy foods that appeal to them develops good eating habits that carry into adulthood.

4. Why is nutrition needed?
It promotes optimal childhood health, growth, and intellectual development
Prevents immediate health problems (iron deficiency anemia, obesity, eating disorders, and dental caries )
(CDC. (1996, June 14). Guidelines for School Health Programs to Promote Lifelong Healthy Eating. MMWR, 45 (RR-9);1-33. Retrieved from )
Nutrition is needed to promote optimal childhood health, growth, and intellectual development. It also prevents immediate health problems such as iron deficiency anemia, obesity, eating disorders, and dental caries (CDC, 1996). Most of the time individuals with eating disorders will need nutritional counseling and therapy to help with body shape, size, eating and food. Diet is a major determining factor for dental caries due to the excessive sugar intake.

5. Why is nutrition needed? Cont.
Prevent long-term health problems (coronary heart disease, cancer, and stroke)
Can help children and adolescents attain full educational potential and good health by providing them with the skills, social support, and environmental reinforcement they need to adopt long-term, healthy eating behaviors.
(CDC. ((1996, June 14). Guidelines for School Health Programs to Promote Lifelong Healthy Eating. MMWR, 45 (RR-9);1-33. Retrieved from )
Nutrition is needed to prevent long-term health problems such as coronary heart disease, cancer, and stroke. Nutrition can also help children and adolescents attain full educational potential and good health by providing them with the skills, social support, and environmental reinforcement they need to adopt long-term, healthy eating behaviors (CDC, 1996).

6. Iron Deficiency
Most common nutritional deficiency and the leading cause of anemia in the world
During critical times of growth and development iron deficiency can result in delayed growth and development, poor memory or poor cognitive skills, poor performance in school, work, military or in recreation, and lower IQs
(Iron Disorder Institute. (2009). Iron Deficiency Anemia. Retrieved from )
Iron deficiency is the result of too little iron in the body. It is the most common nutritional deficiency and the leading cause of anemia in the world. During critical times of growth and development iron deficiency can result in delayed growth and development, poor memory or poor cognitive skills, poor performance in school, work, military or in recreation. Iron deficiency has also been linked to lower IQs (Iron Disorder Institute, 2009).

7. Obesity
Obesity in children over the past 30 years has more than tripled.
Obesity is the result of caloric imbalance and is mediated by genetic, behavioral, and environmental factors.
There are short-term and long-term health impacts from childhood obesity.
(CDC. (2010, February 4). Childhood Obesity. Healthy Youth. Retrieved from
Obesity in children over the past 30 years has more than tripled. The prevalence of obesity among children aged 6 to 11 years increased from 6.5% in 1980 to 19.6% in The prevalence of obesity among adolescents aged 12 to 19 years increased from 5.0% to 18.1%. Obesity is the result of caloric imbalance and is mediated by genetic, behavioral, and environmental factors. Obese youth are at risk for cardiovascular disease, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, several types of cancer, and osteoarthritis. Obese youth are also at risk for bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, and social and psychological problems. Obesity can be reduced or prevented with healthy lifestyle habits, including healthy eating and physical activity (CDC, 2010).

8. Childhood Obesity Graph
This graph provides evidence of how childhood obesity has been on the rise over the past 30 years. This is determined by gender and it shows that over the years the obesity percentage has increased dramatically for both boys and girls. From this figure it shows that the percentage of obesity in boys were much more dramatic than in the girls. This could be because of a combination of metabolic, genetic, or environmental factors.

9. Diabetes
One of the most common chronic diseases among children in the United States.
About one in every 400 to 500 young people have diabetes.
More than 13,000 young people are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes each year.
Type 2 Diabetes.
(CDC. (2007). Fact Sheet: Search for Diabetes in Youth. Retrieved from )
Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases among children in the United States. Diabetes has become more prevalent in youth because of a decrease in exercise and physical activity and an increase in unhealthy eating habits. Approximately 150,000 young people under the age of 18 or one in every 400 to 500 young people have diabetes. Each year more than 13,000 young people are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. According to CDC, healthcare providers are finding more and more children with type 2 diabetes, a disease usually diagnosed in adults aged 40 years or older (CDC, 2007).

10. Coronary Heart Disease
Heart disease is not a major cause of death in children and teenagers but if not controlled at an early age it can cause death as an adult.
Risk Factors
High blood pressure
High cholesterol
Obesity
Smoking
Physical inactivity
Coronary heart disease often causes death in adults, however, to prevent this from happening children and teenagers must control the risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, smoking and physical inactivity.
(Texas Heart Institute. ((2010, February). Heart Disease Risk Factors for Children and Teenagers.
Retrieved from

11. Cancer The second leading cause of death after heart disease.
100,000 cases of cancer are caused by obesity in the United States each year.
According to the American Institute of Cancer Research, too much body fat causes nearly half the cases of endometrial cancer and a third of esophageal cancers.
(MSNBC. (2009, November 5). Obesity causes 100,000 U.S. Cancer Cases a Year. MSNBC. Retrieved from )
Cancer is the second leading cause of death after heart disease. Obesity causes 100,000 cases of cancer each year in the United States. Too much body fat causes nearly half the cases of endometrial cancer and a third of esophageal cancers, according to American Institute of Cancer Research (AICR). AICR did research linking diet, physical activity and fatness with cancer risk with national surveys on obesity and cancer incidence (MSNBC, 2009).

12. Childhood Strokes
If high cholesterol and other risk factors for heart disease are not controlled in children, it can cause adult strokes.
Childhood strokes are linked to:
Infections
Blood clotting disorders
Sickle cell disease
Genetic heart defects
Head or neck injuries
High cholesterol and other risk factors for heart disease were found to be linked to strokes. If this is not controlled in children it can cause adult strokes. Childhood strokes are also linked to infections, blood clotting disorders, sickle cell disease, genetic heart defects, and head or neck injuries (All Children’s Hospital, 2010).
(All Children’s Hospital. (2010, May). Childhood Strokes: More Common than Parents Know.
Retrieved from
newsletter&aearticleid=239&AEArticleType=ForYourChild )

13. Nutritional Guidelines
The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services require that all kids eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
(Nemours. (2010). The Food Guide Pyramid. Kids Health. Retrieved from )
The USDA and HHS require that all kids eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains to live healthier lives (Nemours, 2010). Here is a figure that shows how much of each section of the Food Pyramid an individual should intake.

14. Physical Activity Guidelines
USDA and HHS also think that kids should get at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise each day.
(Nemours. (2010). The Food Guide Pyramid. Kids Health. Retrieved from
The USDA and HHS thinks that kids should get at least 60 minutes of exercise each day (Nemours, 2010). This figure shows us how to increase our physical activity with various activities.

15. Foods Not Recommended for School Food Services
Savory snack foods
Ice Creams and ice confections
Sweet pastries
Cakes
Muffins
Candy bars
Deep-fried foods
Sugar-sweetened drinks
(2DEECD. (2009, June 26). Occasionally Category (Red) Foods. Retrieved from ).
These are foods that increase obesity within the schools. Therefore, these foods should be limited in the schools.

16. Foods Recommended for School Food Services
Fruits
Vegetables
Breads and cereals, rice, pasta, noodles
Dairy foods (reduced or low-fat milk, yoghurt and cheese)
Lean meat and poultry, fish, eggs, nuts and legumes
Water
(1DEECD. (2009, June 25). Everyday (Green) Foods. Retrieved from )
To promote healthier lives and better performance in school, these foods should be offered more often.

17. Typical vs. Nutritional
Typical Nutritional Why it’s better
Beef bologna on white Lean turkey on whole wheat Less fat and more fiber
Mayonnaise Lettuce and mustard Less fat and fewer
calories
Potato chips Carrots & celery with light Less fat and a serving dressing of vegetables
Fruit cup in light syrup Fresh grapes Less sugar and fewer calories
Chocolate sandwich Homemade trail mix Less fat and more fiber
cookies
Fruit punch drink Skim milk Fewer calories, less sugar, plus calcium
980 calories calories fewer calories
48 g fat g fat fewer grams of fat
13.5 g saturated fat g saturated fat fewer grams of saturated fat
125 g carbohydrates g carbohydrates fewer grams of carbohydrates
59 g sugar g sugar fewer grams of sugar
3 g fiber g fiber more grams of fiber
(Nemours. (2010). The Food Guide Pyramid. Kids Health. Retrieved from )
Here is a typical school lunch compared to a nutritional school lunch taken from the Kids Health by Nemours website. This gave the amount of calories, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, sugar and fiber in each school lunch. It also gave the reasons why the nutritional school lunch was much better than the typical school lunch.

18. Recommendations for Healthier Living
Make state efforts more consistently supportive of changes toward healthy eating and increased physical activity.
Allow the Department of Social Services to work with childcare facilities to monitor nutritional value of meals and physical activity.
Allow the Department of Education to provide better health education and physical activity programs in schools and provide improved nutritional options through food programs
To have a healthier life there must be some recommendations. These would consist of: Make state efforts more consistently supportive of changes toward healthy eating and increased physical activity, allow the Department of Social Services to work with childcare facilities to monitor nutritional value of meals and physical activity, and allow the Department of Education to provide better health education and physical activity programs in schools and provide improved nutritional options through food programs.

19. Recommendations for Healthier Living Cont.
Department of Parks and Recreation should consistently promote the use of state parks and recreational space
Department of Transportation should help to better improve pedestrian access, bike routes, and walking trails and reduce traffic congestion and encourage safer routes to schools
Ensure the governor and/or state agencies launch messaging campaigns to parents and children on healthy lifestyles
The Department of Parks and Recreation should consistently promote the use of state parks and recreational space, the Department of Transportation should help to better improve pedestrian access, bike routes, and walking trails and reduce traffic congestion and encourage safer routes to schools, and ensure the governor and/or state agencies launch messaging campaigns to parents and children on healthy lifestyles are also some recommendations for healthier living.

20. Reference
All Children’s Hospital. (2010, May). Childhood Strokes: More Common than Parents Know. Retrieved from
CDC. (1996, June 14). Guidelines for School Health Programs to Promote Lifelong Healthy Eating. MMWR. 45(RR-9);1-33. Retrieved from

21. Reference Cont.
CDC. (2007). Fact Sheet: Search for Diabetes in Youth. Retrieved from
CDC. (2010, February 4). Childhood Obesity. Healthy Youth. Retrieved from
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. (2009, June 25). Everyday (Green) Foods. Retrieved from

22. Reference Cont.
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. (2009, June 26). Occasionally Category (Red) Foods. Retrieved from

23. Reference Cont.
Iron Disorder Institute. (2009). Iron Deficiency Anemia. Retrieved from
MSNBC. (2009, November 5). Obesity causes 100,000 U.S. Cancer Cases a Year. MSNBC. Retrieved from
Nemours. (2010). The Food Guide Pyramid. Kids Health. Retrieved from

24. Reference Cont.
Ogden, C.L., Carroll, M.D., Curtin, L.R., McDowell, M.A., Tabak, C.J., Flegal, K.M. (2006). Prevalence of overweight and obesity in the United States. JAMA; 295, (13):
Texas Heart Institute. (2010, February). Heart Disease Risk Factors for Children and Teenagers. Retrieved from

25. Sites for Additional Information
American Heart Association. (2010, April 24). Dietary Recommendations for Healthy Children. Retrieved April 12, 2010 from This site provides recommendations for infants, children and adolescents to promote cardiovascular health.
CDC. (2008, August 20). Make a Difference at Your School: Key Strategies to Prevent Obesity. Retrieved April 15, 2010 from This site outlines 10 evidence-based strategies for schools to implement in addressing childhood obesity.

26. Sites for Additional Information Cont.
Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Interactive Menu Planner. Retrieved April 15, 2010 from This site allows you to keep track of your daily food intake.
Food and Nutrition Services (2009). School Meals. Retrieved April 15, 2010 from . The site provides information on different school meal plans.