2. Abstract Introduction – Statement of Problem – Review of Related Literature – Statement of the Hypothesis Method – Participants – Research Design – Threats to Internal/External Validity – Data Graph – Correlation Graphs – Results – Conclsuios – Consent Forms – Instruments – Video References Table of Contents

3. Statement of the Problem When a child is hungry, you feed them and often without thinking twice, your main goal at that point is to take away hunger from that child’s belly. Often we give children whatever is available, whatever is convenient, and something the child likes. What most people don’t do is think about the calorie content, or the saturated fat, or the nutritional value in that meal they just served that child. People eat what they want, when they want and how they want it. Obesity is a growing problem across America that has no preference. It affect, adults and the elderly and is now attacking our children. Serious action must be taken and it needs to start with our children. Schools across America can play a key role in helping to stop childhood obesity by focusing more on physical education and less on teaching to a test.

4. Introduction America is one of the leading countries in childhood obesity. (District Administration Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Magazine) Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years. (District Administration Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Magazine) Statistics show that nearly one in three American children are either overweight or obese.

5. Introduction- Statement of the Problem Physical Education classes are being eliminated in hopes of improving grades. (Taras, 2005) There is a lack of physical and nutritional education. Schools aren’t doing enough to help out its children.

6. Review of Related Literature Pros Interventions have taken place inside of schools to help with childhood obesity, such as dietary intake and increased physical activity.(National Lunch Program) (Brown, 2009). Schools have chosen healthier snack and drink options for vending machines or have eliminated vending machines completely. (Lorna, 2004). Exercise programs and physical activity has been increased. Cons Funding has been cut for these programs that were put in place to which ultimately resulted in obesity rising. The elimination of vending machines have caused the schools to lose lots of money. (Lorna, 2004). Preparing for standardized tests have been considered more important therefore cutting out gym/dance and nutritional education. (Taras, 2005). Children who are not educated about obesity during childhood will most likely continue through to adolescence and adulthood being obese. (Hedley, 2004).

7.  More Cons  Childhood obesity is a major public health concern, and has more than doubled since the 1970s. Death rate resulting from the effects obesity has surpassed deaths caused by cigarette smoking. (Battista, 2010) Many kids are spending less time exercising and more time in front of the TV, computer, or video-game console. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) Today's busy families have fewer free moments to prepare nutritious, home- cooked meals. From fast food to electronics, quick and easy is the reality for many people. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol were all once considered exclusively adult diseases and now children are getting it as well. (Gavin, 2012) The percentage of overweight children in the United States is growing at an alarming rate, with 1 out of 3 kids now considered overweight or obese. Obese kids also may be predisposed to low self-esteem that stems from being teased, bullied, or rejected by peers who may eventually develop unhealthy dieting habits and eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia. Obese children will be more prone to depression, and be more at risk for substance abuse.(Gavin, 2012)

8. Hypothesis Implementing a Healthy Nutritional Diet and an exercise plan 3x a week, for 30 mins, for 1 month, at an urban school in Brooklyn, will motivate 6 JHS level students to choose a healthier diet, with less fatty foods and exercise on a regular basis.

9. Participants Six 6 th grade students were the participants. 4 boys, 2 girls 3 Hispanics, 2 African Americans, and 1 Arab Instruments Food Journals Movement Journals Pre and Post Surveys Healthy Foods Gym Time Recess Time MyPlate Video Workshop (Supersize Me)

10. Research Design The pre-experimental design I am going to implement for my research is One-Group Pretest-Posttest Design. The symbolic design for this research is OXO, this mean that a single group will be pretested (O), exposed to a treatment (X), and then post-tested (O).

11. Threats to Internal Validity History- This can be a threat because once the child leaves the classroom there is no control what happens at home or at the park or elsewhere. Maturation- This is a threat to my study because I am working with the middle school population and they are growing rapidly. Over a four week span I can see some of them gaining weight not necessarily because of what they are eating or not eating but because of the changes and growth going on in their body. Testing/ Pre-test Sensitization- I can see this being a threat with my students because if they see a similar test/survey for the second time they may not take it seriously. Statistical Regression- this might be a threat considering the participants are all different and are at different physical levels. Differential Selection of Subject- This is a threat because my subjects are growing at a rapid pace and they will be physically different as well as mentally different from the start to the end. Selection- Maturation Interaction- Yes this poses as a threat because my results may be skewed due to the different growing rates especially amongst the boys.

12. Threats to External Validity Generalizable Conditions- I think that this can be a threat because the same project can be duplicated and there may be different results. Selection- Treatment Interaction- This is a major threat because my subjects are not random. They are all in special Ed, in the same school same class and same grade. If the selection was more random I think the results would be more reliable. Specificity of Variables- I will try my hardest not to make this a threat and will try to make my variables operate as efficiently as possible. Experimenter Effects- I think this will be a threat because the participants may have prior knowledge about the food pyramid or what obesity is. Reactive Arrangements/ Participants Effects- I think this can be a threat because the children can lie on the post survey because of the placebo effect of because they feel the need to impress me and showed that they learned something.

13. Students Weight Before and After Intervention

14. Correlation Between Students Who Care About Their Appearance and Number of Students Who Enjoyed the Exercises

15. Correlation Between Children Who Consider Themselves Healthy and Children Who Do Not Eat Junk Food

16. Results 5 out of 6 children lost 1 or more lbs. 6 out of 6 children admitted to eating healthier after the intervention. 4 out of 6 children admitted to drinking more water and less soda. 6 out of 6 children admit to feeling healthier after a month of working out. Students who were overweight and bullied were more serious about exercising and lost more weight. Students who consider themselves healthy don’t eat much junk food. Students who care about their appearance enjoyed the exercises they did with me. Students had little knowledge about what fast food really does to you and were scared out of eating McDonalds. For now… Students who were overweight sweated a lot more during the exercises. Most of the students didn’t have prior teaching about healthy eating. Most students knew what was unhealthy but didn’t care until we spoke about the health risks.

17. Conclusions Overall my hypothesis was correct. By implementing my intervention plan the students are being wiser about what they eat and drink. They are also wanting to exercise more and have lost weight throughout my intervention.

18. Consent Form(Principal) Dear Principal, I am currently a graduate student in the Childhood Education Masters program at Brooklyn College. I am currently in the process of working on an Action Research Project based on Obesity in Children and the effect schools have on it. Therefore, I am requesting your permission to observe 6 Early Intervention students in my classroom in your school. My research will involve me implementing a Healthy Nutritional Diet and an exercise plan 3x a week, for 30 min, for 1 month, before lunch, so that in turn it will motivate 6 JHS level students to choose a healthier diet, with less fatty foods and exercise on a regular basis. In order to successfully conduct my research, I am requesting your permission to use my classroom in your school for data in my research study. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me via email at mmorales@s4is.org or by cell phone at 646-821-0025.mmorales@s4is.org Thank you in advance for your support! Sincerely, Michelle Morales I ________________________________________________ (Principal’s name) give Michelle Morales permission to take use my school JHS X in the research study. Principal’s Signature : Date:

19. Consent Form (Parents) Dear Parent/ Guardian, I am currently a graduate student in the Childhood Education Masters program at Brooklyn College. I am currently in the process of working on an Action Research Project based on Obesity in Children and the effect schools have on it. I will be observing your child’s class as well as administering a survey based on their current diet. This survey will not affect your child’s grades in any way and will be anonymous in my study and data records. All findings and results will be reported and shared as a group, which means your child will be anonymous. In order to successfully conduct my research, I am requesting your permission to use your student’s data for my research study. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me via email at mmorales@s4is.org or by cell phone at 646-821-0025.mmorales@s4is.org Thank you in advance for your support! Sincerely, Michelle Morales I give __________________________________________________________ (Student’s name) permission to take part in the research study. Parent/Guardian Signature : Date:

20. Instruments (Pre-Survey) Appendix C: Questionnaire Before Intervention Demographics How old are you? ____ What grade are you in? _________ Male__ Female__ What is your race/nationality? _______________________________________ Please put the numbers 1-5 in the space provided that applies to you. Strongly Disagree Disagree Uncertain Agree Strongly Agree 1 2 3 4 5 I consider myself a healthy child ________ I consider myself fat ________ I consider myself skinny ________ I consider myself average/normal weight ________ I wish I were skinnier ________ I wish I were heavier/weighed more ________ I have been made fun of for being fat/skinny? ________ It hurt my feelings? ________ I care about my weight? ________ I care about my appearance? ________ Our school helps us learn about healthy eating and being physically fit? ________ I eat whatever tastes good even if I know it’s not healthy? ________ I am interested in becoming a healthier person? ________

21. Please put the numbers 1-5 in the space provided that applies to you. Never Rarely Sometimes Usually Always 1 2 3 4 5 How many times a week do you walk to school? ________ How many times a week do you exercise? ________ How many times a week do you have recess? ________ How many times a week do you eat school lunch? ________ How many times a week do you bring your own lunch from home? ________ How many times a week do you eat breakfast? ________ How many times a week do you eat fried food? ________ How many times a week do you eat fruit and vegetables? ________ How many times a week do you eat snacks between meals? ________ How many times a week do you eat fast food / Chinese food? ________ How many times a week do you eat bread / cereals / potatoes? ________ How many times a week do you eat dairy products (milk, cheese)? ________ How many times a week do you drink water? ________ How many times a week do you drink juice? ________ How many times a week do you drink soda? ________ Instruments (Survey) Continued

22. Instruments (Post-Survey) Appendix D: Questionnaire After Intervention Demographics How old are you? ____ What grade are you in? _________ Male__ Female__ What is your race/nationality? _______________________________________ Please put the numbers 1-5 in the space provided that applies to you. Strongly Disagree Disagree Uncertain Agree Strongly Agree 1 2 3 4 5 I consider myself a healthy child ________ I consider myself fat ________ I consider myself skinny ________ I consider myself average/normal weight ________ I wish I were skinnier ________ I wish I were heavier/weighed more ________ I care about my weight ________

23. Instruments (Survey) Continued I care about my appearance ________ I eat whatever tastes good even if I know it’s not healthy ________ I am interested in becoming a healthier person ________ Recently I began eating healthier than a month ago ________ I enjoyed the lessons Ms. Morales taught us about being healthy ________ I enjoyed the exercises we did w/Ms. Morales ________ I feel healthier after a month of exercising with Ms. Morales ________ I exercise more now than a month ago ________ I eat less fried foods now than a month ago ________ I eat less junk food now than a month ago ________ I eat less fast food now than a month ago ________ I drink less juice now than a month ago ________ I drink less soda now than a month ago ________ I drink more water now than a month ago ________

24. Inspirational Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf- O1vMueUk

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