HSP Overview

"I have been drinking milk, balancing my meals. I went from 142 to 130 pounds. I feel much better when I see a difference, and all thanks to having a dietitian and a physical education teacher to encourage me. I worked out and ate healthy meals and snacks." -- 6th grader

The incidence of obesity among children in the U.S. is cause for alarm, and was the impetus for the ACFN Foundation to create a new model for addressing the epidemic.

The statistics tell the story: 31.9% of children and adolescents were at or above 85% of the BMI-for-age-growth charts based on data collected from 2003-2006. The CDC has estimated that 16 percent of the nation’s school children are obese.

Something had to be done.

ACFN's view is that to successfully fight obesity, the old model that focused on either physical activity or nutrition as standalone obesity solutions had to be abandoned for a new approach. Our view is that to truly be successful in combating obesity, a school-based program that combines nutrition coaching with a proven physical education program would need to be developed.

A scan of the landscape of existing nutrition education and physical education programs by the ACFN Foundation showed a profound absence of interventions that effectively addressed both fitness and nutrition. Programs that took into account the concept and practice of energy balance – calories in/calories out – were not being brought forward. This deficit created the impetus for developing a completely unique curriculum that can teach children about the importance of both physical activity and nutrition and how they relate.

The ACFN Foundation identified two key partners to help bring this vision to life, today this vision is known as the Healthy Schools Partnership (HSP). Three organizations--the ACFN Foundation, the American Dietetic Association Foundation (ADAF), and PE4life, have brought together their expertise and are driven by the same desire to find long-term solutions to arrest and ultimately reverse childhood obesity.

Here is how the Healthy Schools Partnership Works:

Physical education teachers from the PE4life program and registered dietitians from the ADAF work side by side in schools to implement strategies to motivate students to be more active and to eat a more balanced and nutritious diet.

But it goes deeper than that.

On the physical education side, PE4life believes PE should be directed to all students, not just the athletically inclined, offer a variety of fitness, sport, leisure, and adventure activities, provide a safe and encouraging learning environment, utilize individual assessments, incorporate current technology, extend PE beyond the walls of the gymnasium and be offered to every child every day.

With regard to nutrition, RD nutrition coaches teach children about MyPyramid, how to read food labels, how to choose portion size, and how to make healthy beverage and snack choices based upon their physical activity levels.

"As an RD Nutrition Coach, I get the privilege of working with kids in a fun and interactive environment to help them make small health-behavior changes. From their stories and input during the RD coaching sessions, I hear the ripple-effect that the HSP program is having on their food choices and the information they share with family and friends." -Tammi Linnebur, MPH, RD, LD

The PE4life physical education teacher and the RD nutrition coach are a powerful duo showing children that the calories they eat and the calories they expend must be in "energy balance".

Evidence of success is easy to find. According to Craig Rupert, a school principal in Kansas City, a HSP pilot location, "This program really fits into my students' lives. They have either found something they want to work on to improve their physical activity level, their diet, or they recognize something they can be proud of because they have been making a healthy lifestyle choice. The HSP program is empowering a generation of students to balance what they do and what they eat – behaviors that that will last a lifetime."

Evaluation

Evaluating the program is a key component to the continued success of the Healthy Schools Partnership program. In June 2009, the ACFN Foundation, ADAF and PE4life began work on the development of a combined assessment of the physical education and nutrition education components of the Healthy Schools Partnership. Working with the University of California at Berkeley Center for Weight and Health and the University of Kansas Center for Physical Activity and Weight Management, the research will assess the effectiveness of the Healthy Schools Partnership program in teaching children the concept of energy balance over a three-year period.

The following elements will be measured and evaluated:

• Student knowledge, attitudes and behavior regarding energy balance to maintain a healthy weight (physical activity and nutrition)
• Impact of the program on fitness scores and BMI measures
• Improved food behavior in school lunch through the use of digital photography of lunch trays pre- and post-intervention
• Increased physical activity on weekdays through the use of accelerometers pre- and post-intervention

Researchers will also assess the value of the Healthy Schools Partnership among schools administrators, teachers and foodservice personnel, and changes in the school environment associated with the program.

Building for the Future

In 2009, the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation selected the Healthy Schools Partnership as its model program to reach schoolchildren as part of its newly launched effort to help reduce obesity. The Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation, a coalition comprised of leading food and beverage manufactures and retailers is funding the HSP with an $8.5 million multi-year grant to expand the program beyond its pilot in Kansas City. The new funding will allow the HSP to reach schools in Chicago, Des Moines, Washington, D.C. and a tribal community in Iowa.