Promoting wellness to fight childhood obesity in the early elementary classroom
Author | : Kaitlin Brooks VanPatten |
Publisher | : |
Total Pages | : 90 |
Release | : 2011 |
ISBN-10 | : OCLC:1153416872 |
ISBN-13 | : |
Rating | : 4/5 (72 Downloads) |
Book excerpt: With rates of childhood obesity reaching epidemic proportions, and the attendant health, psychological, and socialization problems and costs rising grave concerns have arisen among parents, educators, health care professionals, policy experts, and politicians. Since the turn of the century, federal legislation and regulations, and state and local responses there to, have shone a bright spotlight on the issue of childhood overweight and obesity. Possessing an established societal presence that encompasses the overwhelming majority of our children and families, our school systems are at the forefront of efforts to turn back this alarming tide through the federally mandated school-based wellness programs. As I reflected upon the little-and not so little-ones in my classroom and in the hallways of my school, I realized that my Kindergarten classroom, as well as those of my fellow early elementary colleagues, needs an effective program to pursue the wellness program goals, including nutrition education, nutrition standards, physical education and physical activity opportunities, and other school activities. These areas of study, as well as the insight of research into the area of wellness and school-based wellness programming, provide the foundation for the design and implementation of an effective program within the parameters of the district’s wellness policy, while not losing sight of the omnipresent constraints of budget, curriculum, time, and talents.