Obesity Prevention - Movement & Nutrition in the Classroom

Founder & Director of Follow Me! Healthy Parents, Healthy KidsAbout Follow Me! Follow Me!'s mission is to aide in the fight against childhood obesity by educating parents about the importance of setting a positive example with fitness, diet and nutrition and families about the importance of living a healthy lifestyle. We do this through strategic partnerships, large family based events along with year round community outreach and education

How Follow Me! Got Started: ,[object Object]

Leading By Example Whether We Like It or Not

Getting Parents Involved In Change

Education is the Key to Success“Be The Change You Wish To See In The World” ~ Gandhi

Alarming Statistics The National Average for Overweight Children in America is 31%. Ohio’s Average for Obese Children is 34% Children who are 10 years old and are overweight have an 80% risk of being obese as an adult.

Alarming Statistics Obesity in children increases the risks of heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, stroke, breast cancer, bone and joint problems, sleep apnea, mental disorders such as depression and low self esteem. - 80% of type II diabetes related to obesity - 70% of cardiovascular disease related to obesity - 42% breast & colon cancer diagnosed in obese individuals - 26% of obese people having high blood pressure

Alarming Statistics Overweight people are: ,[object Object]

Up to 306% more likely to develop diabetes (obese: up to 1,020%)

16% more likely to die of a first heart attack (obese: 49%)

Roughly 50% more likely to have total cholesterol above 250 (obese: up to 122%)

Likely to spend 37% more a year at the pharmacy (obese: up to 105%)

Likely to stay 19% longer in the hospital (obese: up to 49%)

20% more likely to have asthma (obese: 62%)

Up to 31% more likely to die of any cause (obese: up to 62%)

19% more likely to die in a car crash (obese: 37%)

120% more likely to develop stomach cancer (obese: 330%)

Up to 90% more likely to develop gallstones (obese: up to 150%)

590% more likely to develop esophageal cancer (obese: 1,520%)

35% more likely to develop kidney cancer (obese: 70%)

14% more likely to have osteoarthritis (obese: 34%)

70% more likely to develop high blood pressure (obese: up to 170%),[object Object]

Hidden Costs of Obesity Super Sizing - $7.72 per meal On average, getting a value meal at a fast-food restaurant costs 67 cents--an apparent bargain. But eating that meal comes with its own costs. For a man who is already obese, the extra calories will mean he spends 5 cents extra on gasoline that year, an extra 36 cents on food in the future because of the weight he gained, and an extra $6.64 in annual health care costs. Out of Your Pocket- $180 per year About half of the total cost of obesity-related health care, or about $45 billion, is paid by the government through its Medicare program, which covers senior citizens, or Medicaid, which helps the poor. For every American citizen, the out-of-pocket tax cost is an average $180.

Top Eight Things Teachers Can Teach Their Students About Health, Wellness & Nutrition

Tip #1 Never Skip Breakfast Children skip breakfast more than any other meal. People who skip breakfast are more likely to take up smoking or drinking.

Tip #2 Snack With Purpose Over the past 20 years, salty snack portions increased by 93 calories & soft drinks have increased by 49 calories. With just a simple snack of chips & a soda kids are ingesting 142 more calories than we did as kids.

Tip #3 Beware of Portions Since 1977, portion sizes have dramatically increased. Hamburgers by 97 calories, french fries by 68 calories and Mexican food by 133 calories. Serving portions in smaller bowl or cups will result in kids consuming less without knowing it.

Tip #4 Eat More Whole Foods General rule of thumb is to eat foods with seven ingredients or less Do a classroom experiment of researching what is in the foods your students are eating (fast food & meals) then challenge them to find foods with seven or less ingredients

Tip #5 Set the Table Eating foods in a designated area at a set time helps regulate eating habits and control eating Conduct a classroom experiment. Have kids log the food they eat in their normal routine and then have them eat at the table and log their food. Have a classroom discussion about the difference.

Tip #7 Kick The Sugar Habit These days high fructose corn syrup can be found in almost everything. Compared to 1977, Americans consume 132 calories more of high fructose corn syrup a day. Challenge your student to look in their cupboards at their regular snack items and find three that do not have high fructose corn syrup. Have a discussion about what is on everyone's list.

Tip #8 Eat the Rainbow Foods that are great for us have a natural source of color. Eating fruits and vegetables that are dark in color are the best for our bodies. Have a discussion in your classroom of the vegetables and fruits that everyone eats and what are their favorites. Use a downloadable nutrition guide to talk about the benefits of each color.

Physical activity allows students to relieve stress and aggression, thereby bringing better focus to the classroom, and movement during classroom activities can help some students to better engage.

Easy Implementations In The Classroom How to Use Fitness Breaks to Keep Students Alert in the Classroom Energy BreaksA short fitness break of three to four minutes can get the blood pumping again, relieve boredom, reduce tension and increase your students' level of alertness. The result will be better learning by students and a better teaching experience for you. While it is not time spent on-task, it will make your students more able to learn, so it is definitely worthwhile. MusicSome of the best energy breaks are performed to music, using on-the-spot aerobics movements designed to move the limbs and get the blood flowing. Be sure to have a tape full of 3-4 minute songs suitable for such a routine. A good tempo for such songs is 20-24 beats in a 10-second time span. The exercises you select should be appropriate for a teacher and students wearing typical classroom clothing.

Easy Implementations In The Classroom Office Worker RoutinesThis is also a good opportunity to introduce exercises your students can use once they are in the work world and stuck at a desk all day. Such exercises include wrist rotations, shoulder shrugs, heel lifts, neck movements and the soldier press, all of which can be performed while seated. Sample Energy Break MovementsHere are some sample movements you could use in your routine: High knee marching. Jogging lightly on the spot. Race walking on the spot. Arm rotations, forward and back. Skip rope movements and variations such as crossovers, and backwards arm rotations. Swimming movements with the arms, mimicking different strokes. Throwing movements. Jump shot movements. Various dance step variations: sideways steps, forward steps, backwards steps, etc. Touching various body parts: head, shoulders, hips, knees, shins, toes (i.e. playing Simon Says while marching).

Easy Implementations In The Classroom Sleepy Starfish Lie down on your back with your legs and arms apart. Stay very still and imagine you are a sleepy starfish resting at the bottom of the ocean. Breathe in and as you breathe out relax you arms. Breathe in and as you breathe out relax your legs, breathe in and as you breathe out relax your head. See how still you can be at the bottom of the ocean, resting like a sleepy starfish. Repeat to yourself I am silent, I am silent... Big Balloon Close your eyes, be very still and imagine that you are holding a big balloon. It is very light. It feels very smooth. The balloon is in your favorite color. Now hold the bottom of your balloon, and feel the balloon gently rising into the sky. Each time you breathe in and out, you gently glide further and further into the warm summer sky. The deeper your breath is, the further you can travel. Enjoy this feeling of weightlessness. Enjoy the feeling of being completely free. Your body feels weightless and free and your mind feels totally free.

Easy Implementations In The Classroom Elastic Band Close your eyes, be very still and imagine your body is a piece of elastic. Just relax to start with and enjoy being a floppy piece of elastic. Allow your legs to be floppy and relaxed, let you arms be floppy and relaxed, let your stomach be floppy and relaxed and finally, let you neck and head be floppy and relaxed. Now very slowly imagine someone is very gently tugging your head and someone else is pulling your feet at the same time. And the elastic is becoming tighter. Your muscles are becoming more taut. Your whole body is getting longer and longer. Enjoy this wonderful stretching feeling as you are growing longer. Then ... ping....let all the muscles in your body relax as the elastic band is released. Relax back to being a floppy bendy piece of elastic again. Enjoy this wonderful feeling of being totally relaxed and floppy. Squeeze and RelaxTake in a deep breath and as you breathe in, squeeze all the muscles in you body. Now, breathe out and relax all the muscles in your body. Repeat this exercise 2 or 3 times...

Obesity Prevention - Movement & Nutrition in the Classroom

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (6)

More from Laura Miller

More from Laura Miller (8)

Obesity Prevention - Movement & Nutrition in the Classroom