1. THE WATER
CHALLENGE:
CHANGING THE
WAY WE DRINK
By: Emily Apitz & Jen Scahill

2. CHILDHOOD OBESITY :
CAUSES
⅓ of United States pediatric population is overweight
Obesity reflects a wide range of issues
o Genetics
o Culture
o Socioeconomic status
o Behavioral factors*
Shang et al, 2011; Kosava et al, 2013

3. SUGAR-SWEETENED BEVERAGES
(SSBs)
 Forms
 Empty calories
 no nutritional value
 Lack of satiety
Shang et al, 2012; Kosava er al, 2013; Bleich et al, 2012; DeBoer et al, 2013

4. IMPLICATIONS
 Poor overall nutritional choices
 Metabolic Syndrome
 Alterations in lipoprotein levels
 Higher waist circumference
 Visceral adiposity
 hypertension
 High glycemic load
 Inflammation
 Insulin resistance
 Problems stemming from childhood will follow into adulthood
Shang et al, 2011; Kosava et al, 2013; Chan et al, 2014

5. POPULATION
 Chicago Public Schools
 Male & female students
 6-14 years old
 Parent Education Levels
http://cps.edu/About_CPS/At-a-glance/Pages/Stats_and_facts.aspx; Ruyter et al, 2012

6. WATER CHALLENGE
 Water bottles
 Competition between grades
 Class dinner and giveaways

7. SCHOOL- BASED INTERVENTION
School aged children
Time spent at school
School breakfast & lunch programs
Children from all different backgrounds
http://cps.edu/About_CPS/At-a-glance/Pages/Stats_and_facts.aspx

8. INTERVENTION
Nutrition education once a week
-Exposure to calorie information
Added into daily lesson planning of teacher once a week
15- 20 minutes of education on SSBs and calories
Handouts & materials to bring home and share with family
members
Weekly interactive nutrition homework assignment
Bleich et al, 2012

9. CHANGE IN SCHOOL POLICY
Restriction of amount of SSBs sold in schools
Changes in guidelines foods allowed to be sold in schools
Watts et al, 2014

10. CONCLUSION
 School based interventions are generally successful
 Support must come from the home too
 Nutrition education is necessary to bridge the knowledge gap
 Instilling good health habits in young children will carry on into
adulthood

11. REFERENCES
● Van de Gaar V, Jansen W, Grieken A, et al. Effects of an intervention aimed at reducing the intake of
sugar-sweetened beverages in primary school children: a control trial. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act.
2014;11:98.
● Shang X, Liu A, Zhang Q, et al. Report on childhood obesity in China (9): Sugar-sweetened beverages
consumption and obesity. Biomed Environ Sci. 2012; 25(2): 125-132.
● Kosava E, Auinger P, Bremer A. The relationships between sugar-sweetened beverage intake and
cardio metabolic markers in young children. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2013; 113(2)219-227.
● Mậsse L, Niet-Fitzgerald E, Watts A, et al. Associations between the food school environment, student
consumption and body mass index of Canadian adolescents. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2014;11:29.
● Ruyter J, Olthof M, Seidell J, et al. A trial of sugar-free or sugar-sweetened beverages and body weight
in children. N Engl J Med. 2012;367:1397-1406.
● Chan T, Lin W, Huang H, et al. Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with
components of the metabolic syndrome in adolescents. Nutrients. 2014; 6:2088-2103.
● Bleich S, Herring B, Flagg D, et al. Reduction in purchases of sugar-sweetened beverages among low-
income black adolescents after exposure to caloric information. Am J Public Health. 2012;102:329-335.
● DeBoer M, Scharf R, Demmer R. Sugar sweetened beverages and weight gain in 2- to 5-year-old
children. Pediatrics. 2013; 132:3.
● Folta S, Kuder J, Goldberg J, et al. Changes in diet and physical activity resulting from the Shape Up
Somerville community intervention. BMC Pediatrics. 2013; 13:157.
● Watts A, Masse L, Naylor P. Changes to the school food and physical activity environment after
guideline implementation in British Columbia, Canada. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2014;11:50.
● http://cps.edu/About_CPS/At-a-glance/Pages/Stats_and_facts.aspx