It is estimated that one in three children in the United States are obese or overweight. In reaction to this prevalent and growing problem, and as one of the many outgrowths of the sweeping federal health care law that holds third party payers and employers responsible for obesity costs, increased focus is being placed on reducing the rising childhood obesity rates. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s recently issued new nutritional guidelines in an effort to revamp the federally backed school meals program.
Earlier this month First lady Michelle Obama traveled to Fairfax, Virginia to announce the new nutritional guidelines for the National School Lunch Program. The First lady’s Let’s Move! Campaign, a comprehensive initiative dedicated to solving the problem of obesity within a generation health, has been one of her primary focuses as of late. Ms. Obama has promoted fitness and healthy eating by challenging U.S. school systems to provide healthier foods, and to also incorporate more opportunities for our children to engage in physical activity.
Now that changes are being made to the federal school meals program and more children will be eating more fruits, vegetables and whole grains, will more focus be placed on how to increase physical activity? The number of U.S. school children who are not active enough to ensure healthy physical, mental and emotional development is growing. Low-income children from urban, communities are at greatest risk and urban after-school programs enroll children who encounter higher rates of overweight and obesity.
Vida recently completed the development of an NIH/CDC funded, evidenced-based program, “After-School Gets Moving: A Multimedia Staff Development Program” (ASGM). This program was created in collaboration with Health Resources in Action, National Out of School Time (NIOST) and Playworks, a leader in the promotion of physical activity in schools and a favorite of Ms. Obama’s. ASGM is a resource for urban after-school providers designed to effectively promote physical activity among children ages 6-10. This multimedia staff development program consists of:
- A two-part Staff Development DVD program
- DVD Part 1: Training for After School Staff: explains why movement matters so much to children’s health; explores challenges that get in the way when incorporating more physical activity in after school; and presents strategies to help overcome obstacles.
- DVD Part 2: Game Guide: consists of easy-to-follow, visual demonstrations to help staff learn how to play and lead a variety of games.
- A 37-page Leader’s Training Guide
ASGM was assessed in a rigorous quasi-experimental evaluation led by consultant researchers from NIOST. Vida plans to release final report highlighting the findings in Spring 2012. It is Vida’s hope that this program will be adopted and used to increase activity levels among students in resource-limited after school settings.
To learn more about “After School Gets Moving” please click here
