Obesity Reduction Programs in Primary Schools - Research Proposal Example

Running head: CHILDHOOD OBESITY Childhood Obesity [Writer’s name] [Institution’s name] Abstract Obesity is an increasing epidemic throughout the world. Children nowadays do not eat healthy food nor do they indulge in physical activity. Primary School children mostly in Australia are suffering from obesity. This epidemic has to be controlled by obesity reduction programs. The schools and parents both have to take notice of this issue. A lot of obesity reduction programs have helped in reducing the epidemic. Recently the Australian government has introduced a number of programs in schools, so that this problem can be tackled. However, every program in order to be successful has to have some important elements. The aims of this study are to analyze obesity reduction programs in primary schools according to elements necessary for a successful obesity reduction programs. Review the current literature to identify key factors for successful reduction of obesity in Australian Primary schools. Identify current Australian health and physical activity programs that encompass a variety of strategies that aim to reduce obesity. This paper analyzes this element in detail. Three obesity programs have been taken under consideration. They are Good for Kids, Good for Life; Healthy School Canteen: Fresh Tastes at School; and Active After Schools. Stakeholders may utilize these findings to develop future programs. Each program has been analyze against criteria of the above mentioned element. Childhood Obesity Aim of the Study The objective of the study is to: Analyze obesity reduction programs in primary schools according to elements necessary for a successful obesity reduction programs. Review the current literature to identify key factors for successful reduction of obesity in Australian Primary schools. Identify current Australian health and physical activity programs that encompass a variety of strategies that aim to reduce obesity. Literature Review Obesity is defined as increase in body weight resulting from an excessive increase in fat. Factors which cause obesity are low activity levels and an unhealthy diet. Obesity in children is a very serious condition, which can lead to many other medical and psychological problems. Thus obesity reduction programs should be considered. Lipids are a major cause of obesity and can be found in foods such as margarine, cream, whole milk, eggs and avocadoes. Foods containing fats and lipids are a dense source of fuel, as 1 gram provides 37 kilojoules of energy (Hill & Peters ,1998). Today, there are thought to be more than 250 million obese people worldwide. Many countries have experienced an increase in obesity rates over the last 20 years but Australia continues to have one of the highest rates of obesity in the world (ABS, 2001). ABS (2001) statistics show that in 2001 some 30% of males and 38% of females assessed themselves as being overweight. However, according to ABS (2001) when the body mass index was calculated from the reported height and weight, 58% of males and 42% of females were classified in the overweight or obese groups. There is also a significant amount of Victorian adults who are overweight with ABS data showing that approximately 60% of Victorians are classed as overweight or obese. Elements Necessary for Obesity Reduction Program Physical activity An effective program consists of a good PE curriculum. The curriculum should include the explicit and quality teaching of these skills in addition to the current games structure (Morgan, 2008; Morgan & Hansen, 2008). Plus Physical Education should be mandatory for all high school students because it provides educational values and teach students healthy habits to reduce health risks. Schools need to offer more physical education in the children's curriculum (Fisher& Brich,1999). If schools offer more physical activity in the curriculum and give a better choice in lunch menus, then children would be more active in the activities that they do. Nutrition A good obesity reduction program also includes a healthy diet plan. Fruits and vegetables introduced into a child's diet can be very beneficial towards a healthier lifestyle. Encouraging young children to eat healthy food daily is of course very important but it is also vital that the most nutritional meal of the day be introduced, this being breakfast (Story, 1999). It has been shown that children who eat a nourishing breakfast perform better throughout the day and have a more positive attitude with their school work (Katz, 2003) Additional factors Family Support and School Family Partnerships An effective program involves both the school as well as the family. Children need the support and encouragement of from their families, as giving up bad eating habits for obese children is not easy (Rhee etal ,2006). As children are more then half the day in school they even need the support of the school. Families and schools are the two most critical links in providing the foundation for healthy behaviours (Barlow& Deitz ,1998). Thus, a collaboration program may help in reducing their weight as they will be supported from two of the most important instructions in their daily routine school and family. Staff Training and School Leadership As many parents may be too busy to supervise their children's physical development, the role of school becomes instrumental and it seems obvious that the school should provide adequate training guidelines to their staff for providing physical education to the children (Barbour, Barbour & Schully, 2008). If the staff is properly trained then they will be able to effectively execute the P.E curriculum. Media and technology Where television program and junk food advertisements may cause the increase of obesity, it may also be able to help in reducing it (Jeffery, 2001). Children are interested in well animated advertisements thus information should be provided to students via these advertisements (Ebbeling etal, 2003). Apart from in their favourite TV programs should also provide information regarding and healthy diets and obesity should be given. Teaching & Resources Schools should have ample resources and an effective teaching staff so that they can execute the PE curriculum (Gortmaker etal, 1999). if the school as an effectively trained staff and good resources they will able to enhance school health curricula (including developing innovative approaches to teaching and staffing) and make use of school health services for obesity prevention efforts (Sothern & Gorden, 2003). Body Image & Self Esteem There are a lot of negative images regarding obsess children (Hill & Peters ,1998). Teachers at times tend to pass on those images to the children which then have a negative effect on their self esteem (Story, 1999). Their damaged self esteem may also result in a lost of self confidence. Thus effective programs pass on a positive body image and self esteem Significance of the study This study may help in improving a lot obesity reduction programs like as it discusses all the important elements. Apart from this it may be able to impart important findings and information to schools which are interested in introducing programs like Good for Kids, Good for Life; Healthy School Canteen: Fresh Tastes at School; and Active After Schools in their system. Methodology Research questions This study will address the following question: To what extent the obesity programs do: Good for Kids, Good for Life; Active after Schools and Healthy School Canteen: Fresh Tastes @ School include these key elements? Data collection A secondary research method will be used in this paper. In which the programs will be analyzed by means of articles and other literature available regarding their effectiveness and structure. The internet will be used so that up-to-date and relevant literature may be found. For more valid information Schools which implement these programs will be visited and hard copies of the program plan were used in the study. Rationale for Approach This study may prove to be of importance for future obesity reduction programs. The programs used in this study were ones which were the most recent and practical. Apart from this all three proms are widely used in the Australian school population. Data analysis The data analysis of this study was done by first reviewing the literature of which element make an obesity reduction program effective. Every element was analyzed in depth keeping the educational system in mind. A new set of question arise from those elements. What is the program and what is the structure of the program Information for this was collected by literature on the above mentioned programs. Each programme was analyzed against the criteria of elements given in the literature review. As those elements help in finding out if the obesity reduction programme is an effective one or not. Findings Over View of the Programs for Analysis of Findings Good for Kids, Good for Life 'Good for Kids. Good for Life.' is an obesity reduction program for children which is implemented and designed by the NSW government (Good for kids, 2009). Its gives ample information to both the parents and children. Apart, from this it even encourages physical activity and healthy eating habits. What is the structure of the program? The entire structure of the program highlights three of the before mentioned elements. In phase 1 they provide the school resources regarding how they can make changes in their system to reduce obesity, by encouraging a healthy life style (Good for kids, 2009). In the second part, it provides parents and children with information on cds and other resources regarding healthy eating. Elements present in program Providing Training and resources regarding the program to the teachers Promoting Physical activity and healthy eating habits in schools Providing support and information to both students and parents. Healthy School Canteen: Fresh Tastes @ School What is the program? Healthy School Canteen: Fresh Tastes @ School is a government endorsed program. It aims at giving children a taste of healthy food. It believes that the best place to encourage healthy eating habits is the school canteen (Healthy School Canteen: Fresh Tastes @ School 2010). Apart from this it provides resources to Parents, children, school staff. The resources provided are PowerPoint presentation, presentation notes, resource notes, canteen planner model, and the menu planning guide. Structure of the Program The objective of the program is to reduce the intake of fatty and sugary foods in school canteen. They only allow such food two days in term. Apart form this they help children, parents and canteen staff to find out which food is healthy for them. The program even considers the size of the servings being given (Healthy School Canteen: Fresh Tastes @ School 2010). Elements present Providing Training and resources regarding the program to the teachers Supporting children and family Media used Healthy eating Active after Schools What is the program? This program is based on physical activity. The government needs funding as it is free. It wants a huge number of students to take part (NSW Government Plan 2009). Structure of the Program This program encourages post and physical activity. They believe this program should be coupled with other strategies to prevent obesity such as parents leading by example and exercising regularly with them in the form of sport, games or other physical pursuits it even improves the self esteem of children (NSW Government Plan 2009). Elements present. Supporting children and family Physical activity Improving self esteem Discussion The discussion will be based on analysis of the elements present in all three programs. Litre will be taken from books and the internet. The under given reference list will be the references used in the study. Apart from this limitations will also be given References Australian Bureau of Statistics (2001). Retrieved from www.abs.gov.au on 2nd September 2010. Barbour C, Barbour NH, Scully PA (2008). Families, schools, and communities: building partnerships for educating children. 4th edition. Upper Saddle River (NJ): Pearson Education, Inc. Barlow, S., and Dietz, W. (1998). "Obesity Evaluation and Treatment: Expert Committee Recommendations." Pediatrics 102(3):1–11. Ebbeling, Cara B.; Pawlak, Dororta B.; and Ludwig, David S. (2002). "Childhood Obesity: Public-Health Crisis, Common Sense Cure." Lancet 360:473–482. Fisher JO & Birch LL. (1999). Restricting access to palatable foods affects children's behavioral response, food selection and intake. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 69:1264-72 Gortmaker SL, Peterson K, Wiecha J, Sobol AM, Dixit S, et al.(1999). Reducing obesity via a school-based interdisciplinary intervention among youth: Planet Health. Arch. Pediatr. Adolesc. Med. 153:409-18 Hill, JO. & Peters, JC. (1998) Environmental contributions to the obesity epidemic. Science 280, 1371–4 Jeffery RW (2001). Public health strategies for obesity treatment and prevention. Am J Health Behav. 25:252-259 Katz DL (2003). "Pandemic obesity and the contagion of nutritional nonsense". Public Health Rev 31 (1): 33–4 Morgan, P.J. & Hansen, V. (2008). The relationship between PE biographies and PE teaching practices of classroom teachers. Sport, Education and Society, 14, 4, 373-391. Rhee KE, Lumeng JC, Appugliese DP, Kaciroti N, Bradley RH (2006). Parenting styles and overweight status in first grade. Pediatrics. 17 (6):2047 –205 Sothern MS &Gordon ST (2003). Prevention of obesity in young children: a critical challenge for medical professionals. Clin Pediatr (Phila). 42(2):1001-11. Story M. (1999). School-based approaches for preventing and treating obesity. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 69(Suppl. 4):796-802 Further References to Be Used In Study Good for kids (2009). Retrieved from www.goodforkids.nsw.gov.au on 2nd September 2010 Healthy School Canteen: Fresh Tastes @ School (2010). Retrieved from http://www.schoolcanteens.org.au/category/13/fresh%20tastes%20@%20school on 2nd September 2010 NSW Government Plan for Preventing Overweight and Obesity in Children, Young People & Their Families 2009-2011 (2009) retrieved from http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/pubs/2009/pdf/obesity_action_plan.pdf on 2nd September 2010 Read More

Nutrition A good obesity reduction program also includes a healthy diet plan. Fruits and vegetables introduced into a child's diet can be very beneficial towards a healthier lifestyle. Encouraging young children to eat healthy food daily is of course very important but it is also vital that the most nutritional meal of the day be introduced, this being breakfast (Story, 1999). It has been shown that children who eat a nourishing breakfast perform better throughout the day and have a more positive attitude with their school work (Katz, 2003) Additional factors Family Support and School Family Partnerships An effective program involves both the school as well as the family.

Children need the support and encouragement of from their families, as giving up bad eating habits for obese children is not easy (Rhee etal ,2006). As children are more then half the day in school they even need the support of the school. Families and schools are the two most critical links in providing the foundation for healthy behaviours (Barlow& Deitz ,1998). Thus, a collaboration program may help in reducing their weight as they will be supported from two of the most important instructions in their daily routine school and family.

Staff Training and School Leadership As many parents may be too busy to supervise their children's physical development, the role of school becomes instrumental and it seems obvious that the school should provide adequate training guidelines to their staff for providing physical education to the children (Barbour, Barbour & Schully, 2008). If the staff is properly trained then they will be able to effectively execute the P.E curriculum. Media and technology Where television program and junk food advertisements may cause the increase of obesity, it may also be able to help in reducing it (Jeffery, 2001).

Children are interested in well animated advertisements thus information should be provided to students via these advertisements (Ebbeling etal, 2003). Apart from in their favourite TV programs should also provide information regarding and healthy diets and obesity should be given. Teaching & Resources Schools should have ample resources and an effective teaching staff so that they can execute the PE curriculum (Gortmaker etal, 1999). if the school as an effectively trained staff and good resources they will able to enhance school health curricula (including developing innovative approaches to teaching and staffing) and make use of school health services for obesity prevention efforts (Sothern & Gorden, 2003).

Body Image & Self Esteem There are a lot of negative images regarding obsess children (Hill & Peters ,1998). Teachers at times tend to pass on those images to the children which then have a negative effect on their self esteem (Story, 1999). Their damaged self esteem may also result in a lost of self confidence. Thus effective programs pass on a positive body image and self esteem Significance of the study This study may help in improving a lot obesity reduction programs like as it discusses all the important elements.

Apart from this it may be able to impart important findings and information to schools which are interested in introducing programs like Good for Kids, Good for Life; Healthy School Canteen: Fresh Tastes at School; and Active After Schools in their system. Methodology Research questions This study will address the following question: To what extent the obesity programs do: Good for Kids, Good for Life; Active after Schools and Healthy School Canteen: Fresh Tastes @ School include these key elements?

Data collection A secondary research method will be used in this paper. In which the programs will be analyzed by means of articles and other literature available regarding their effectiveness and structure. The internet will be used so that up-to-date and relevant literature may be found. For more valid information Schools which implement these programs will be visited and hard copies of the program plan were used in the study.

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