ERIC Number: ED546843
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2014-May
Pages: 4
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Local School Wellness Policies: Where Do They Stand and What Can You Do?
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Local school wellness policies (i.e., wellness policies) provide an opportunity to create and support a healthy school environment, promote student health, and reduce childhood obesity. Because they are required for all school districts participating in the federal Child Nutrition Programs including the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program, millions of children can be reached through implementation of these policies which focus on creating supportive school nutrition and physical activity environments. Research has documented that although almost all districts have adopted a wellness policy, they lack specificity related to competitive foods as well as requirements for implementation and compliance. The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004, and more recently the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, required that school districts participating in the federal Child Nutrition Programs adopt, implement, and most recently, report on local school wellness policies. The following sections of this report highlight areas where policy opportunities exist, as well as areas where policies are well-established relative to the following wellness policy components: (1) nutrition education and promotion; (2) standards for competitive foods and beverages; (3) nutrition standards for school meals; (4) PA outside of physical education (PE); (5) PE; (6) stakeholder involvement; and (7) wellness policy monitoring, evaluation, and reporting. This brief summarizes the range of policy actions taken by public school districts from the 2011-2012 school year, from the Bridging the Gap (BTG) study. All policies were collected and coded by BTG researchers using a standardized method based on evidence based guidelines and recommendations from expert organizations and agencies. Complete details about how these data were collected and compiled are available in the companion methods documentation (see ED546842).
Descriptors: Wellness, Child Health, Educational Environment, Food, Nutrition, Food Standards, Nutrition Instruction, Dietetics, Stakeholders, Board of Education Policy, School Districts, Coding, Breakfast Programs, Lunch Programs, Physical Activity Level, Physical Education, Program Evaluation
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 1600 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30333. Tel: 800-311-3435; Tel: 404-639-3311; Web site: http://www.cdc.gov
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (DHHS/PHS)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A