Nemours Announces Policy Priorities for Making Delaware’s Kids the Healthiest in the Nation

Wilmington, Delaware
Monday, March 24, 2008 @ 05:54 PM EDT
by: Karen Bengston Ph: (302) 444-9108 Cell (302) 293-4928

Newark, Delaware – Nemours Health and Prevention Services (NHPS) has announced its 2008-2010 advocacy agenda for regulatory and legislative changes that will encourage healthy behaviors in the places where children live, learn, and play. The changes align with Nemours’ health promotion and disease prevention activities and the Campaign to Make Delaware’s Kids the Healthiest in the Nation, one goal of which is to reverse the state’s trend of childhood obesity.

“There is no single cause of childhood obesity, and no single cure,” remarked Debbie I. Chang, MPH, Nemours Senior Vice President and Executive Director of Health and Prevention Services. “What we are trying to create, with the help of dozens of partners, is a cultural shift in Delaware that places the health of children at the top of the agenda.” Chang cited schools, child care facilities and primary care offices as important settings for child health promotion and obesity prevention.

At the base of the advocacy agenda is Nemours’ 5-2-1-Almost None healthy lifestyle, which promotes: eating five or more servings of fruits and vegetables daily; spending no more than two hours daily in front of a screen (TV, recreational computer time); getting at least one hour of physical activity daily; and drinking almost no sugary beverages, such as sodas and sports/energy drinks.

Nemours’ policy priorities advocate for:

• The Delaware legislature to maintain the $200,000 allocation in the Governor’s recommended budget, and to increase FY09 funding for the Delaware Physical Education/Activity Program by $100,000, bringing the FY09 total to $300,000. This will allow an additional 22-25 schools to join the 41existing schools in the program. Increasing the number of participating schools also will contribute toward meeting the standard of at least 150 minutes of physical activity per week for all school-age children.
  
• Delaware school districts to review, revise and implement robust local wellness policies to create healthier school environments and promote healthy behaviors among students and staff; include a statewide process that requires school districts to report annually on the success of their wellness policies to their school boards and to the Delaware Department of Education.
  
• Legislation authorizing the inclusion of child health promotion as a component of Delaware Stars for Early Success, a quality rating and improvement system for child care providers.
  
• Key policy groups in the Delaware health care community to endorse the “Expert Committee Recommendations on Assessment, Prevention, and Treatment of Child and Adolescent Overweight.” These recommendations set new standards for health care professionals to prevent and manage childhood obesity in their practices.

   

  For more information and ideas, go to our Public Policy Section.

  Ms. Chang noted, “Research has shown that making the investment in kids up front is tremendously cost-effective. Early investments in children pay long-term dividends, not only for the kids, but for society at large. What schools, child care and health care providers, and others are doing to change their environments are important steps to creating a healthier state. The momentum is building as people and communities begin to mobilize – these changes represent real progress in our quest to Make Delaware’s Kids the Healthiest in the Nation.”

  Improving school wellness policies

  Nemours has been working with school districts to help them develop and implement action-oriented, high-impact policies that promote the 5-2-1-Almost None lifestyle and include measures of accountability. In Delaware, every school system participating in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs is required by law to have a wellness policy, though policies vary widely across the state. Some have a great deal of detail, while others describe very broad goals in a page or two. Action for Healthy Kids, a public-private partnership that seeks to promote improved nutrition and increased physical activity in the schools, estimates that just 54 percent of school systems nationally meet all of the federal government’s minimum requirements for wellness policies.

  Physical activity in schools

  Mary Beth French, physical education teacher at Brader Elementary School in Newark, described her support of the Nemours’ policy priorities and her role in implementing the 150 minutes of physical activity per week for all Delaware students. “I’m concerned that children do not get enough exercise during the day. At Brader, we were one of the first schools to adopt the 150 minutes per week standard and we have been making it work. One way we do this is with a program called Take 10 that gets kids moving for 10 minutes before classes begin. Teachers tell me that it also helps to improve concentration - kids shake out their sillies and get down to work.” Many other schools are finding creative ways to squeeze more activity into the school day. The Institute of Medicine advises that 30 of the 60 minutes of daily physical activity that every child needs can happen at school.

  Healthy habits start early

  Nemours is also working to create healthier environments in child care facilities across the state. Research shows that children in child care settings are not getting enough physical activity. In fact, one study concluded that physically active play accounted for only 10 percent of all activities taking place in child care. The nutritional value of foods served in child care settings also needs to be improved. Although there is sparse information about child care food, the few national studies that exist suggest that children in child care receive too many high calorie, low nutrient foods and not enough fruits and vegetables. Delaware is no exception: close to half of the state’s child care centers do not serve fruit daily. Delaware Stars for Early Success, a voluntary quality rating system for child care facilities, is gaining momentum in the state. By including a focus on healthy eating and active play in the criteria for meeting higher quality standards, policymakers would be taking another significant step forward in the development of a statewide child care system that promotes child health.

  Our kids can’t do it alone

  You can help policymakers, schools, and child care centers make healthy eating and active play a priority.

  • Contact your elected officials and ask them to support policies that promote child health in all the places where children live, learn, and play. To find out who represents your district, go to http://delaware.gov/egov/portal.nsf/portal/elected
    
  • Request a copy of your district’s wellness policy and ask how you can support it.
    
  • Ask about what foods and beverages are sold on the school campus, in vending machines, at fundraisers and at after-school events.
    
  • Encourage your school board to make physical activity/education a priority for every grade level.
    
  • Volunteer to help with physical activity events at your child's school, such as coordinating family evening and weekend activities in the gym.
    
  • Observe or ask about what types of meals, snacks, and drinks your child care center serves as well as portion size.
    
  • Observe or ask if and how often they use television in child care and what types of programming the children watch.
    
  • Observe or ask about the kinds of activities that are planned for the children in child care.
    
  • Look for plenty of indoor and outdoor space for active play in and around the child care facility.
    
  • Ask if your child care provider is participating in the Stars quality rating system.

  Nemours Health and Prevention Services (NHPS), a non-profit organization based in Newark, Delaware, works with families and communities to help children grow up healthy. Its goal is to develop programs and contribute knowledge that will enhance child health promotion efforts in Delaware and will eventually have value for children nationally. NHPS expands Nemours' reach beyond clinical care to consider the health of the whole child within his or her family and community. NHPS sees its role as one catalyst, "planting the seeds for better health" by working with community partners to reach children in a variety of settings. One of its initial areas of emphasis is childhood obesity prevention through promotion of healthy lifestyles.

  NHPS is a division of Nemours, one of the nation's largest pediatric health systems, operating the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children and outpatient facilities throughout the Delaware Valley and northern and central Florida.

modified: Monday, March 24, 2008 @ 09:21 AM EDT
created: Monday, March 17, 2008 @ 05:52 PM EDT