
Austin Associated Press: Lawmakers Call for Increased Activity to Combat Child Obesity
AUSTIN, Texas, Associated Press â February 8, 2007 â A week after President Bush called childhood obesity a costly problem for the country, two lawmakers are calling for more physical education in Texas schools to help combat obesity related diseases like diabetes.Their proposal would require moderate to vigorous daily activity for all students in kindergarten through eighth grade for at least 30 minutes a day.âMore than a third of our students in Texas are overweight, putting them at higher risk for numerous chronic diseases including heart disease,â said Sen. Jane Nelson, a Republican from Lewisville, who is leading the effort in the Senate. âWe are seeing in adolescents the types of diabetes that we used to only see in the middle aged.âThe legislation would require a physical fitness assessment of all public school students at the beginning and end of each school year and reported to the Texas Education Agency, with studentsâ names made anonymous. The TEA would be required to analyze the results by school district annually, comparing results to studentsâ grades, attendance, obesity, disciplinary problems and school meal programs.Current law requires 30 minutes of physical activity per day or 135 minutes per week for children up to the sixth grade. But some critics say that no checks are in place and schools have too much wiggle room to avoid the physical activity requirement.âI used to teach sixth grade and I always loved it when my kids came back from physical education because when they came back, they were alert and they were ready to learn,â Nelson said. âTeachers know what happens when kids get stuck behind a desk all day: they get restless, they arenât focused on learning and most importantly it is downright unhealthy.âMore than 10 million school-age children in the United States â about 18 percent â are now considered overweight. The percentage of overweight children tripled among adolescents during the past 25 years, and nearly doubled for children ages 6 to 12. This increases their risk for adult heart disease and diabetes, lowers life expectancy and creates additional health care costs.An estimated one-third of the children born since the year 2000 will develop diabetes, said Rep. Rob Eissler, a Republican from The Woodlands, who filed the Legislation on the House side.In Texas, surprisingly high rates of diabetes near the border have garnered national attention in recent years. Starr County, in South Texas, has been identified in national studies as having one of the highest rates of type two diabetes in the nation. In that rural border area, more than 50 percent of the residents have been diagnosed with the disease.Obesity in Texas children is âa severe problem,â said Jesus Chavez, the superintendent of schools in Round Rock.Health and wellness advocates applauded the legislation Thursday.Former Texas state health commissioner Eduardo Sanchez said evidence has proven the benefits of healthy students.âFit kids are smart kids ⦠fit kids are better behaved kids,â said Sanchez, now the director of the Institute for Health Policy at the University of Texas School of Public Health at Houston. âIn a state where thereâs no denying that we have a challenge with childhood obesity and ⦠a challenge graduating some of our children from high school, what a perfect program to help our kids be healthier and smarter.âThe Texas Medical Association also endorsed the legislation.Nelsonâs âfitness initiative and call for accountability is a critical step toward curbing the escalating childhood obesity epidemic,â said TMA President Ladon W. Homer.Schools around the country have begun offering healthier choices in vending machines and school cafeterias in response to studies showing childhood obesity has become an increasing problem.Last month, privately held food maker Dole Food Co. Inc. said it will join the fight against obesity with a pilot program to bring healthier snacks into 15 selected schools, including Corpus Christi and Conroe in Texas. Starting this month, the company will place vending machines filled with Dole brand âhealthy food productsâ like fresh fruit and Fruit Bowls in the schools.Related posts: