Childhood Obesity: Nebraska’s BIG Problem
No matter how you look at it, childhood obesity in Nebraska is at a critical level. Our children are big—they’re getting bigger—and we’re not doing enough to turn the corner on the problem. “It’s especially alarming,” said Dr. Rob Rauner, “since the consequences of childhood obesity aren’t felt today. They’re felt 10, 20 years down the road.”
The Problem
A 2007 study compiled by the National Survey of Children’s Health revealed that one–third of Nebraska’s children aged 10–17 are either overweight or obese. Nebraska is only 6 percent behind Arkansas, the state with the second–highest number of overweight or obese children.
According to Dr. Karla Lester, the founder of Teach a Kid to Fish, one in three Nebraska schoolchildren will develop diabetes. For many, their diabetes will be related to obesity, and while it’s encouraging to think that the numbers can be reduced, Dr. Lester said that we first have to get a handle on the health and nutrition disparities and develop a comprehensive call to action that includes the voice of the community. In short, it’s going to take a communitywide effort, and it’s going to be a tough fight.
The Culprits
It’s hardly a surprise that a child’s free time is dominated by technology including cell phones, social networks, video games, and the Internet. These forms of entertainment leave little time for physical activity. In fact, less than 1 percent of students aged 7–15 ride their bicycle to school regularly, a 60 percent decrease from the participation levels seen in the 1970s.
According to Kelly Morgan, program coordinator for Safe Routes Nebraska, there are a number of reasons for the decrease in participation, but one consistent parental concern is the safety of children on the way to and from school. “When children have access to safe walking and biking routes to school, it helps parents achieve the goal of increasing their physical activity during the before– and after–school hours,” Morgan said. “This is especially important today, as in–school physical education programs are experiencing cuts that give children fewer opportunities for activity during the school day.”
Nutrition is another challenge facing Nebraska schoolchildren and their families. A recent study found that fewer than one in five Nebraska students consumed milk regularly or received the USDA-recommended number of daily servings of fruits and vegetables on a regular basis. On the other hand, more than half of Nebraska students drank more than 12 ounces of soda during each of the seven days prior to the survey. The majority of the soda consumed was the regular, nondiet variety, which contains a large number of empty calories. “One hundred extra calories a day equates to about 10 pounds of weight a year,” Dr. Rauner said.
The Solution
Many experts feel that turning the tide of childhood obesity is an issue that should be at the forefront of health care reform, as it’s predicted to be one of the most significant factors contributing to the future growth of health costs.
According to Dr. Lester, instilling healthy habits and developing a love of physical activity and the outdoors early in life are more likely to have children mature into healthy, fit adults. “When kids develop healthy habits early in life, they’re more likely to carry those through to adulthood,” she said. “Unfortunately, for a lot of children, these healthy habits aren’t getting modeled for them in the home. So if they’re going to receive exposure to these positive, healthy habits, it’s going to take a collaborative public health initiative that key stakeholders from all around the community have ownership in.”
Dr. Lester supports the Safe Routes Nebraska program, as it’s been instrumental to increasing the number of children who get the exercise they need to live happy, healthy lives. She said that Safe Routes Nebraska is a good example of a statewide program that brings government, community leaders, and schools together to identify problems, develop solutions, and impact positive change on the community.
Morgan added that simple changes to everyday routines can easily contribute to increased hours of physical fitness. For families that live long distances from school or don’t have a complete safe route to school from home, she recommends starting with one day per week, and instead of driving kids to school, park several blocks away from school so that it takes about 15 minutes to walk with kids to school. “When you add up the days, those extra bits of exercise can have a big impact,” she said. “And you’ll likely find that the time you spend walking with your kids to and from school will become one of your favorite parts of the day.”
Personal Profile: Julie Harris
Is your Safe Routes program still trying to gain some momentum? Are you looking for some tips to plan a successful Walk to School Day event? Do you know where to find the parent champions that will take your program to the next level? Julie Harris from Activate Omaha discusses all of these topics and more!
Activate Omaha
Harris has been with Activate Omaha for a number of years serving as the Outreach coordinator and Safe Routes coordinator. Activate Omaha’s goal is to drive awareness, advocacy, and excitement for active lifestyles in the Douglas County area. Working closely with 16 Omaha/Douglas County schools and their Safe Routes programs, Harris has quickly discovered that Safe Routes and Activate Omaha are warmly embraced within the community. She has seen programs start from nothing and be transformed into flourishing programs with the help of a few key individuals including parent champions.
Finding Your Parent Champions
After more than three years of successful Walk to School Day events in the Omaha area, Harris has seen her fair share of parent champions come forward to contribute to their local Safe Routes program, and she identified creative Walk to School Day events as being the most successful. “One school had a DJ, coffee for parents, and bagels for kids,” said Harris. “Another Catholic school incentivized their kids to walk and bike to school by allowing them to wear street clothes instead of school uniforms.” She quickly noticed a growing trend after every event—enthusiastic parents would approach her or the principal and ask how they could get involved. When reflecting on some of the most successful programs she’s seen over the years, Harris said, “It’s usually a principal and a key parent. It doesn’t need to be a huge committee of people. I’ve seen the most successful [programs] probably be two or three really excited people.”
The best part of moving forward with your local Safe Routes program is that it can be what you make it. Harris has seen schools have more than 50 percent of their students participate in Walk to School Day events, and she attributes the high participation rates to one creative event. “That’s the beauty of it. It can be as big and elaborate or as loose as you want it to be. Putting up a walking distance map and sending a flyer home in a backpack may be just enough to get you going,” she said.
High Schools Are Next
Ultimately, Activate Omaha wants to be involved in all levels of the school system. Harris mentioned that Safe Routes definitely has potential in high schools, but the motivation for the students to participate is different. It’s either the environmental aspect of walking or biking to school or an upstart cycling club that gets things going in the high school ranks. While no two Safe Routes programs are the same, this is especially the case with high schools. “It’s not a canned deal where you can walk in there and say ‘here’s your program, go for it,’” Harris said. So while overflowing bike racks are starting to become commonplace at some of Omaha’s elementary schools, Harris and Activate Omaha are hoping to generate this same type of enthusiasm at the high school level as well.
Walk ’n’ Roll!
Want to see some of the other creative events Omaha schools are doing with their Safe Routes programs? You can find it all online by visiting walknrollomaha.blogspot.com. This blog is updated frequently with new and exciting information about local events.
If you’re still looking to start a Safe Routes program in your community, take advantage of this valuable step-by-step online presentation that will get you headed in the right direction. Remember that your program is what you make of it. “Start small; you don’t have to create Rome in a day. By starting small you can see the possibility and then recruit more help so that you’re not the only one carrying the load. And by starting small you’re able to do that more successfully,” Harris said.
PTA Presentations
Activate Omaha gives free presentations to schools and at PTA meetings. The presentation is usually 10–15 minutes, and the topics cover health, safety concerns, and the logistics of having a Safe Routes program involved with your school. A quick presentation can mean a lifetime of positive change. “Today’s childhood obesity epidemic is tomorrow’s diabetes epidemic,” Harris said. If your school is in the Douglas County area and you want more information about how a Safe Routes program can benefit your students, request a presentation for your school’s PTA meeting. Schools outside of Douglas County can contact Kelly Morgan, Safe Routes Program Coordinator, for PTA presentation information.
National Physical Activity Plan
Safe Routes Nebraska is proud to highlight the National Physical Activity Plan (NPAP). The plan will encourage more Americans to become physically active by creating a national culture that supports physically active lifestyles. This new initiative is aimed at improving health, preventing disease from inactivity, and enhancing the quality of life in America. It goes without saying, a plan this large is quite the undertaking and only time will tell how it will be received.
Divide and Conquer
For simplicity’s sake, the NPAP has broken America down into eight sectors. The sectors are business and industry; education; health care; mass media; parks, recreation, fitness, and sports; public health; transportation, land use, and community design; and volunteer and nonprofit.
Each of the eight sectors has a unique list of strategies to get Americans physically active. The NPAP provides a specific list of tactics to accompany each proposed strategy. These tactics are a detailed list of what needs to happen to transform a strategy from an idea to a reality. Each sector has between three and eight different proposed strategies to get Americans the exercise they need to stay physically fit. See the plan in action for yourself. Who knows, perhaps some of these wonderful ideas can work in your community!
Questions for Kelly
Kelly Morgan serves as the program coordinator for Safe Routes Nebraska. Throughout the year, she receives and responds to all sorts of questions. Here are some of the most common queries to cross her desk.
Q: Will the Nebraska Department of Roads be seeking funding applications?
A: Yes! I am thrilled to announce that Safe Routes Nebraska will formally be asking for Intent to Apply form submissions this summer. Intent to Apply forms can be completed in Microsoft Word and mailed to the address noted on the form. It’s a simple one-page form that asks you to generally describe how your proposed project will help enable and encourage more K–8 students to walk and bike to/from school. We also ask for a best-guess estimate of how much funding you will need to implement your program. This form is meant to initiate contact with the Nebraska Department of Roads, so please don’t feel like you need to have every program detail already determined.
The funding application process is designed to allow you to continually develop the application. The Intent to Apply form is due by September 2, a Draft Application is due by October 14, and a Final Application is due by December 2. A meeting will be scheduled between the Draft and Final Application due dates to help you refine your proposal. Funding selection occurs in February. Please remember to visit the Safe Routes Nebraska website for a variety of resources to help you design your Safe Routes to School program.
Q: Do you have any information that applies to students with disabilities so I can be sure these children are able to participate in our school’s Safe Routes program?
A: I am so glad you are proactively seeking ways to involve every student with your Safe Routes to School program. This is a very important consideration especially because one in every seven students in the United States has a disability. Children with disabilities are at a higher risk for sedentary behavior than their peers.
Different types of disabilities will require different adaptations, but overall, it’s important to realize that children with disabilities may never be able to drive and will need alternate forms of transportation and different ways to stay active. For example, pedometers can be worn as an arm band and bicycles can be adapted to use arm propulsion. There are a variety of resources to help, including the National Center for Safe Routes to School’s recently issued Involving Students With Disabilities tip sheet. The National Center on Physical Activity and Disabilities is also an organization that can connect you to valuable resources.
If you have a question that you’d like to ask Kelly, e-mail her at kmorgan@sinclairhille.com.
