Schools Help Children Fight Against Obesity

At the bustling hour of 11:00 AM, children of Central Park East Il Elementary School in Upper Manhattan make a beeline to the lunchroom.

Carefully adhering to the strict healthy food policies, the children head straight to the salad bar in their first stop -- a rarity, especially when it comes to city kids.

"I feel like some schools might not care about what kids bring, but over here they do. And I think the principal has a lot to do with that. It starts from her," Parent Coordinator Saramit Morales told Xinhua in a recent exclusive interview.

Principal Naomi Smith and Morales have fought against the fat bulge that is spreading over New York city schools, particularly focusing on all 220 kids in the central New York school.

They made a strict "no candy" policy -- chocolate milk, high fat chips, fruit drinks, even a Snickers candy bar are not allowed during school days.

According to a special June Report jointly released by the Health and Education Departments of New York city, 21 percent of the city's children can be called "obese", compared with 17 percent nationwide from kindergarten to eighth grade.

In addition, 18 percent of New York city children are overweight in contrast to 14 percent nationwide.

The report said that around 40 percent of the city's children had overindulged in pizza, candy, chocolate and other food high in fat.

In the highly-developed city, children have access to various fast-food restaurants -- making it easy to walk into a McDonald's, for instance, to pick up a hamburger for an after-school snack.

Eating small french fries and a small coca cola, you can get 630 calories, McDonald's said on its website.

The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans estimates that for girls who are aged 9-13 and sedentary in activity, 1,600 calories are enough to maintain a "balanced" level. Boys, who are sedentary in activity, are estimated to need 1,800 calories.

So the McDonald's after-school "snack" makes up nearly 40 percent of a girl's calorie intake for the entire day.

Within the Central Park East II Elementary School, in northern Manhattan, kids can easily go to either of two McDonald's restaurants -- this doesn't even account for other nearby fast-food restaurants.

Morales said, "the liberty of being able to go to the store on your own" gives kids the added convenience to indulge.

"You have the 24 hour Wendy's. You have the 24 hour fast food chicken places, especially in Harlem, and toward Brooklyn," she said.

To combat these after-school snacks, school officials began to work on helping children form healthy habits, and to enforce nutritional quality on foods.

In an effort to curb the epidemic of childhood obesity, New York City Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein updated the Department of Education's existing "Wellness Policy", which was used to promote health and well-being of students, in a memorandum.

"This regulation has been revised substantially …… to improve the nutritional value of foods and beverages that are available for children," the memo read.

Besides placing heavy restriction on the sale of snack foods, the memo also cut bake sales -- limiting such Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) sponsored fundraising events to once a month.

"This regulation outlines the restriction on the sale of snack food and beverage outside of the school food program from the beginning of the school day until 6:00 p.m. weekdays," it read.

Long before the new revisions were made, Principal Naomi Smith of Central Park East II Elementary School had already imposed regulations that even restricted what students could bring in bagged lunches, and these are also applied to faculty members.

"I normally have a drink in my hand. I used to come with Gatorade (a thirst-quenching beverage) until the principal pointed out that we could not drink that here," Morales said.

By setting a good example for kids, Morales said it encouraged students to follow the same healthy eating habits set by Principal Smith.

It is important to start early with these habits, which may maintain a lifelong healthy lifestyle for children, especially where fast-food restaurants are overwhelming, Morales said.

(Xinhua News Agency November 14, 2009)