Youth Initiatives Cristina S. Barroso, DrPH University of Texas School of Public Health, Brownsville Regional Campus Presented at the Texas Association of School Based Health Centers 14 th Annual Child & Adolescent Conference February 12, 2010 Children Born Today have a Lower Life Expectancy than their Parents 1 in 3 will develop diabetes 3/5 if African American if Hispanic > if Native American Obesity by the Numbers National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES ) 9.5% of infants & toddlers 95 th percentile 16.9% of children & adolescents 95 th percentile 11.9% of children & adolescents 97 th percentile Ogden et al., 2010 BMI = body mass index [weight (kg)/height (m) 2 ] Impact of Childhood Obesity on Adult Obesity One out of four obese adults were overweight children Onset 8 years more severely obese as adults (BMI = 41.7 vs. 34.0) One-half of adults with BMI 40 were obese as children Freedman et al., 2001 Obesity is caused by long-term positive energy balance Fat Stores ~ 600 calories per day A Framework for Obesity Prevention Toxic Environment Availability & affordability of high fat/high carbohydrate food (fast food, soft drinks) Large portion sizes Marketing to children Fewer family meals TV, computers, video games Safety issue Decrease in physical education Schwartz MB & Brownell KD, 2007 Dollars Spent on U.S. Food Advertising in 2005 Food, beverages, candy $7,313,200,000 Restaurants & fast food $5,061,000,000 Advertising Age, 2006 NO SINGLE INTERVENTION WILL REVERSE THE CURRENT TRENDS IN OBESITY Legislation & Policy Passage of Senate Bill 19 9/1/2001 Daily PE (30 min/d or 135 m/week) 4 th grade School Health Advisory Councils 4 th grade Coordinated School Health Programs (CSHPs) 4 th grade (9/1/2007) Texas Public School Nutrition Policy all grades (8/2004) Passage of Senate Bill 42 9/1/2005 CSHP: 6-8 th grade ( school year) New Legislation Senate Bill 530 ( ) (Amends Sections and , Education Code) K-5: 30 minutes/day 6-8: 30 minutes/day for minimum of 4 semesters Physical Fitness assessment (Fitnessgram), grades Pacer Strength & flexibility SHAC should determine importance of daily recess for elementary school students SHAC should evaluate CSHP 4 th Grade Prevalence of Obesity* by Health Service Region in Texas, SPAN , *Obesity is > 95th Percentile for BMI by Age/Sex Texas Senate Bill 42 (SB42) Awareness of & adherence to SB42 in a representative sample of public middle schools Impact of SB42 (along Texas-Mexico border): Frequency of school PE class Quality of school PE Prevalence of child self-reported physical activity & child overweight Are You Aware that SB42 Requires? , Key Informants How Did You Become Aware of SB42? , Key Informants What type of PE Class Schedule is Followed? , Key Informants How Many Minutes per Class? , Key Informants How Many Days per Week? , Key Informants Self-Reported Structured Physical Activity of 8 th Grade Border Students, & Self-Reported Structured Physical Activity of 8 th Grade Border Students, and (0.0005) (0.05)(0.15) *p