The Role of Schools in the Prevention of Childhood Obesity

Table of Contents

The Role of Schools in the Prevention of Childhood Obesity

Problem/Population

Policy

Description of the Policy

Legislators Involved in the Policy

Role of the APRN

Influence of the Policy on Clinical Practice and Promoting Best Outcomes

How the Interprofessional Team can use the Policy to Coordinate Care

Conclusion

References

The Role of Schools in the Prevention of Childhood Obesity

Obesity is one of the significant health issues facing American children. Over the past twenty years, childhood obesity has been prevalent due to unhealthy meals both at school and in homes. Notably, children spend most of the time at school and consume about 50% of their daily meals at school through federally-aided meal programs. This means that schools can play a key role to enhance children's health and should be a primary setting to minimize the issue of obesity. The objective of this paper is to discuss the existing policies or legislation in progress for schools to prevent childhood obesity. The paper will also examine the impact of the policy on the nursing practice, the legislators involved, the role of the APRN, and how it facilitates the best outcomes.

Problem/Population

In recent decades, unhealthy eating behaviors among American children have led to a high incidence of childhood obesity. Research has shown that most children in the United States do not take meals that adhere to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (Karacabeyli et al., 2018). Besides, the majority of these children, especially at school, do not take part in exercises and physical activities. As a result, childhood obesity has escalated at a rate that has never been seen in American history. According to the National Center of Health Statistics, about 1 in 5 American children, aged 5 to 18 years old, are obese, and one in three is overweight. Not only do this population spend most of their time at school, but they also eat or drink a significant portion of their daily meals while at school – about 40% or even higher (Karacabeyli et al., 2018). Further, only 1 in 10 children is involved in regular physical activities and exercises; thus, most of them are at the risk of becoming obese and overweight.

The implications of this health issue include low self-esteem, depression, social isolation, and high risk for chronic illnesses such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disorder, and osteoarthritis. Baranowski and Taveras (2018) point out that these adverse health complications put obese children on a course for higher medical costs. In fact, as indicated by the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (2019), the lifetime medical costs allocated to address childhood obesity in the U.S. are over $100 billion per year. These costs may escalate in the coming years if the issue is not addressed adequately.

Policy

Several programs and strategies have been implemented to alleviate the rate of obese children, with schools playing a meaningful role. In addition to the recommendations for healthy eating and regular physical activities, the federal government is executing various policies at a legislative level to help lessen childhood obesity. One such policy is the Local School Wellness Policy Implementation under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA).

Description of the Policy

In July 2016, provisions under the HHFKA were made to improve wellness and health in schools. The rules demanded all Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) that take part in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs to streamline local school wellness policy and lessen obesity among children in America (Congress.gov, 2020). The key objective was to reinforce local school wellness policies, so they become significant instruments in assessing, developing, and preserving healthy school contexts, and to enable transparency to the public on vital areas that influence the nutrition of children in schools (Vaudrin et al., 2018). Most importantly, the policy implementation was aimed to reform the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program, which offers unrestricted or cheap, healthy food to children in daycare settings, private and public schools (Congress.gov, 2020). The programs ensure that schools provide more vegetables, fruits, and whole grains products during breakfast and lunch while restricting foods that have sodium or more calories.

Legislators Involved in the Policy

The policy is based on the HHFKA, which was introduced by ex-Senator Blanche Lincoln, on 5th May 2010 (Congress.gov, 2020). At that time representing Arkansas State, Lincoln intended to demonstrate that childhood hunger and obesity were epidemics in the United States. He believed that the policy would help reduce the prevalence and promote children's health (Vaudrin et al., 2018). For that reason, Lincoln, along with former Senator of Georgia, Saxby Chambliss, and ex-Congressman of California, George Miller, were able to convince President Obama to prioritize on the nutrition for children. The legislators then pushed for the HHFKA to be approved by the Congress, before being enacted into law by the president on 13th December 2010 (Congress.gov, 2020).

Role of the APRN

As primary stakeholders in the health care system, nurses hold a paramount position in supporting this policy. The improvement of the lunch and breakfast programs allows a healthy school environment, which results in a decreased rate of childhood obesity. Advanced practice registered nurses have the unique responsibility to transform health care for people and their families by educating them about the policy (Shariff, 2014). Besides, they can share their opinions, ideas, and interests regarding the policy as well as cooperate with other stakeholders such as teachers, parents, and legislators. The APRNs also has a lobbying role, which allows them to participate in health policy committees (Chilton, 2015). As such, they can demonstrate educational competency and clinical experience by articulating the issue of childhood obesity; therefore, enabling effective implementation of the policy. The role of APRN in backing this policy will significantly help schools to address childhood obesity.

Influence of the Policy on Clinical Practice and Promoting Best Outcomes

The policy provides an opportunity to promote the health and nutrition of children. Through the policy, health care professionals will be in a position to understand what brings about childhood obesity, including unhealthy behaviors and physical inactivity. In this case, it helps to come up with proper approaches that can enable children to remain healthy. The policy will improve the collaboration between healthcare professionals and the schools in ensuring that the meals programs adhere to the required standards. As Baranowski & Taveras (2018) assert, promoting healthy meals through the local school wellness policy will boost children's morale and performance, consequently, creating a conducive environment for better education.

How the Interprofessional Team can use the Policy to Coordinate Care

The interprofessional team is made up of people, families, and communities, aiming to accomplish a collective objective (Sullivan et al., 2015). Here, the interprofessional team comprises the APRNs, teachers, dieticians, and parents. Each of these players has a role in the implementation of the local wellness school policy to reduce childhood obesity. APRNs can collaborate with dieticians to offer nutritional education to teachers and parents. In addition, they can help schools to construct care plans and meal programs for children, as outlined in HHFKA. The APRNs can also conduct weight status assessment by screening the obese children and regularly tracking their body mass index. Teachers, on the other hand, should ensure that all children are incorporated into meal programs and take part in diverse physical activities while at school. Parents should always be encouraged to consider the health of their children and raise concerns about obesity.

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