Between 16 and 33 percent of school-aged children in the United States are obese, with poor nutrition and lack of physical activity fueling the epidemic, according to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. School programs focused on nutrition and exercise can help mitigate the problem. A three-year study led by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases found that schools with physical exercise programs and classroom activities promoting health reduced the risk of obesity for their students by 21 percent -- and with it the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and other chronic conditions.
Preschool
Young children can learn their colors and nutrition by finding and cutting out pictures of fruits and vegetables from magazines, according to A to Z Teacher Stuff. Students glue the pictures onto four or five poster boards according to color group -- for example, a red poster, a yellow, a blue and a green. When the pictures are in place, the teacher points to individual foods and students call out the names of the different fruits and vegetables. The exercise helps encourage students to choose a rainbow of fruits and vegetables at school and at home.
Early Grades
KidsHealth in the Classroom recommends a lesson plan that engages grades 3 to 5 in creating a public awareness campaign to encourage kids to make healthy food choices and get the proper amount of exercise. First, the class researches online sources to determine what a healthy diet is and what it means to be physically fit. When they have gathered information, students then design posters or brochures and write the script for a public service commercial for television.
Middle School
Education World suggests a critical thinking exercise in which students bring in food advertisements from circulars and magazines. They could choose ads specifically targeted at young people. Display the various ads and have an in-class discussion about the means advertisers use to get children to desire food products and parents to buy them. Afterward, each student draws or writes an ad for a healthful food item, using words or images that make kids and adults want to purchase them.
High School
Students in grades 9 to 12 are more likely to choose fast foods for lunch, which can cause an array of health issues. PE Central suggests a classroom exercise called Fast Food Field Trip, in which students analyze typical fast-food meals using menus from four fast-food restaurants. Students create lists of the foods they commonly eat at venues like McDonald's and then tabulate the calorie content, comparing it to the daily guidelines for their age, gender and level of physical activity. In the second round of this exercise, students revisit the menus and try to come up with lists of healthier options to decrease their overall calories and their intake of unhealthy fats, salt and sugar.
References
- NIDDK; School-based Intervention Lowers Obesity Rate in Children at Risk for Diabetes; January 2011
- American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry; Obesity in Children and Teens; May 2008
- A to Z Teacher Stuff; Nutrition Unit: Lesson 5, Colors of Food; Debbie Haren
- KidsHealth in the Classroom: Grades 3 to 5: Health Problems Series
- Education World: Serve Up Classroom Nutrition Activities
- PE Central: Health Lesson Ideas
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