•

Childhood Obesity and the Benefits of Healthy

Eating and ExerciseAlison GlaserAustin SmithRebecca VizziTristan Smith

Did you know?

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Yb77kDq-Zo

What is Obesity?

• Obesity is defined as the condition of being overweight or containing a high percentage of body fat

• Categorized by Body Mass Index • Moderately 30-35%• Severely 35-40%• Morbidly ≥ 40%

• Exponential Growth• Currently 27.2% Americans

• From 26.2%• Close to 100% by next century

• Leads to Chronic Diseases• Cancer• Cardiovascular Disease• Diabetes (Type II)

• Nutrition• Starr County

Facts About Obesity

What is our Proposed Study?

• Diet and exercise were chosen as the independent variables for this study

• Our study focused on fifth graders

• Had students attend a bi-weekly program where they would learn the proper way to prepare meals along with the benefits of eating fruits and vegetables as opposed to cookies and chips.

Design

• School 1: the control group, no change in diet or exercise.

• School 2: given a new meal plan with healthy alternatives.

• School 3: required to attend an after-school exercise program.

• School 4: given a new meal plan with healthy alternatives and required to attend an after-school program.

Unhealthy Meal Options Seen in Schools 1 and 3

Some schools offer less healthy lunch meal options such as:

Breaded Chicken NuggetsCheese Steak Sub SandwichesNachos Twice-Baked PotatoesSpaghetti Cheeseburgers and Hot Dogs

Healthy Meal Plans Seen in Schools 2 and 4

After-School Activities

• Street hockey • Kickball • Soccer• Basketball• Boomer ball • Ultimate football

http://www.afterschoolpa.com/menu/street_m.html

Anticipated Results

We anticipate that Group 4 receiving the both dietary restrictions and additional exercise will have the lowest BMI

Group 2, the group with a modified diet, showed the second lowest BMI among the fifth graders

Table of the Anticipated Results

Groups Average BMI Before

Average BMI After

Group 1 34 34

Group 2 34 32

Group 3 34 33

Group 4 34 30

Correlation between Body Weight and Activity over 29 months

Tremblay, A. (1991). Physical activity and obesity. Bailliere's Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 13(1), 121-129

Discussion

• We concluded that after school activities and meal plan modifications have a positive correlation in lowering a child’s BMI

• Educational programs can help these students in the long term

• In 2012, Syracuse schools have eliminated recess among their elementary schools

Future Study

• Look to see if there is not only a correlation between weight loss and exercise, but correlation between exercise and academic standing

• Students who are more involved in afterschool programs were also more inclined to do better in school when compared with the students not involved in after school programs

• Exercise can increase academic standing and lower childhood obesity rates

Website

www.arsmit12.wi

References

Miller, Y., & Dunstan, D. (2004). The effectiveness of physical activity interventions for the treatment of overweight and obesity and type 2 diabetes. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 7(1), 52-59.

Kuczynski-Brown, Alex. “Syracuse Elementary Schools Nix Recess In Favor Of More Instructional Time.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 10 Sept. 2012. Web. 21 Nov. 2014.

Posner, Jill K., and Deborah L. Vandell. "Low-Income Children's After-School Care: Are There Beneficial Effects of After-School Programs?" Child Development 65.2 (1994): 440-56. Child Development. Society for Research in Child Development, 2000. Web. 21 Nov. 2014.

Tremblay, A. (1991). Physical activity and obesity. Bailliere's Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 13(1), 121-129

Wareham, N. (2007). Physical activity and obesity prevention. Obesity Reviews, 8(s1), 109-114.

http://www.afterschoolpa.com/menu/street_m.html