Nebraska school district lowers obesity rate

• They adopted a new physical education program, Spark, that promotes lifelong fitness and enjoyment of exercise, rather than athletic competition. "It gives you a research-based roadmap, with activities and tips," Franzen said. They trained their P.E. teachers to use it.
• They scheduled physical education class every other day and had physical activity sessions on the non-P.E. days.
• They wove short bursts of physical activity through the classroom day, using the "Take Ten" program that shows teachers how to connect physical movement to subject areas. Some schools used the free "Jammin Minutes" program that provides ideas for quick minutes of physical activity.
• They structured their recesses. Instead of standing around the playground, all students now play group physical activity games. "The kids really enjoy that," Franzen said. Some grade schools run or walk laps at lunch, she said.
• Every school joined the Healthy Schools Network online, sponsored by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. "They give you a checklist so each school can inventory and say, 'OK, where are we in these areas and where can we improve?' Then they send back a nice roadmap of things that school can do to create a more healthy environment.'"
• They encouraged teachers and staff to tackle their own physical fitness, offering incentives. "It was voluntary, but we made it clear we expected them to be role models."
• They started a middle-school Fitness, Fun and Games class, focused on activities children could do all their lives.
• In high school, "we opened the gym at lunch to anybody who wanted to shoot baskets, play volleyball or do other activities."
• They bought each school inexpensive play equipment such as jump ropes, balls, rubber fitness station mats, scooter boards, as well as video exercise DVDs.
• They revamped their food service to reduce processed food.
• They involved the community, including family fun nights.

They did not make schools participate, but all eventually did. "We got buy-in," Franzen said. "That's harder than ordering people to participate, but it makes you more successful. We started with the most willing schools. Then other schools wanted to do it too."

Emerson School joined immediately, fourth-grade teacher Chris Weis said. "Once we heard how bad our children's numbers were, the teachers all said, 'What can we do differently to address this?'"

"The kids have been so open and willing to participate," she said. "They grasp onto what you give them. It's a matter of exposing them to some different lifestyle choices."

Two grade schools that increased their BMI started late, Franzen said. The other seven schools lowered their BMI.

The grant is running out, but the program does not depend on it, she said. "We planned it to be sustainable." Otherwise, she said, the system could gain the weight back, like a person who goes off a diet.

The drop in BMI numbers is getting attention, Franzen said, but "I think the most important thing is, we've established a culture of physical fitness in our district. We've got a lot of fit kids who have formed healthy habits that will last a lifetime."

Eighty six children dropped from the obese or overweight category to healthy weight.

"They are growing in height, so of course, they gained weight," Franzen said. "But -- and this is an important point -- they didn't gain as much. They gained five pounds instead of 15.

"So the BMI didn't drop because children lost weight. It dropped because they did not gain as much unnecessary weight."

Could W.Va. counties do it?

To get those results, West Virginia kids would need equivalent physical activity time, Mary Weikle said. "You have to have 20 consecutive minutes to get cardiovascular benefit," she said. "We're not there. You've got to intentionally have that time," she said, whether it's in physical education class or less formal physical activity sessions.

"If we get to five days a week, we'll start reaping benefits." For now, they're aiming for 15 more minutes of activity per day. "That's not enough to change the numbers," Weikle said, "but we're starting. We're getting people comfortable with the idea."

It could require legislative change, she said. "We at least need to meet the national guidelines from [the National Association of Sport and Physical Education]. From that point, individual schools could design a daily program based on their facility and staffing."

West Virginia has already done a few things Kearney did, she noted: