|
The Iowa Business Council (IBC) recently announced its launch of the PE4life Adopt-A-School Challenge. PE4life is a national non-profit organization committed to inspiring and promoting healthy lifestyles in all children across the country through regular access to quality physical education programs in schools. According to the Youth Risk Behavior Survey conducted in 2007 by the Center for Disease Control, 28.8 percent of Iowa students grades nine through 12 were deemed to be either overweight (15.8 percent) or obese (13 percent). The Challenge seeks to develop an enriched culture of active, healthy lifestyles in elementary and secondary school children throughout Iowa.
“Research shows that creating healthy habits in children at an early age leads to making healthier dietary and fitness choices for themselves as adults,” said Mel Haught, President and CEO of Pella Corporation and current chair of the Iowa Business Council. “More immediately, healthy and active school children also perform better academically and have fewer behavioral issues. The objective of the PE4life Adopt-A-School Challenge is to help Iowa become the healthiest state in the country, and one way of doing so is to directly address the epidemic of overweight and obese children.”
In early October, the Grocery Manufacturers Association and the Food Marketing Institute, both of which represent leading U.S. manufacturers, retailers, and wholesalers in the food and beverage industry, jointly announced that their Healthy Weight Commitment is launching the Healthy Schools Partnership (HSP). Using a three-year pilot format, the HSP will introduce and sustain a curriculum for children ages six to 11 that combines physical education and nutrition education within four schools in each of three communities: Washington, D.C., Kansas City, and Des Moines. The HSP will also support a tribal community in Iowa and a school in Chicago. The Healthy Schools Partnership consists of the expertise of the American Dietetic Association Foundation, the American Council on Fitness and Nutrition, and PE4life.
The Iowa Business Council will use its PE4life Adopt-A-School Challenge to scale-up the Healthy Weight Commitment’s HSP model, expanding its impact beyond Des Moines and making Iowa the first state in the nation to offer PE4life statewide. IBC is encouraging its member companies and institutions to collaborate with local school districts to develop PE4life programs in their own communities. The goal is to leverage resources so that PE4life programs are initiated in 50 Iowa elementary or secondary schools over a five-year timeframe. Total cost for technology installation, training, and professional development is estimated at nearly $2.5 million. The Wellmark Foundation is planning to commit $1 million to this initiative spread over the next five years. Approximately $750,000 will be utilized to spread the adoption of this approach across Iowa and approximately$250,000 will be utilized to initially seed PE4life programs in South Dakota. Collectively, this commitment of support should help the model spread to 20-25 school settings over the next several years. The Business Council itself will offer limited funding support for initial program implementation needs such as software, data collection, and research costs.
“PE4life combines today’s best practices in physical education to inspire and educate all students about the vital importance of lifetime physical activity and fitness,” said John Forsyth, Chairman & CEO of Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield. “The program incorporates cardiovascular fitness, muscular and strength endurance, team building, and adventure education within a curriculum created for all children – not just those who are athletically inclined. It also utilizes technology and individualized assessments, and encourages involvement of local health, medical, and business communities. IBC supports initiatives that develop healthy, active, productive school children. It’s these children who we hope will eventually grow to become healthy, active, productive adults.”
“Evidence exists that children learn better and achieve best when they are physically fit,” said PE4life President & CEO Anne Flannery. “Cardiovascular exercise literally builds new brain cells. Exercise has also been shown to improve attention span and focus, lower anxiety and depression levels, and result in fewer discipline incidents — all factors that impact learning. After students exercise they are less impulsive, their motivation to learn is increased, and they have less desire to get out of their chairs and move around. A more fit and smarter student population is what the Healthy Weight Commitment and the Business Council seek. This is why they are both committing resources in Iowa to implement aggressive initiatives focused on better nutrition and physical education for kids.”
For more information on the PE4life Adopt-A-School Challenge, including a frequently asked questions section, please visit the Iowa Business Council Web site at http://www.iowabusinesscouncil.com/content/pe4life.
|
