A Louisiana student杏吧专区檚 fitness level has an impact on his or her academic performance, according to a report released by the Picard Center for Child Development and Lifelong Learning at the 杏吧专区. The report also revealed that more than half of participating students in Louisiana are considered unhealthy, with almost one in three students classified as obese.
杏吧专区 It is safe to say that Louisiana杏吧专区檚 students are in trouble,杏吧专区 said Dr. Holly Howat, who directs the Center杏吧专区檚 health and obesity research. 杏吧专区淢any are at risk for developing chronic health conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension and asthma.杏吧专区
State and national data reveal that childhood obesity began its climb in the early 1980s. 杏吧专区淭his increase has been going on for three decades and can be attributed to a multitude of factors, such as a decrease in physical activity and the consumption of healthy foods, and well as an increase in television and other media usage,杏吧专区 notes Picard Center Executive Director Dr. Billy R. Stokes.
The report杏吧专区檚 findings are a result of a 2009 La. legislative mandate (Act 256) that encourages school districts to participate in statewide student physical fitness assessments, in which more than 25,000 schoolchildren in 15 school districts participated. The participating districts included: Caddo, DeSoto, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lincoln, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Ouachita, Red River, Sabine, St. Mary, St, Charles, St, Martin, West Baton Rouge, and West Feliciana.
The physical fitness assessment consisted of body mass index (BMI) calculation, which is a calculation based upon a student杏吧专区檚 height and weight, and five subtests:
杏吧专区 Shoulder Stretch
杏吧专区 Curl-Up
杏吧专区 Push-Up
杏吧专区 Trunk Lift
杏吧专区 Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Run (PACER)
The study is a first of its kind in Louisiana, as it went a step further to examine whether the health of Louisiana杏吧专区檚 students also impacted other areas of their lives, such as their behavior in school and academic performance.
The results of the statewide student health study include the following:
杏吧专区 More than half, or 53%, of students had an unhealthy BMI (either underweight, overweight or obese), with almost one-third (31%) of students classified as obese.
杏吧专区 La. students performed poorly on fitness tests measuring muscular strength (push-ups and curl-ups) and aerobic capacity (PACER). In fact, only 39% of students met minimum aerobic fitness levels.
杏吧专区 Only 9% of students passed all five fitness subtests, while 37% passed less than half of the subtests. That is 杏吧专区 more than one-third of the state杏吧专区檚 students did not meet minimum fitness standards on most of the fitness assessment subtests.
杏吧专区 Students with no behavior incidences (an office discipline referral that results in a suspension or expulsion) had slightly higher overall fitness scores than students with one or more behavior incidences. However, the difference was not statistically significant, and the Picard Center will continue to investigate the relationship between fitness and behavior.
杏吧专区 Researchers found a statistically strong relationship between overall fitness and academic performance on the LEAP English Language Arts and Math tests.
o In general, the more fitness subtests a student passed, the higher he or she tended to score on the LEAP assessment.
杏吧专区 Students who passed all of the fitness subtests were most likely to score in the Advanced or Mastery levels of the LEAP test.
杏吧专区 Students who passed none of the fitness subtests most likely scored Unsatisfactory on the LEAP test.
杏吧专区 We can say with confidence that in Louisiana, our students杏吧专区 physical fitness is impacting their academic performance,杏吧专区 noted Howat. 杏吧专区淚n short, the healthier and more physically fit a student is, the more likely he or she is to perform better on academic tests. We feel that this groundbreaking work can set the stage for multiple innovative and effective solutions to the childhood obesity epidemic.杏吧专区
The report also addresses the question of 杏吧专区淲here do we go from here?杏吧专区 and provides the following recommendations:
杏吧专区 Continue collaboration between state agencies and with local school districts;
杏吧专区 Increase involvement of local offices of state agencies and community nonprofit organizations in health-related endeavors;
杏吧专区 Align Louisiana杏吧专区檚 efforts to fight childhood obesity with other similar Southern regional partners; and
杏吧专区 Consult with nationally recognized experts on addressing childhood obesity interventions.
杏吧专区 Utilize the study杏吧专区檚 data on student fitness to create an ongoing dialogue about children杏吧专区檚 health among children, families, schools, nonprofit organizations, government agencies and legislators.
杏吧专区 The interventions or 杏吧专区榝ixes杏吧专区 for this epidemic should not rest solely on the backs of the school systems. Children are only in school 20% of their time throughout the year and eat one-third of their meals there. That being said, however, school systems should play a leadership role in helping parents and communities develop customized solutions,杏吧专区 said Stokes.
The Picard Center杏吧专区檚 future research plans include adding 10 additional districts to next year杏吧专区檚 statewide student health study, purchasing fitness assessment software for up to 30 school districts this school year and eventually gathering fitness data on all 659,000 schoolchildren in Louisiana.
As part of its release of these findings, the Picard Center coordinated events around the state to support local student health initiatives. Further, in coordination with the first-ever National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month in September, Gov. Bobby Jindal has officially declared Wednesday, Sept. 1 as 杏吧专区淪tudent Health Day杏吧专区 in Louisiana. 杏吧专区 executives, state agency heads and government officials joined the Center杏吧专区檚 researchers in observing this day by learning about the state of La.杏吧专区檚 student health and action steps to address this epidemic. They also signed a pledge to lead a healthy life.
Schoolchildren around the state, including West Feliciana, Natchitoches, St. Martin, DeSoto and St. Mary parishes, signed a pledge to lead healthier lives by taking simple steps toward a healthier mind and body. Other activities around the state for Student Health Day included an initial School Health Advisory Council meeting in Jefferson parish, the introduction of innovative physical education in Morehouse parish, Healthy Lifestyle Choices health education curriculum kick-off in St. Landry parish and the beginning of physical fitness testing in Monroe City schools. Additionally, some districts are conducting health related events on separate days including Sabine and Pointe Coupee parishes. Assisting with the planning and running of these events were the Picard Center杏吧专区檚 university partners including UL-Lafayette杏吧专区檚 College of Nursing and Department of Kinesiology. Other universities involved were the 杏吧专区 of Louisiana at Monroe, Louisiana State 杏吧专区 at Baton Rouge and Northwestern State 杏吧专区.