Planet Health By Jill Carter, MA, EdM, Jean L. Wiecha, PhD, Karen E. Peterson, RD, ScD, Suzanne Nobrega, MS, and Steven L. Gortmaker, PhD A project of.

Planet HealthBy Jill Carter, MA, EdM, Jean L. Wiecha, PhD,

Karen E. Peterson, RD, ScD, Suzanne Nobrega, MS, and Steven L. Gortmaker, PhD

A project of the:

Harvard Prevention Research Center on Nutrition and Physical Activity Harvard School of Public Health

Planet Health Introductory Workshop

Agenda Topics

I. Introductions

II. What Is Planet Health? (Presentation)

III. Are You Concerned About Your Students’ Nutrition and Physical Activity Habits? (Discussion)

IV. The Health of Young People: Trends in Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Inactivity (Presentation)

V. Turning the Tables: Why Schools Need to Be Part of the Solution (Presentation)

VI. Using the Planet Health Curriculum (Presentation)

VII. Planet Health’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Messages (Activities)

VIII. Talking to Youth About Nutrition and Physical Activity Habits (Questions)  

Planet Health Demonstration Lessons

• Lesson 1 (introductory classroom lesson) Do You Make Space for Fitness and Nutrition?

• Lesson 2 Power Down: Charting Screen Time

• Lesson 21 (science) Fat Functions

• Lesson 19 (science) Passing the Sugar

• Lesson 5 (language arts) The Language of Food

• Lesson 34 (social studies) Impact of Technology

• Lesson 15 (math) Plotting Coordinate Graphs: What Does Your Day Look Like?

• Introduction to FitCheck (physical education)

What Is Planet Health?

• An interdisciplinary health curriculum for middle school students that teaches students about nutrition and physical activity

• A curriculum that builds skills and competencies in language arts, math, science, social studies, and physical education

Planet Health Goals

Planet Health Overview

Planet Health’s Educational Approach

Why Implement THIS Program?

Planet Health has been evaluated and shown to be effective in a scientific study.

• It improves student knowledge of nutrition and physical activity.

• It reduces TV viewing time in both boys and girls.

• It increases fruit and vegetable consumption in girls.

• It reduces obesity in girls.

Teachers report that …

• They felt competent teaching the health content.

• They were able to choose lessons that fit into their curriculum.

• They enjoyed the student-centered teaching techniques.

• Planet Health had a positive effect on their own health.

• Planet Health helped them to connect with their students.

Are you concerned about your students’ nutrition and physical

activity habits?

The Health of Young People:

Trends in Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Inactivity

Youth Are at Risk!

Trends in Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Inactivity

• Seventy percent of youth eat more saturated fat than experts recommend.

• Youth drink twice as much soda as milk.• Eighty percent of youth do not eat 5 or more fruits and

vegetables per day.*• Thirty-seven percent of older youth watch 3 or more hours of

TV per day.*• Sixty-four percent of high school students do not get the

recommended amount of daily physical activity.*

*CDC, Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2005.

Youth are at Risk!Trends in Overweight

Prevalence of overweight among U.S. children and adolescentsNHANES 2003-2004, National Center for Health Statistics

Health Consequences of Overweight

Overweight and obese people are at increased risk for the following:

• Type 2 diabetes• Depression• High cholesterol• Heart disease• Premature death• Stroke• Hypertension• Asthma• Some cancers

Adapted from: USSDHHS.The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity, 2001.

Environmental and Social Change Affect Health Behavior

• More food available • Growth of the food

industry and advertising

• More meals away from home

• More sugar-sweetened beverages

• Large serving sizes

• More TV/video games

• More car travel

• Fewer PE classes

• Fewer students walking and biking to school

• Lower perception of safety

What do TV viewing and soda consumption have to do with it?

Distribution of Hours of TV per Day: NHES Youth Aged 12-17 in 1967-1970 and NLSY

Youth Aged 12-17 in 1990

Data from Dietz, W.H., Gortmaker, S.L. 1985. Do we fatten our children at the television set? Obesity and television viewing in children and adolescents. Pediatrics 75: 807-812.

Prevalence of Obesity by Hours of TV per Day: NHES Youth Aged 12-17 in 1967-1970

and NLSY Youth Aged 10-15 in 1990

Data from Dietz, W.H., Gortmaker, S.L. 1985. Do we fatten our children at the television set? Obesity and

television viewing in children and adolescents. Pediatrics 75: 807-812.

Hypothesized Impact of Television Viewing on Obesity

Beverage Intake Among Adolescents Aged 11-18, 1965-1996

Data from C. Cavadini et al., 2000. U.S, “Community child health, public health, and epidemiology,” Archives of Disease in Children 83: 18-24 (based on USDA surveys).

Soft Drink Consumption and Overweight

• Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) contribute to childhood obesity incidence.– A recent study found that for each additional serving of SSB

consumed per day, the incidence of obesity increased.

• Reducing the intake of sugar-sweetened beverages can reduce overweight among youth.– A recent study found that the intake of carbonated drinks could

be decreased, and that this change was accompanied by a decrease in the percentage of overweight and obese children.

– A pilot study found that when teens reduced SSB consumption by replacing SSBs with noncaloric beverages, they lost a pound a month.

Turning the Tables: Why Schools Need to Be Part of the

Solution

Promoting Healthy Eatingand Active Living

Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Are a Critical Part of Learning and Achievement

• Eating breakfast increases academic test scores, daily attendance, concentration, and class participation.

• Children learn through movement.• Physically fit kids perform better academically.• Gross motor development is an important

precursor for the fine motor skills needed for writing and the eye coordination needed for smooth tracking during reading.

• Children spend more time reading and doing homework when parents set limits on TV viewing.

Using the Planet Health Curriculum Guide

Book Organization

Section 1: Implementing Planet Health in Your School

Section 2: Classroom Lessons• Foundation lessons• Language arts• Math• Science• Social studies

Secton 3: Physical Education Microunits

Appendixes

• Appendix A: Nutrition Resources• Appendix B: Physical Activity Resources• Appendix C: Television and Other Screen Time

Resources• Appendix D: Social Studies Resources• Appendix E: Massachusetts Curriculum

Frameworks

Implementation Overview

Impact of Techology

Impact of Techology(continued)

Do You Make Space for Fitness and Nutrition?Lesson 1

Introduction: Student Self-Assessment

Planet Health Goals

Healthy Eating and Active Living:

• Make you strong and fit.• Brighten your mood and build a positive self-

image.• Help you maintain a healthy weight.• Are important for learning.• Are fun!

Curriculum ConnectionsExisting parent/family connections in the Planet Health curriculum:

Lesson # Subject Lesson Name Type of Activity

Description Page #

1 Introduction Do You Make Space for Fitness and Nutrition?

Teacher-parent correspondence

Info letter to parents asks them to reinforce Planet Health messages at home.

7 Language arts Write a Fable: Important Messages About Activity

Teacher resources: specific background material

Example of playing catch with a friend or parent to increase student activity.

7 Language arts Write a Fable: Important Messages About Activity

Reading comprehension

Text advises students to talk with parents if they notice any signs of too much exercise.

8 Language arts Go for the Goal Extension activity Students interview a member of their family to find out whether they have any goals for themselves.

9 Language arts Lifetime Physical Activities: Research One, Describe One, Try One!

Extension activity 9.1

Publish a Planet Health newsletter and send copies home to parents.

10 Language arts Choosing Healthy Foods Extension activity, 2nd question

Besides TV, what other parts of your life influence your food choices? (Examples: family, friends, etc.)

Let’s take a break!

Planet Health’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Messages

Planet Health Goals

What’s the Rap on Fat?Not All Fat Is Created Equal

Planet Health Fat Message

Eat a diet low in saturated fat and containing no trans fat.

• 10% saturated fat• 25-35% total fat• Try to eliminate trans fat.

Planet Health Carbohydrate Message

Choose whole-grain foods and limit foods and beverages with

added sugars.

• Make at least half of your grains whole grains.• Sugar-sweetened beverages and high-sugar snacks are “sometimes” foods, not everyday foods.

Activity 1Soda and Sports Drinks: How many do you drink?

Number in last 7 days

Grams per serving

Grams per container

Total grams Total teaspoons

12-ounce soda

10-ounce soda

10-ounce sports drink

Bottled water

Other

Total

Planet Health Fruits and Vegetables Message

Eat five or more fruits and vegetables each day.

• Eat at least two fruits each day.• Eat at least three vegetables each day.

- At least one should be orange or dark green.

Language arts lesson 5: The Language of Food

Something Green for DinnerThey served something green for dinner

And we wondered what it was.

Kenny whispered that it looked like

Someone’s old lawn-mower fuzz.

Dad said, “Try a bite, you’ll like it!”

We said, “Tell us, please, what is it?”

Dad said, “Ground up alien fern-tips

From the Martian spaceship’s visit.”

(They tasted great with the burgers.)

Jeff Moss

Planet Health Inactivity Message

• Limit screen time to no more than two hours each day.

• Screen time = TV + videos + movies + video and computer games

• (Doesn’t include schoolwork completed on a computer.)

Social studieslesson 34:Impact of

Technology

Social studieslesson 34:Impact of

Technology(continued)

Social studies lesson 34: Impact of Technology

• How do computers, TV, the Internet, and DVDs affect the daily physical activity of children your age?

• Compare your physical activity to the physical activity of children living in the early 1800s. Give several details to support your answer. How do you account for the difference?

• Compare your free time to the free time of children living in the 1800s. How do you account for the difference?

Social studieslesson 34:Impact of

Technology

Power Down:Charting

Screen Time

Lesson 2 Power Down: Charting TV Viewing Time

Weekly TV Viewing Histogram

Planet Health Activity Message:

Be active daily or nearly every day.

• Be moderately to vigorously active for at least 60 minutes each day.

• As part of the 60 minutes, be vigorously active for at least 20 minutes three times a week.

Physical Activity Intensity

Sedentary

activities

Low-intensity activities

Moderate-intensity activities

Vigorous activities

• Playing video games

• Watching TV

• Sleeping

• Talking on phone

• Bowling

• Playing catch

• Stretching

• Washing dishes

• Shooting baskets

• Skateboarding

• Hopscotch

• Raking

• Running

• Biking

• Lap swimming

• Push-ups

• Sit-ups

• Shoveling snow

Talking to Youth About Nutritionand Physical Activity Habits

Group Discussion Activity

For more information, please go to www.planet-health.org.