Jump-starting children's choices

Jacob Morrison lost 8 pounds by eating salads instead of potato chips with his meals. His classmate, Austin Baker, realized he had to stop eating so much candy and start exercising more.

These lifestyle and diet changes weren't mandated by parents or a doctor, but were the result of a school program called "Jump into Action."

West Lane, North and South elementary schools in Jackson and Trinity Lutheran School and Central Middle School in Cape Girardeau all participated in the eight-week nutrition and exercise program sponsored by the University of Missouri Extension office. The program was funded by a $668,181 grant through the Missouri Foundation for Health that was divided by 25 counties. The program was intended to address youth obesity and prevent Type 2 diabetes in children.

Missouri's rate for childhood obesity -- 32 percent of children in grades six to eight ranks higher than the national average. "Jump into Action" targeted fifth-grade students in 25 counties around the state, including those in Cape Girardeau County, that showed a high incidence for diabetes. The program also tried to make students aware of their risk for Type 2 diabetes, which usually develops in overweight adults but has increased exponentially among inactive and obese youth.

School nurses were invited to participate in a training session last summer before the program was initiated at their schools. At West Lane, nurse Kathleen Rice led "Jump into Action" along with physical education instructors.

Students like Shelly Bodenstein, 10, learned to keep a food diary and Bethany Rouggly, 11, switched her afternoon snacks to add more fruit and fiber to her diet.

Since all fifth-graders at West Lane were making these diet and exercise changes, it was a little easier to accomplish, the students said.

"Kids like to fit in. They don't want to be the oddball out," Baker said.

During the course of the eight-week program, Baker thought he'd really be fine without making many changes. He found out that wasn't true, and made extra efforts to get out of the house and exercise.

Some of the students even took on a friendly competition to see who was drinking the most milk each day.

"Us boys were kind of silly," Baker said. "Some girls competed too. I tried to keep up with everybody. I was surprised I was getting one or two servings less than I thought."

Teaching children about their eating habits at an early age is crucial, said Judy Leuders, a nutritionist and health education specialist with University Extension. "Kids at this age are flexible," she said. "We want them to understand the connection about eating the right things and feeling good."

But "Jump into Action" wasn't just about eating habits, students also learned about physical activity and exercise. They tried to fit in 60 minutes of physical activity every day during school, and limit their television watching and computer time to less than two hours.

During the course of the program, they carried pedometers to measure their steps and learned to line dance in physical education class. "It's not about losing weight and it's not about eating," Rice said. "Not everybody needs to lose weight, but they still need to exercise to stay healthy."

Bethany Rouggly's family is more conscious of the need for physical activity, but her family already limited television and played games of basketball or baseball instead.

Central Middle School physical education teacher Ann Cunningham said the students were eager to exercise when they wore the pedometers. "It really sparked their interest in the amount of exercise they were actually getting in a day," she said. "Also, some of the fifth-grade teachers used them as they completed health units. We will definitely use them again. They were fun and motivating."

Physical education instructor Reagan McDowell said the pedometers purchased through "Jump into Action" helped the students keep track of their movements. "I like the program because it makes kids more aware of being active," he said. "The kid who might just sit on the hill during recess now has a goal to shoot for, especially when they're all comparing pedometer results daily."

Having the pedometers and tracking their daily exercise also showed the students "that exercise output varies according to the activity you're doing," said Jerry Golden, physical education teacher at North Elementary.

ljohnston@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126

cpagano@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137