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Promoting healthy living and reducing obesity in schools: A case study

Promoting healthy living and reducing obesity in schools: A case study. Michael Jopling. An obesity crisis. ‘ Obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally, with more than 1 billion adults overweight - at least 300 million of them clinically obese - and is a

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Promoting healthy living and reducing obesity in schools: A case study

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  1. Promoting healthy living and reducing obesity in schools: A case study Michael Jopling

  2. An obesity crisis ‘Obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally, with more than 1 billion adults overweight - at least 300 million of them clinically obese - and is a major contributor to the global burden of chronic disease and disability.’ (OECD, 2009) ‘One of the biggest threats to our health and that of our families.’ (DH/DCSF 2008) Walsall (2006): 20% of children obese and 30% overweight and obese Obesity in Year 6 children: 9.5% (1991-2001) 20.9% (2006)

  3. Interventions Network of 6 primary schools • 2 Fitness Festivals • Health Matters INSET • Weighing and measuring all children (PCT) • Climbing Everest (Y5 & Y6) • Aerobics (Y3 & Y4) • Multi-skills project (Y1 & Y2) • Wake and shake • Swimming & reduced gym membership for parents

  4. Evaluation 1. PCT data 1302 children - 1120 in cluster schools weighed/measured 2. Fitness testing Agility run; aerobic test; long jump 3. Attitudes: children and parents Activity diaries Focus groups & survey 4. Action research

  5. Measuring: boys (cluster)

  6. Changes in parents’ attitudes

  7. Lessons learned • Increasing exercise is easier than • changing eating habits • Schools need to model healthy living • Younger children are more receptive to • changing their habits than older children • Most parents are not aware of the scale of the obesity and overweight problem

  8. Resisting participation 1: Perfection and performativity Policy-makers ‘seem to be spontaneously inclined to think that solutions have to and can be provided by educators.’ (Lambeir and Ramaekers, 2008) Creation of ‘body perfection codes’ which ‘prescribe young people’s lifestyle choices, defining what children should eat, how much they should exercise, what shape they should be and how much they should weigh’. (Davies et al. 2008, 392)

  9. Resisting participation 2: Social exclusion Parental support and denial ‘We don’t see obesity as an issue in the school. I wouldn’t think there are any [obese children] in the school… although I agree that there are overweight children’. ‘I don’t feel informed about healthy living issues after the project. […] They are pushing the project on you rather than introducing it. Typical example, they did an aerobics class to help with obese people,and we were the only ones who turned up. There were no obese parents or children, just us. It should be done individually tooverweight people.’ michael.jopling@wlv.ac.uk

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