Childhood Obesity Weekly Policy Update

 

 

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Federal

Senate Passes ESEA Reauthorization

The Senate approved a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that includes physical education as a core academic subject—subjects which are eligible for federal funding and for which teachers must be qualified—and also reauthorizes the Carol M. White Physical Education Program. That program funds physical fitness programs that help students make progress toward meeting their state standards for physical education. A version of ESEA reauthorization approved by the House does not include the physical education provisions. House and Senate negotiators are expected to attempt to work out differences in the bills via conference committee later this year.     

 

 

 

Senate Appropriations Committee Approves Agriculture Spending Bill with Nutrition Provisions

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a fiscal year 2016 Agriculture Appropriations bill that includes an amendment, sponsored by Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., mirroring language from the House version of the bill providing a one-year extension (through the 2016-17 school year) of current law that 1) lets schools request a waiver from meeting the 100 percent whole grain rich standard and 2) holds sodium standards at current limits pending further research. The bill also includes $25 million in school kitchen equipment funding, $5 million more than the House version, while accompanying report language calls on the Food and Drug Administration to release research on added sugars before adding a line to that effect on a revamped Nutrition Facts Panel. It is uncertain when the full Senate will consider the bill.    

 

 

State and Local

 

New York Expands SNAP Purchasing Power at Farmers’ Markets

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced the availability of $350,000 to support the state’s FreshConnect Checks program, which provides $2 incentive checks for every $5 in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits spent at farmers’ marketsFrom th. Gov. Cuomo also announced that the program will now operate year-round at participating farmers’ markets, which received more than $3.2 million in SNAP sales in 2014.

 

 

Report: Most Kansas Elementary Students Get Less Than 20 Minutes of Daily Recess

Sixty-three percent of Kansas elementary school students have less than 20 minutes of daily recess, and 41 percent of schools have policies prohibiting withholding recess as a punishment, according to a survey of physical education teachers funded by the Kansas Health Foundation. Researchers who analyzed the survey from the state department of education and the Kansas Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance recommended that recess not be withheld and that physical activity breaks be sufficient to let students “mentally decompress.” 

 

 

 

From the Field

Study: Many Children Eligible for Free or Reduced-Price School Meals Don’t Participate

Nearly two-thirds of households whose children are eligible for free or reduced price meals participate in the National School Lunch Program, while just over half participate in the School Breakfast Program, according to a study from the University of New Hampshire’s Carsey School of Public Policy. The researchers conclude that the current “moderate” level of participation among eligible households means “additional children could be benefiting both nutritionally and academically from participation.”

 

 

 

Obesity-Related Behaviors Increase When School Is Out

Children on summer break consume more sugar, watch more television, and eat fewer vegetables than during the school year, a finding that holds true regardless of family income, according to a study conducted by researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Previous research has shown that children gain up to three times as much weight during the summer as they do during the entire school year.

 

 

Articles of Interest

 

Nick Offerman as a Pizza Farmer in ‘Funny or Die’ Ad

NBC New York, Lauren Coffey, 7/15/15

In the video, Offerman is seen picking pepperoni slices straight from leafy plants, waters sloppy joe mix with soda, and believes french fries are "basically a salad" which is why he pairs them with ranch.

 

 

Did You Know Cookie Monster Eats Carrots Now?

The Washington Post, Bobby McMahon, 7/14/15

He is only Cookie Monster. His love of cookies is his defining trait. Cookies are his essence, his raison d’etre. So why is he eating a carrot?

 

 

 

Upcoming Events

Active Transportation and Equity: Key Challenges and Opportunities from the Field
July 21, 2015
1:00-200 p.m. ET

Hosted by the Safe Routes to School National Partnership, this webinar will discuss how equity is being prioritized in the active transportation field. Register for the webinar.

 

 

 

©2015 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation   Route 1 and College Road East   Princeton, NJ 08543, US

 


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