A Harvard study of 1,295 Boston-area sixth and seventh graders published last year in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine found that after following the Planet Health program for two years, students watched an average of 4.2 fewer hours of TV a week. And girls were 5 percent less likely to become obese. Educators in Cambridge, Mass., are so impressed they hope to adopt Planet Health systemwide. Other programs are taking aim at the unhealthy fare in many school cafeterias. The Heart Smart program from Tulane University's Center for Cardiovascular Health helped Los Ranchos Elementary School in Albuquerque, N.M., train its food-service workers to trim fat from meat and use less salt.
Students can choose healthful alternatives such as yogurt and peanut butter.
And Los Ranchos principal Nancy Blackler is also trying to get the kids out and running around. When the state freed up some extra personnel funds, she hired a full-time physical education teacher. Now her students frog-jump and tumble through obstacle courses on the renovated playground and slither like sharks on a mat. But schools can't be expected to do it alone. Public-health officials believe parents should take their crusade beyond the dinner table and lobby local officials for playgrounds, bike paths, and more wholesome fare in schools.