What's New
Registration is open for the Crisis of Obesity conference held April 10. Read more in our Events area.
Grant money is available to schools to promote Healthy School Nutrition Environments in Grades K-8.
It’s an organization watching out for all of us. As a result, I have some very strong, researched-based materials and people behind me. When I bring these messages to staff, parents, students and community groups, I’m not just hanging out there all by myself.
Judy Elliott, RN
Salisbury-Webster Elementary Schools
Changing the Scene
Changing the Scene in New Hampshire
Based on a program developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, UNH Cooperative Extension's Changing the Scene program works by enlisting school nurses, school lunch personnel, teachers, administrators and school wellness teams to survey and improve the entire school nutrition and physical fitness environment of their schools.
Since 2003 more than 400 New Hampshire schools and Head Start programs have enrolled in the program.
Enrolled schools have used the Changing the Scene resources, available at no cost, to:
- Provide nutrition education classes in the classroom
- Improve the quality of food in school cafeterias and vending machines.
- Encourage parents to send healthy lunches and snacks.
- Get kids and teachers involved in more physical activity.
- Reach out with healthy eating/active living messages to parents and the general public.
Why is a healthy school nutrition/fitness environment so important?
- Nutrition is related to physical well-being, growth and development, readiness to learn and risk of disease.
- An estimated 27 percent of New Hampshire children are overweight or obese. (pdf)
- Fifty-six percent of New Hampshire children and teens don’t exercise regularly. (pdf)
- Unhealthy eating habits that contribute to health problems tend to be established early in life; young persons who have unhealthy eating habits tend to maintain these habits as they age.
- Annual health costs directly associated with overweight and obesity among U.S. children more than tripled in the past two decades.
- Diet-related diseases include heart disease, some types of cancer, stroke, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and osteoporosis.
- Sixty percent of overweight five- to 10-year-olds already have at least one risk factor for heart disease and 25 percent have two or more risk factors.
- Some children are undernourished. Even moderate under-nutrition can have lasting effects on children’s growth, development and school performance.
- Regular physical activity promotes psychological well-being and long-term emotional health benefits.
Changing the Scene NH offers many benefits to schools
In exchange for a minimum of 30 hours a year working on the project, Changing the Scene NH offers participants:
- A tool for assessing their own nutrition and exercise programs.
- Guidelines for identifying, contacting, and working with all groups who need to be actively involved with the school wellness team.
- A rich assortment of resources and teaching materials.
- Help finding funding to buy playground and fitness equipment.
- Ongoing support needed to develop and implement plans for change tailored to their schools’ specific needs and constraints.
- Training conferences throughout the year.
- One-on-one mentoring and individual meetings to help school nurses and wellness teams stay up to date on the latest nutrition and physical activity research.
- Tips for attracting media attention and working effectively with the media.
- An email listserv.
- Access to online resources and discussions.
- Newsletters schools can send home to parents, with a blank page schools can use to promote their own programs.
