HEALthy Schools: Healthy Eating and Active Living in NH Schools

HEALthy Schools: Healthy Eating and Active Living in New Hampshire Schools

UNH Cooperative Extension's HEALthy Schools program enlists 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 330 New Hampshire schools and Head Start programs have enrolled in the program. Read our informational flyer.

Contact Martha Judson for more information or to enroll.

HEALthy Schools  provides resources to enrolled schools, 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.

HEALthy Schools  NH offers many benefits to schools

In exchange for a minimum of 40 hours a year working on the project, HEALthy Schools  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.
• Online resources.

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