Planet Health
By Jill Carter, MA, EdM, Jean L. Wiecha, PhD,
Karen E. Peterson, RD, ScD, Suzanne Nobrega, MS,
and Steven L. Gortmaker, PhD
A project of the:
Harvard Prevention Research Center on Nutrition and
Physical Activity Harvard School of Public Health
Planet Health Introductory Workshop
Agenda Topics
I.
Introductions
II.
What Is Planet Health? (Presentation)
III.
Are You Concerned About Your Students’ Nutrition and Physical Activity Habits?
(Discussion)
IV.
The Health of Young People: Trends in Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Inactivity
(Presentation)
V.
Turning the Tables: Why Schools Need to Be Part of the Solution (Presentation)
VI.
Using the Planet Health Curriculum (Presentation)
VII.
Planet Health’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Messages (Activities)
VIII.
Talking to Youth About Nutrition and Physical Activity Habits (Questions)
Planet Health Demonstration Lessons
•
Lesson 1 (introductory classroom lesson) Do You Make Space for Fitness and Nutrition?
•
Lesson 2 Power Down: Charting Screen Time
•
Lesson 21 (science) Fat Functions
•
Lesson 19 (science) Passing the Sugar
•
Lesson 5 (language arts) The Language of Food
•
Lesson 34 (social studies) Impact of Technology
•
Lesson 15 (math) Plotting Coordinate Graphs: What Does Your Day Look Like?
•
Introduction to FitCheck (physical education)
What Is Planet Health?
• An interdisciplinary health curriculum for middle
school students that teaches students about
nutrition and physical activity
• A curriculum that builds skills and
competencies in language arts, math, science,
social studies, and physical education
Planet Health Goals
Planet Health
Overview
Planet Health’s
Educational
Approach
Why Implement THIS Program?
Planet Health has been evaluated and shown
to be effective in a scientific study.
• It improves student knowledge of
nutrition and physical activity.
• It reduces TV viewing time in both
boys and girls.
• It increases fruit and vegetable
consumption in girls.
• It reduces obesity in girls.
Teachers report that …
• They felt competent teaching the health
content.
• They were able to choose lessons that fit
into their curriculum.
• They enjoyed the student-centered teaching
techniques.
• Planet Health had a positive effect on their
own health.
• Planet Health helped them to connect with
their students.
Are you concerned about your
students’ nutrition and physical
activity habits?
The Health of Young People:
Trends in Nutrition, Physical Activity, and
Inactivity
Youth Are at Risk!
Trends in Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Inactivity
• Seventy percent of youth eat more saturated fat than experts
recommend.
• Youth drink twice as much soda as milk.
• Eighty percent of youth do not eat 5 or more fruits and
vegetables per day.*
• Thirty-seven percent of older youth watch 3 or more hours of
TV per day.*
• Sixty-four percent of high school students do not get the
recommended amount of daily physical activity.*
*CDC, Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2005.
Youth are at Risk!
Trends in Overweight
Prevalence of overweight among U.S. children and
adolescents
NHANES 2003-2004, National Center for Health Statistics
Health Consequences of Overweight
Overweight and obese people are at increased risk for the
following:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Type 2 diabetes
Depression
High cholesterol
Heart disease
Premature death
Stroke
Hypertension
Asthma
Some cancers
Adapted from: USSDHHS.The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease
Overweight and Obesity, 2001.
Environmental and Social Change
Affect Health Behavior
• More food available
• Growth of the food
industry and
advertising
• More meals away from
home
• More sugar-sweetened
beverages
• Large serving sizes
• More TV/video games
• More car travel
• Fewer PE classes
• Fewer students
walking and biking to
school
• Lower perception of
safety
What do TV viewing and soda
consumption have to do with it?
Distribution of Hours of TV per Day: NHES
Youth Aged 12-17 in 1967-1970 and NLSY
Youth Aged 12-17 in 1990
Data from Dietz, W.H., Gortmaker, S.L. 1985. Do we fatten our children at the television set? Obesity and
television viewing in children and adolescents. Pediatrics 75: 807-812.
Prevalence of Obesity by Hours of TV per
Day: NHES Youth Aged 12-17 in 1967-1970
and NLSY Youth Aged 10-15 in 1990
Data from Dietz, W.H., Gortmaker, S.L. 1985. Do we fatten our children at the television set? Obesity and
television viewing in children and adolescents. Pediatrics 75: 807-812.
Hypothesized Impact of Television
Viewing on Obesity
Beverage Intake Among Adolescents
Aged 11-18, 1965-1996
Data from C. Cavadini et al., 2000. U.S, “Community child health, public health, and epidemiology,” Archives
of Disease in Children 83: 18-24 (based on USDA surveys).
Soft Drink Consumption and
Overweight
• Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) contribute to
childhood obesity incidence.
– A recent study found that for each additional serving of SSB
consumed per day, the incidence of obesity increased.
• Reducing the intake of sugar-sweetened beverages
can reduce overweight among youth.
– A recent study found that the intake of carbonated drinks could
be decreased, and that this change was accompanied by a
decrease in the percentage of overweight and obese children.
– A pilot study found that when teens reduced SSB consumption
by replacing SSBs with noncaloric beverages, they lost a
pound a month.
Turning the Tables:
Why Schools Need to Be Part of the
Solution
Promoting Healthy Eating
and Active Living
Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Are a
Critical Part of Learning and Achievement
• Eating breakfast increases academic test
scores, daily attendance, concentration, and
class participation.
• Children learn through movement.
• Physically fit kids perform better academically.
• Gross motor development is an important
precursor for the fine motor skills needed for
writing and the eye coordination needed for smooth
tracking during reading.
• Children spend more time reading and doing
homework when parents set limits on TV viewing.
Using the Planet Health Curriculum
Guide
Book Organization
Section 1: Implementing Planet Health in Your
School
Section 2: Classroom Lessons
• Foundation lessons
• Language arts
• Math
• Science
• Social studies
Secton 3: Physical Education Microunits
Appendixes
• Appendix A: Nutrition Resources
• Appendix B: Physical Activity Resources
• Appendix C: Television and Other Screen Time
Resources
• Appendix D: Social Studies Resources
• Appendix E: Massachusetts Curriculum
Frameworks
Implementation Overview
Impact of
Techology
Impact of
Techology
(continued)
Do You Make Space for Fitness and
Nutrition?
Lesson 1
Introduction: Student Self-Assessment
Planet Health Goals
Healthy Eating and Active Living:
• Make you strong and fit.
• Brighten your mood and build a positive selfimage.
• Help you maintain a healthy weight.
• Are important for learning.
• Are fun!
Curriculum Connections
Existing parent/family connections in the Planet Health curriculum:
Lesson #
Subject
Lesson Name
Type of
Activity
Description
1
Introduction
Do You Make Space for
Fitness and Nutrition?
Teacher-parent
correspondence
Info letter to parents asks
them to reinforce Planet
Health messages at home.
7
Language arts
Write a Fable: Important
Messages About Activity
Teacher
resources: specific
background
material
Example of playing catch
with a friend or parent to
increase student activity.
7
Language arts
Write a Fable: Important
Messages About Activity
Reading
comprehension
Text advises students to talk
with parents if they notice
any signs of too much
exercise.
8
Language arts
Go for the Goal
Extension activity
Students interview a
member of their family to
find out whether they have
any goals for themselves.
9
Language arts
Lifetime Physical
Activities: Research One,
Describe One, Try One!
Extension activity
9.1
Publish a Planet Health
newsletter and send copies
home to parents.
10
Language arts
Choosing Healthy Foods
Extension activity,
2nd question
Besides TV, what other parts
of your life influence your
food choices? (Examples:
family, friends, etc.)
Page #
Let’s take a break!
Planet Health’s Nutrition and Physical
Activity Messages
Planet Health Goals
What’s the Rap on Fat?
Not All Fat Is Created Equal
Planet Health Fat Message
Eat a diet low in saturated fat and containing
no trans fat.
• 10% saturated fat
• 25-35% total fat
• Try to eliminate trans fat.
Planet Health Carbohydrate Message
Choose whole-grain foods and
limit foods and beverages with
added sugars.
• Make at least half of your grains whole grains.
• Sugar-sweetened beverages and high-sugar
snacks are “sometimes” foods, not everyday
foods.
Activity 1
Soda and Sports Drinks: How many do you drink?
Number in
last 7 days
12-ounce
soda
10-ounce
soda
10-ounce
sports
drink
Bottled
water
Other
Total
Grams per
serving
Grams per
container
Total grams
Total
teaspoons
Planet Health Fruits and Vegetables
Message
Eat five or more fruits and vegetables each
day.
• Eat at least two fruits each day.
• Eat at least three vegetables each day.
- At least one should be orange or dark green.
Language arts lesson 5:
The Language of Food
Something Green for Dinner
They served something green for dinner
And we wondered what it was.
Kenny whispered that it looked like
Someone’s old lawn-mower fuzz.
Dad said, “Try a bite, you’ll like it!”
We said, “Tell us, please, what is it?”
Dad said, “Ground up alien fern-tips
From the Martian spaceship’s visit.”
(They tasted great with the burgers.)
Jeff Moss
Planet Health Inactivity Message
• Limit screen time to no more than two hours
each day.
• Screen time = TV + videos + movies + video and
computer games
•
(Doesn’t include schoolwork completed on a computer.)
Social studies
lesson 34:
Impact of
Technology
Social studies
lesson 34:
Impact of
Technology
(continued)
Social studies lesson 34:
Impact of Technology
• How do computers, TV, the Internet, and DVDs
affect the daily physical activity of children your
age?
• Compare your physical activity to the physical
activity of children living in the early 1800s. Give
several details to support your answer. How do you
account for the difference?
• Compare your free time to the free time of children
living in the 1800s. How do you account for the
difference?
Social studies
lesson 34:
Impact of
Technology
Power Down:
Charting
Screen Time
Lesson 2 Power Down: Charting TV
Viewing Time
Weekly TV Viewing Histogram
Planet Health Activity Message:
Be active daily or nearly every day.
• Be moderately to vigorously active for at least
60 minutes each day.
• As part of the 60 minutes, be vigorously active
for at least 20 minutes three times a week.
Physical Activity Intensity
Sedentary
activities
• Playing video
games
• Watching TV
• Sleeping
• Talking on
phone
Low-intensity
activities
•
•
•
•
Bowling
Playing catch
Stretching
Washing dishes
Moderateintensity
activities
• Shooting
baskets
• Skateboarding
• Hopscotch
• Raking
Vigorous
activities
•
•
•
•
•
•
Running
Biking
Lap swimming
Push-ups
Sit-ups
Shoveling snow
Talking to Youth About Nutrition
and Physical Activity Habits
Group Discussion Activity
For more information, please go to
www.planet-health.org.