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PR-03/30/2006: Students Address Physical Activity, Healthy Eating and Obesity in Daly City Schools

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 30, 2006 San Mateo County Health Department Contact: Beverly Thames, (650) 573-3935 STUDENTS ADDRESS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, HEALTHY EATING AND OBESITY IN DALY CITY SCHOOLS DALY CITY, CA -- San Mateo County health officials today pointed to a special program in Daly City as a positive example of how to address the issues of physical fitness, healthy eating and obesity in the schools. Project HEART, a special program operating at Jefferson and Westmoor High Schools and Ben Franklin and T.R. Pollicita Intermediate Schools, trains students to develop educational messages and to conduct advocacy activities that promote healthier eating habits and increase the amount of exercise students get every day. Project HEART -- Healthy Eating And Right Training -- is a project of the San Mateo County Office of Education. The three-year project is funded by The California Endowment. "We feel that young people are more likely to listen to their peers about topics like these than they are to adult authority figures," said Dr. Anand Chabra, the San Mateo County Health Department's Maternal and Child Health Director. About 30 percent of students in Daly City schools are overweight or obese, so Project HEART peer counselors at Westmoor have been working with food services staff at their school and at Jefferson Union High School District (JUHSD) to find ways to provide healthier choices in the food served on campus. The peer counselors also advised JUHSD as district staff drafted a Wellness Policy, a required national mandate for school districts receiving federal funding for school meal programs. JUHSD has already passed its Wellness Policy, and the District is planning to improve food choices on school menus next September, a full year before the State of California requires it, through SB 12 and SB 965. The media is invited to learn about the actions Daly City students are taking to reduce obesity at a news conference on April 5 at 11:15 a.m. at Westmoor High School located at 131 Westmoor Avenue in Daly City. The news conference will take place the day after the release of Blueprint for the Prevention of Childhood Obesity on April 4 at a presentation to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors. The Blueprint, presented by the county-wide Prevention of Childhood Obesity Task Force, outlines community goals for preventing childhood obesity. Both events will take place during Public Health Week, which has as its theme: "Designing Healthy Communities, Raising Healthy Kids." The San Mateo County Health Department has guided the Prevention of Childhood Obesity Taskforce and their Blueprint for the Prevention of Childhood Obesity. To read the Blueprint and see a full calendar of Public Health Week events, go to www.smhealth.org/hppp. # # #