BARRIERS TO HEALTHY BEHAVIOR

Review pages 4 – 14 of the School District Wellness Policies: Evaluating Progress and Potential for Improving Childrens Health Three Years after the Federal Mandate report. Reflecting on this report and given that: ENERGY INTAKE – ENERGY EXPENDITURE = ENERGY BALANCE, where “energy intake” refers to what we eat and “energy expenditure” is defined by how much we exercise; then “energy balance” is defined as the relationship between intake and expenditure.

Write a paper (2 pages) describing challenges and opportunities teachers, health educators, health professionals, and parents in this country face in overcoming the epidemic of childhood obesity.

Assignment Expectations

The following items in particular will be assessed:

1. Describe several of the reasons that childhood obesity is on the rise.
2. Identify at least 3 barriers to improving children’s nutrition and physical activity.
3. What are the trends regarding effectiveness of school-based wellness policies?
4. What opportunities exist to improve school-based wellness policies?

Required Readings

Required 30-minute Tutorial for developing good goals and SMART objectives:

CDC (2011) Writing Good Goals and SMART Objectives – Tutorials. Retrieved fromhttp://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/tutorials/writinggoal/index.htm

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2008). Developing strategies for program success. Retrieved July 1, 2012 fromhttp://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/evaluation/pdf/ertnews_fall08.pdf

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2009). Writing SMART objectives [Evaluation Briefs No. 3]. Retrieved July 1, 2012 fromhttp://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/evaluation/pdf/brief3b.pdf

Fitzgerald, N. & Spaccarotella, K. (2009 February). Barriers to a healthy lifestyle: From individuals to public policy—an ecological perspective. Journal of Extension, 47(1), 1-9. Retrieved July 1, 2012 fromhttp://www.joe.org/joe/2009february/pdf/JOE_v47_1a3.pdf

Glasgow, R.E. (2008). Perceived barriers to self-management and preventive behaviors.Health Behavior Constructs: Theory, Measurement & Research. Rockville, MD: Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute. Retrieved July 1, 2012 from http://cancercontrol.cancer.gov/brp/research/constructs/barriers.html

National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Adolescent and School Health (2011). Workplan template. Program management. [Tools and resources]. Retrieved July 1, 2012 fromhttp://www.cdc.gov/dash/program_mgt/801_resources.htm

Chriqui JF, Schneider L, Chaloupka FJ, Gourdet C, Bruursema A, Ide K & Pugach O. (2010). School District Wellness Policies: Evaluating Progress and Potential for Improving Childrens Health Three Years after the Federal Mandate. Health Policy Center, Institute for Health Research and Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago. Retrieved July 1, 2012 fromhttp://www.bridgingthegapresearch.org/_asset/r08bgt/WP_2010_report.pdf

Optional Readings

Committee on Health and Behavior: Research, Practice, and Policy, Board on Neuroscience and Behavioral Health (2001). Organizations, communities, and society: Models and interventions. Health and behavior: The interplay between the biological, behavioral, and societal influences (pp. 241-264). Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Retrieved fromhttp://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=9838&page=241