Nutrition Explorations: Parents: Ask the Expert: March 2006

Dayle Hayes MS, RD, is registered dietitian and nutrition consultant who works all over the country on issues related to enhancing school nutrition and physical activity environments. She collected dozens of school success stories for and is the author of Making It Happen: School Nutrition Success Stories. We talked to Dayle about School Wellness Policies and the role parents, educators and school nutrition professionals play in the development and implementation.

What is a school wellness policy?
School wellness policies are required for all schools participating in USDA's Child Nutrition Programs - school breakfast, school lunch or the after-school snack program. Any school with one of these programs must have a school wellness policy by the beginning of the 2006-7 school year. The Federal law, enacted in 2004, outlines key requirements, including nutrition guidelines for all foods served on campus, and nutrition education and physical activity goals.

Why do schools need school wellness policies?
A school's ultimate responsibility is helping each child achieve his or her maximum potential. To do this, the health and development of the whole child needs to be addressed. One of the major health concerns in the U.S. today is the increase in childhood overweight problems. There are many causes for these problems, including decreased physical activity, large portions sizes and easy access to foods that provide a lot of calories compared to nutrients. Although American kids may be overweight and overfed generally, they are also frequently undernourished. School wellness policies focus on improving health and preventing childhood obesity by creating a school environment where healthful food choices predominate and physical activity is part of every day. There is a strong connection between health and academic performance, too. By doing the same things that optimize students' health, we can optimize kids' performance in the classroom and in physical activities.

How is a school wellness policy different from a nutrition policy?
A wellness policy is more comprehensive and addresses issues beyond food and nutrition. While a nutrition policy might address foods sold in the cafeteria, in school stores or for fundraising, a wellness policy addresses the total school environment, including goals for nutrition education and physical activity.

Who develops the policies?
The Federal law specifies that anyone who will be affected should be involved, including school administrators, school board members, school foodservice authorities, parents, students and community members. The most effective policies are developed by a comprehensive team of people from variety of viewpoints who can provide input for the most appropriate policy for a school. My recommendation is to involve people from within the school system and from the community, such as physicians, dentists, dietitians and after-school providers.

How much flexibility do schools have in developing policies?
Schools have a great deal of flexibility. The law describes general points that must be included, but how a school addresses those points - what goals they choose or what guidelines they have for foods served on campus, for example, is up to the local school. That's why a team that can identify issues for that school and then create policy that addresses them is so important.

How can parents get involved with their school's wellness policy?
It is absolutely essential that parents be involved, and it is never too early or late. Call the school and tell them you want to be involved and find out when the team meets. At this point, many people in schools should have some idea of what's going on with school wellness. If a policy is already drafted or approved, ask to see it. Watch the agendas for local school board meetings, and be there to support it or make appropriate suggestions for change when the wellness policy comes up for approval. Involvement goes far beyond the development of the policy. Have lunch or breakfast at school with your kids. Understand what kinds of foods and beverages are served in these programs. Just by eating in the cafeteria, you have the opportunity to understand and show support for healthful choices in these programs.

Where do teachers and the classroom fit into school wellness policies, especially with other academic pressures?
It's important to realize that teachers are under tremendous pressure to fit a lot into their curriculum. We also need to recognize that making healthful nutrition and physical activity choices are essential pieces of education, too. Fortunately, there are many excellent nutrition education programs that teach children to make healthful food choices. Additionally, nutrition education and physical activity can be piggy-backed with other subjects to help meet nutrition education and physical activity goals. Teachers can have children develop a menu for a day and work it into lessons about fractions and measurement, for example. They can have children dance up and down a number line to learn addition and subtraction of positive and negative numbers. Schools that are doing the best job combining academics with wellness are integrating physical activity and nutrition examples into other topics in the classroom.

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How important are teachers compared to school foodservice in implementing wellness policies? How about parents?
The most effective wellness policies are those where education, school foodservice and parents are all involved in supporting and implementing the policy. School foodservice can do an excellent job providing healthful food choices, but if other departments provide vending or food sales that don't provide similar nutritional integrity, children get mixed messages. The same goes with foods parents send from home. Kids benefit the most when we set standards and guidelines that form a positive framework for all foods throughout the school.

What are some key considerations when developing nutrition guidelines for school wellness policies?
We need to look at whole foods and what nutrients they provide, not just single nutrients, such as fat or sugar. A major concern in terms of children's health is not just that children are overweight and overfed, but that they're undernourished. They're eating too much food, but not getting enough nutrients. Missing nutrients for many children include calcium, iron and zinc - nutrients that are important to kids' health and brain function. It's important to look at the nutrient contribution that foods make to children's diets.

How can schools ensure that nutrient dense foods like flavored milk, yogurt, cheese and nuts don't unintentionally get left out because of single nutrient guidelines, such as limits on sugar and fat?
Again, it's important to look at the overall nutrient contribution that a food makes. When it comes to fat and sugar, we're talking about overall diet, not individual foods. Foods like nuts, cheese, flavored milk or yogurt appeal to kids and provide nutrients missing from their diets. These are some of the foods schools can inadvertently eliminate that have extraordinary nutrient value.

Flavored milk is a big concern of many teachers and parents. Will you comment on how it fits into children's diets?
It's important that schools provide a variety of milk choices - reduced fat, lowfat and fat free white and flavored milk - for kids to enjoy. Again, we need to think in terms of children's overall intake. Research shows that kids who drink flavored milk have higher nutrient intakes. The good news is that flavored milk is available in both fat free and lowfat varieties. Parents, teachers and school foodservice professionals can feel comfortable offering flavored milk and working with local dairies to make sure they have a range of healthful options available.

How will school wellness policies affect school fundraisers?
I guarantee that schools can make as much money selling healthful choices as they did selling candy bars and cookie dough. Why? There are hundreds of examples across the country. Whether it's vending, booster club sales or other fundraisers, people tell me they don't lose money, and in some cases, make more money when they offer and market healthful choices. Many schools have gone to fundraisers like walk-a-thons that support physical activity and lowfat flavored milk in vending machines.

How will school wellness policies affect classroom parties?
The emphasis should be on making sure that healthful food predominate, rather than on banning "bad" foods. A second grade teacher in Michigan recently told me that, with much trepidation, she gave parents specific suggestions for a healthful Halloween party. She sent home a list of wonderful ideas like fruit plates with yogurt dip and cheese sticks with crackers. The parents were very creative and provided lots of enticing, healthful treats. She had the best response ever from kids and has no plans to go back to a typical party! No matter where foods are sold or offered, children can enjoy healthful options. We just need to use a little energy, creativity and positive marketing.

Six Keys to Successful School Wellness Policy Implementation

Have a strong policy in place, not just something vague to satisfy Federal requirements.
Identify and utilize "health champions" both within the school and within the community willing to make sure the policy gets implemented. It can be anyone from the superintendent and school foodservices to parents and kids.
Realize that children really do enjoy eating healthful foods and moving their bodies.
Recognize that school wellness policy implementation is a gradual process that takes place over time. We didn't get to where we are overnight, and it's going to take time to make changes necessary to optimize children's health.
Build successful partnerships with school, community and parent groups one relationship at a time. For example, seek advice from school foodservices on healthful options for classroom parties.
Learn from other schools that have developed and implemented policies. From model policies to suggestions for integrating physical activity into other subjects, there are materials and resources available that can help.