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States with Health Education Requirements Score Better in Health Outcomes

HealthTeacher released a study this month that reported a significant correlation between mandatory health education and improved health outcomes at the state level. Using a methodology called SoHealthi developed by HealthTeacher, the study ranked states on nineteen health variables, such as smoking rates, cardiovascular death rates, prevalence of adult diabetes, and self-reported health status.

The results showed that health education standards and high school graduation are positively correlated with lower inpatient hospital admissions, even after adjusting for demographic differences among states. The study also found that states requiring health education spent less money overall on health.

Montana was ranked as the healthiest state overall in the SoHealthi ranking; it was also ranked first in offering two or more health education courses. Utah was ranked second, followed by Vermont, New Hampshire, and Minnesota.

Physical Education Improves Girls' Test Scores

A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that higher amounts of physical education may boost girls' academic performance.

Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, researchers tracked the reading and math scores of K-5 students on standardized tests. They found a small but significant boost in math and reading scores for girls enrolled in higher amounts of physical education (70 to 300 minutes per week), compared with girls who spent less than 35 minutes per week in PE. No similar effect was found for boys in the study.

"Physical education should be promoted for its many benefits, and fear of negatively affecting academic achievement does not seem to be a legitimate reason for reducing or eliminating programs in physical education," the study's authors said. The report, Physical Education and Academic Achievement in Elementary School: Data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, appears in the April 2008 issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

Good Nutrition Improves Academic Performance

A new study from Canada reveals that children who have a well-balanced diet perform better academically than students who do not. In 2003, researchers surveyed 5,200 fifth-grade students and their parents in Nova Scotia as part of the Children's Lifestyle and School-Performance Study. The survey addressed dietary intake, height and weight, and social and demographic characteristics of the students. Overall diet quality was established used the Diet Quality Index-International. Students were also tested on a standardized literacy assessment.

Analysis of the survey showed that academic performance is positively correlated with the quality of the student's diet. In particular, eating a variety of foods, consuming fruits and vegetables, and having reduced intake of dietary fat affected students' performance positively. Students with poor diets were more likely to perform poorly on the literacy assessment. Overall, girls performed better than boys on the assessment. Children from wealthier neighborhoods also performed better than their less advantaged peers.

The researchers concluded that their findings demonstrate an association between diet quality and academic performance, and they identified specific dietary factors that contribute to this association. They believe that their findings illustrate the need for more effective school nutrition programs.

The study, Dietary Quality and Academic Performance, may be found in the April 2008 issue of the Journal of School Health.

School Nutrition Policies Can Curb Students' Weight Gain

Five Philadelphia schools adopted a "School Nutrition Policy Initiative" that included replacing unhealthy snacks and sodas with healthier options; training teachers in nutrition and instituting fifty hours of nutrition education per year; rewarding students with raffle tickets when they practiced healthy eating; and encouraging parents and students to purchase healthier snacks outside of school.

Over two years after the adoption of these policies, researchers from Temple University followed students in grades 4 through 6 at these schools, and compared them with five "control" schools which lacked these policies. The researchers measured the weight, height, and physical activity of participating students.

Their findings, published in the April 2008 issue of the journal Pediatrics, found that only 7.5 percent of students in the schools adopting the new nutrition policy became overweight, in contrast with the 15 percent of students in the control schools who did so. The nutrition policy appeared even more effective in preventing weight gain among African-American students.

CDC Announces New School Health Grants

Interested in finding out what CDC-funded school health programs are happening in your area? On March 1, 2008, the CDC announced new grants to states, territories, localities, and tribal nations in asthma management, coordinated school health, HIV prevention, professional development, and the Youth Behavior Risk Survey. A list of funded partners and links to their programs may be found at www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/partners/funded/index.htm.