Program to Fight Student Obesity
By Jessica Marks
Signal Staff Writer
Sunday September 17, 2006
With reports that one in four California adolescents is considered at risk of becoming overweight, La Mesa Junior High School officials have decided to take action.
In the past, the school did not have to order XXL size clothes, but now La Mesa has had to order clothing that size and larger - with a need for even 4XL clothes, though students are only 12 to 14 years old, said Rich Montanio, a physical education teacher at La Mesa.
"You see it on TV. (Childhood obesity) is such an epidemic. It is just more of the rule than the exception," Montanio said.
With this in mind, PE teachers came up with "Win for Weight Loss," known by the acronym WWN, a new approach where specially selected overweight students are taught about the importance of walking (W), weight training (W) and nutrition (N) in an expanded program that reaches beyond the requisite of a one-hour physical education class each school day.
The idea was this: Reach the totally inactive kids - those that have never really exercised and are set to fail at physical education before they even take their first step - and get them healthy enough to participate and succeed in class and in life.
However, it's not about reaching out to all overweight students - there are overweight kids that play sports and are active and don't need the extra support, Montanio said.
"Our idea was to take the kids that are really struggling and find a way for them to be successful," he said.
While kids in general PE classes run around the track, WWN students are pulled out of class to go on walks instead.
What may seem like an easy out is actually not, as WWN students must register 10,000 steps on pedometers six days a week to get credit - far more than what regular PE students complete.
Additionally, students must participate in weight training at least once a week, though past students went more often - even before and after school - and would get extra credit for it.
In the brief amount of time that the program was run last year, it was the girls that did the most weight training, Montanio said.
The program also focuses on nutrition, and kids and their parents work together on controlling portion sizes and increasing their intake of fruits and vegetables.
There was a concern that pulling students out of their regular class would put a stigma on them or that wearing a pedometer would make kids a target for being picked on, so "we wanted to be sensitive," Montanio said.
But instead of teasing, other kids were supportive and the students themselves seemed appreciative that teachers were helping them work on their weight.
"The kids saw success physically and ... some started to see higher grades," Montanio said.
Some kids dropped 12 to 15 pounds by their very first weigh-in and most students had tracked enough miles to equal walking from Santa Clarita to San Luis Obispo, Montanio said.
None of the boys in the program last year will re-enroll, as they are now able to participate in the general physical education classes, including the runs.
The program at La Mesa was "a step in right direction," said Christine Amstutz, supervisor of health services for the William S. Hart Union High School District.
"The rate of teen obesity may be as a result of many issues but basically young people are eating more calories and exercising less," she said. "Fast foods are an important part of this equation as they are high in fat, high in calories and may be used as a substitute for more nutritious foods in the diets of our adolescents."
This will be the first full year the program will be in effect at the school. No students are enrolled in WWN yet this quarter, as teachers are observing the students now and finding out who would benefit the most from the activities.
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