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Prodded PRICKED Pilot program has families thinking about good health
Cholesterol testing, supermarket tours part of new Healthy Bodies program in Spotsylvania schools
Date published: 11/13/2005
By KELLY HANNON NE BY ONE, teenagers waiting in the nurse's office at Riverbend High School surrender their fingertip and a drop of blood. Five minutes later, a slip of paper spits out of a medical device. The reading is a student's cholesterol level. A nursing student from Virginia Commonwealth University confidentially reviews the results with the student. Not surprisingly, many have levels exceeding the point of concern for most adults. For families with a history of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure or elevated cholesterol levels, the test is an important peek at the future. And it's free, thanks to a $30,000 one-year grant from the Mary Washington Hospital Foundation. Testing is one piece of a pilot program in Spotsylvania County schools that's taking a broad approach to getting students, and their parents, to care about healthy living. It's called Healthy Bodies Through Educated Minds. It includes in-school medical testing, parent workshops on nutrition, healthy-eating supermarket shopping tours, one-on-one nutritional counseling and family fitness nights at the Spotsylvania branch of the YMCA. The pilot was launched at three schools: Chancellor Elementary, Ni River Middle and Riverbend High. Nancy Farrell, a registered dietitian hired part time to lead the grant, is coordinating efforts among schools. Patricia Smith, the school district's director of health services, said the timing is critical. Since 1980, the percentage of overweight children ages 6 to 11 has doubled, according to data from U.S. Department of Health. The news is even worse for teenagers. The percentage of overweight adolescents ages 12 to 19 has tripled since 1980. School nurses in Spotsylvania noticed an impact locally. "We had seen an increased incidence of chronic illnesses," Smith said. "More and more students with diabetes, more and more students with high blood pressure, more and more students who were obese." To confirm her anecdotal evidence, Smith looked at the heights and weights of all third-graders at one Spotsylvania elementary school. Eighty percent--more than three out of four--were overweight or obese. The grant was written, in part, as a response to that discovery. So far, the cholesterol testing is a hit.
Read more stories about Spotsylvania Date published: 11/13/2005
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