|
Nancy Farrell,
Cheryl Rhodes, a nursing student at VCU, talks to a group of parents and county employees about nutrition labels.
A nutrition label on Campbell's soup.
- |
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.
Suzanne Yarboro, a nurse and mother of two boys enrolled in Spotsylvania schools, said her 15-year-old son's cholesterol-test results were eye-opening. Her husband has undergone heart bypass surgery, and both sides of the family have lengthy histories of cardiovascular problems.
"It has given me great peace of mind. Now I know where to go from here with my kids, because I'd like to see them live to old age," Yarboro said.
Students must have parental permission to participate in the pilot program.
This fall, students who signed up were weighed and measured for their Body Mass Index. The BMI is a calculation that shows whether an individual is at a healthy weight, overweight or obese.
High school students had the opportunity to undergo cholesterol testing.
Aside from the finger prick, the testing was "pretty much the same as a sports physical," said Riverbend freshman Katie Johnson, a cross-country runner who admitted she never thought about her cholesterol level before.
The students' progress--up or down on the scales, or a rise or fall in cholesterol level or blood pressure--will be tracked as they continue through school.
"It's important to see internally whether we're having an impact," Smith said.
Technically, Farrell works part time, but she has spent countless hours this fall hop-scotching between schools and the community center. She recently led a healthy-eating tour at Ukrop's supermarket for Chancellor Elementary teachers and parents.
Teresa Boyle has cajoled and pleaded with her elementary-age daughter to eat vegetables, to no avail. But during the Ukrop's tour and taste tests, she learned sneaky ways to get more nutrients and fiber into her child's diet using cereal, kid-friendly vegetarian chili and soy nuts or milk.
"The chocolate soy milk I think she would like," Boyle said.
After a demonstration on how to accurately read nutrition labels, Farrell zipped parents up and down the aisles to highlight healthier options in the frozen-foods and dairy cases. She pointed out her favorites in the organic-foods section, and mentioned where parents can find nutritional information on deli meats.
A few brands, such as Morningstar Farms and Boca Burger, make healthier, meatless versions of chicken nuggets and patties, hamburgers, and plenty of other foodstuffs to dunk in ketchup.
"My girls love the corn dogs," Farrell said, pointing out the Morningstar package. She also made a stop near the frozen potatoes, another kid fave, to highlight baked brands.
Farrell recommends slowly integrating healthier foods into a family's diet, to avoid shock and protest. For example, for a healthier meatloaf, combine half lean meat with half meatless ground soy protein.
"You want to bring them with you," Farrell said, laughing.
Lessons from the pilot program will hopefully enrich the school district's efforts to create an overall wellness policy, Smith said.
"The beautiful thing is even though there are two separate tracks, the data we collect from the pilot programs can be used when we're writing the wellness policy."
To reach KELLY HANNON:
Email: khannon@freelancestar.com
