Editorial
Schools should lead fight against obesity

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The number of overweight children and teens in America has more than doubled in the past 20 years. About 15 percent of school-aged kids are overweight, putting them at risk of diabetes and other health problems.

Obesity is society's problem; schools cannot be expected to address it alone. But schools have always played a key role in health education and fitness. They are well-positioned to educate students about healthy eating and physical exercise.

Some school districts are already taking commendable steps:

• The Olympia School District garnered national attention for its organic-food program in some elementary schools. Deleting dessert and sugary drinks from the menu and adding a salad bar is a recipe for healthier kids.

• Starting in January, the Los Angeles Unified School District will no longer sell soft drinks at any of its more than 600 schools. The School Board courageously decided to forgo serious cash from soda-pop sales in the interest of better health.

• Last week, the East Penn School District in Pennsylvania sent home letters with a calculation of each student's body mass index (BMI), which uses height and weight measurements to indicate whether a student is overweight. The school routinely took the student measurements and made the wise decision to share the information with interested parents.

• Illinois mandates daily physical-education classes, the only state to do so. Nationally, only about one in four high school students takes PE every day. Just over a decade ago, 40 percent did.

• A federal grant will help students in the Seattle, Highline and Tukwila school districts shape up as part of a diabetes, asthma and obesity-prevention program.

Warm ups are over. It's time for everyone else to get in the game.

Copyright © 2003 The Seattle Times Company