Grand Jury Response to "childhood and Adolescent Obesity:*

R1

Each Orange County school district establish a Child Nutrition and Physical Activity Committee to help coordinate functions and activities that address students' obesity problems. Response In February, 2004, Irvine Unified School District Superintendent, Dean Waldfogel, convened a meeting between the City of Irvine and the Irvine Unified School District to look at fitness and nutrition. The stated goals were for both entities to focus on support for students to become physically healthy individuals by adopting lifelong personal fitness practices, and by making good personal choices about nutrition. In addition, the recommendation was made to form a broad-based committee for the purpose of recommending best practices on fitness and nutrition at school and at home. Key areas for discussion include:

R2

School districts in Orange County continue to ensure that food and beverages served on school campuses meet federal and state requirements. Response Irvine Unified School District schools will continue to meet and / or exceed all federal and state requirements. In addition to the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program, schools will be encouraged to offer more nutritious selections in vending machines, in school stores, for fund-raisers, and for student rewards.

R3

Orange County school districts appoint nutrition and physical education specialists who can train classroom teachers in the essentials of their specialities. Response In support of nutrition education, the district's school nurses, as health specialists, have assumed the role of nutrition / wellness educators at elementary and middle schools. A nutrition curriculum, specifically targeted at middle school student needs, was developed and piloted during the 2003-04 school year and is currently being revised. A nutrition and walking program was implemented at five elementary sites and received positive response and enthusiasm from both students and teachers alike. From the initial programs, changes will be made in the 2004-05 year, and the program will be introduced at several more interested schools. During the past five years, the Irvine School District has cut personnel and programs amounting to more than 8 million dollars due to lack of adequate school funding. The financial shortfall has meant increases in class sizes in grades 4-12 as well. Insufficient funding at the local, state, or federal level has prevented IUSD from hiring specialists in physical education and nutrition to supplement classroom teachers and nurses. Nevertheless, the Irvine Unified School District has selected a Physical Education mentor teacher, paid for with categorical state funds, to work with elementary teachers to increase their understanding of techniques and strategies to improve the fitness levels of elementary students. Currently, we are in the process of finding a mentor teacher to support the training of middle and high school Physical Educators in the same way.

R5

Orange County school districts apply for state and federal grants available for improving physical education and nutrition programs. Response The respondent disagrees partially with the finding. The Irvine Unified School District is planning to apply for appropriate state and / or federal grants to enhance physical education and nutrition programs. However, many current state and federal grant opportunities have limiting characteristics, including: a. Limited to schools with 50% or more low income students, which is not a characteristic of Irvine: b. Limited amounts, short time periods, with considerable matching and sustainability requirements; c. Limited numbers of grants awarded through a competitive process.

R6

Orange County school districts make available their playgrounds and outdoor facilities before and after school hours for their students under the supervision of interested faculty members and parents. Response The Irvine Unified School District cooperates with the City of Irvine through a joint use agreement to make playgrounds and outdoor facilities available to City and community groups.

R7

Orange County school districts ensure that food items sold on their campuses either be labeled with the caloric values and nutritional composition or that such information be posted in the food-serving areas. Response The Irvine Unified School District plans menus using nutrient analysis. Beginning in September, 2004, the nutrient summary will be included on the menus posted on the district's web site and will be printed on the menus distributed to schools for posting. At this time, approximately 80% of the 600 food items sold / served have a nutrition label. It is impractical and ineffective to label the rest (apple, orange, banana, dinner roll, spaghetti) and posting it on a wall somewhere in the serving area is an inefficient use of labor hours. Students and adults need to learn how to read nutrition labels before they will be useful.

R8

Orange County school districts incorporate instruction on the Body Mass Index into the nutrition and physical education programs and encourage students to share this information with their families. Response The school nurses utilize BMI in assessing student's health and wellness status and in providing education, referrals, and follow-up to appropriate students and their families. Body Mass Index has been utilized as a teaching tool in some of our middle and high school health and / or physical education classes, but has not been an established part of the curriculum. A new health text was adopted and will be implemented in all middle schools in the 2004-05 school year. Teen Health, published by Glencoe, includes a chapter on food choices in which BMI is discussed in detail. Students will learn about healthy weight, BMI ranges, eating disorders, making healthy nutrition choices, and the importance of nutrition and physical activity. They will have the opportunity to calculate their BMI and understand what that means to them personally. This information will also cross over to the physical education class as they transfer learning from health to personal physical activity needs in developing the program that is right for them individually. At the high school level, the district is evaluating methods of measuring body mass for students. This may occur in physical education or health classes. The options being investigated include calipers, body mass scales, or BMI math calculation. This assessment will become a part of the curriculum in the 2004-05 school year. The high school Health text by Glencoe also has extensive coverage of nutrition and weight management including calculation of the BMI and the relationship of that knowledge to making healthy choices for life. All middle and high school teachers will be receiving training in this area in Fall, 2004. The BMI will be used more in the coming years than it has been used previously as more educators become aware of its value in communicating critical information about body composition to students and their parents. For the first time this year, Irvine schools mailed home to parents of grade 5, 7, and 9 students, California fitness test results including individual BMI results. These results, as well as a good nutrition / fitness brochure, provided students and parents with individual student profiles to help them see and compare their fitness levels and BMI ranges. Future utilization of BMI will be expanded to the elementary, middle, and high school levels during fitness and nutrition lessons, and a link providing a BMI calculator will be on the IUSD website. .