Under the Gold Medal School program, elementary schools around the state have made exercise and good nutrition a priority.
Some have put recess before lunch, so youngsters don't scarf down their food or scrap it altogether in a rush to get outside. Principals are giving out pencils and stickers as rewards instead of candy. Some classes are growing vegetable gardens, and some schools have added 45 minutes of physical activity each week. And many report higher test scores and fewer discipline problems.
More than one in five elementary students are overweight or obese, but the state's cornerstone program to combat childhood obesity could be cut in half next year.
As lawmakers struggle to cut 15 percent of the state's 2010 budget, one proposal is to ax all state funding for the program, or about $180,000. At the same time, a $300,000 grant from Intermountain Healthcare will expire at the end of this year. That translates to a 49 percent cut, leaving $500,000 in federal funds.
"It would be really sad if a program like this were to go away," said Sharolyn Knudsen, principal of Burton Elementary in Kaysville, which began participating this school year. Students have already logged 36,000 miles toward their goal of "walking" across America.
The increase in physical activity is "going to help them learn," she predicted.
The Gold Medal School program was started in 2000, and 286 elementary schools and 10 middle schools in the
state participate. By adopting polices promoting nutrition, physical activity and avoidance of tobacco, schools can achieve the levels of bronze, silver, gold or platinum. They get up to $1,500 for participating.
The budget also pays for mentors to help the schools implement the changes. That way, busy teachers and principals don't have do it. School policies might include banning the advertising of junk food, requiring healthy alternatives when food is provided, selling greeting cards instead of food at fundraisers, getting students to walk a mile a week on average, or implementing a wellness program for faculty and staff.
Schools that have already joined the program may not be affected by upcoming budget cuts, because the policy changes were meant to last. But it would be harder to add new schools. The state goal is for 80 percent of elementary schools to participate by next year. So far, 63 percent have.
"I don't think schools would have the capacity to do this on their own without the program in place," said Heather Borski, director of the Health Department's health promotion bureau.
She said the department plans to ask Intermountain Healthcare to continue the grant, which has provided $300,000 to the program each year for five years. The department is also looking for other private funds.
A 2008 study suggests the program is working. Researchers found students at two Gold Medal schools in Tooele County reported drinking fewer full-calorie soft drinks a year after the schools implemented the program.
The students' body mass index, a measurement of obesity, remained stable. Students at two schools that didn't use the program increased their soda consumption, and the students' obesity levels rose, though it's not clear by how much.
Other Health Department data show that slightly fewer students in Gold Medal Schools are considered overweight or obese.
However, researchers were disappointed they didn't see major improvements in the amount of physical activity reported by the Tooele Gold Medal students.
Nevertheless, Michelle Peterson has noticed a difference since the program was launched this year at Rose Creek Elementary in Riverton. The principal said children are learning games such as hopscotch, foursquare and jacks, which they're playing at recess. The organized activities help cut down on behavior problems, she said. And the students have logged 11,040 miles by walking the "Gold Medal Mile," a distance sufficient to walk to Russia.
"I have this belief if kids are physically active, that mentally they'll be able to do better," she said. "We're not just doing this for this school year. We want to teach kids this should be a lifelong habit."
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