Math, Science, and Web-Based Activities to Raise Awareness about Nutrition and Obesity

Abstract

Teachers can raise awareness about the increase in obesity in the United States and help students make better nutritional choices. Most health care professionals, educators, researchers, journalists, and politicians in the United States agree that obesity is a growing problem in the United States. Some experts predict that, without major changes in behavior, 75% of Americans will be overweight or obese by 2015 (Wang & Beydoun, 2007). Children are especially at risk. Between 1980 and 2006, the prevalence of obesity among children in every age group rose: from 5.0% to 12.4% for those two to five years old, from 6.5% to 17.0% for those six to eleven years old, and from 5.0% to 17.6% for those twelve to nineteen years old (Ogden & Carroll, 2010; Ogden, Carroll, & Flegal, 2008). These trends may have serious consequences for children's physical and mental health. Physical health risks associated with childhood obesity include increased chances of developing cardiovascular disease, asthma, hepatic steatosis (the fatty degeneration of the liver), and Type 2 diabetes (Dietz, 1998; Luder, Melnick, & Dimaio, 1998; Must & Anderson, 2003; Rodriguez, Winkleby, Ahn, Sundquist, & Kraemer, 2002). Childhood obesity is also associated with certain mental health issues. The psychological stress of being teased or ostracized because of obesity can cause low self-esteem in children. In a study of a nationally representative sample of 1,520 black, Hispanic, and white children, Strauss (2000) found that by the age of 13 or 14, obese boys in all subgroups and obese girls in most subgroups showed significantly lower levels of self-esteem compared with their non-obese counterparts. This has serious implications for middle grades programs, as low self-esteem in children can hinder academic performance and decrease social wellness (Swartz & Puhl, 2003). Moreover, the effects of social discrimination due to obesity upon a student's self-concept may persist well beyond early adolescence (see Parker, 2010), leaving many obese individuals with feelings of insecurity that last throughout adulthood. As the authors of F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America assert: future depends on the health of our children, but we're failing them by not treating the obesity epidemic with the urgency it deserves (Trust for America's Health, 2008, p. 1). The Obama administration agrees. First Lady Michelle Obama has initiated Let's Move, a major campaign that focuses attention on the problem of childhood obesity and has the ambitious aim of solv[ing] the epidemic of childhood obesity within a generation (Obama, 2010). Middle grades educators can play a significant role in supporting this national goal and in promoting student health and wellness, as recommended by This We Believe (2010). This article provides useful information about obesity and other health-related issues and suggests some engaging, classroom-tested instructional strategies for helping students in the middle grades learn how to lead healthy lives and avoid becoming super-sized. Focusing on obesity and healthrelated issues in the middle grades It is important for young adolescents to focus on physical development because their own bodies are undergoing dramatic developmental changes (Strahan, L'Esperance, & Van Hoose, 2009). Young adolescents experience significant physical development, including increased height, weight, and internal organ size (Manning, 2002; Scales, 1991, 2003). They also negotiate erratic and uncomfortable changes in muscular and skeletal growth (Kellough & Kellough, 2009). During this stage, the fusing of three bones in the tailbone area of the body, a process called ossification, causes many students to experience discomfort as this skeletal transformation increases pressure on the sciatic nerve. This developmental characteristic may help explain the difficulty some young adolescents have sitting still or staying in their seats during class (Strahan, L'Esperance, & Van Hoose, 2009). …