Students get fit with BCBSM grant | Health

Students at a public school academy in Westland are getting fit and learning how to eat healthy, thanks to a Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan program.

The Universal Learning Academy was among 20 schools chosen by BCBS to share $600,000 in grants as part of its healthy living program. The program, developed in partnership with the Center for School Health at Wayne State University and the Michigan Fitness Foundation, is providing the school with a $30,000 Healthy School Transformation package that includes a curriculum and activity equipment designed to increase students? physical fitness levels and healthy eating.

?It has a physical education curriculum that focuses on students attaining skills that keep them active for life,? said Shannon Oleksyk Carney, a registered dietitian and healthy living adviser for BCBSM. ?The classroom component lets them learn about nutrition. We want to develop student leadership. We want to energize them and have them talk about healthy living to help influence the environment among their peers.?

?This is a wonderful opportunity for us to promote health, it?s a good fit for our students and a great program,? said Principal Ali Bazzi. ?The students are excited, even the parents are excited.?

This is fourth consecutive year BCBSM has offered its Building Healthy Communities program. Originally, schools were offered options, but there now is a standardized model for each school, according to Dr. Nate McCaughtry, director of the Center for School Health. The program being implemented at the Universal Learning Academy has eight components, seven of which will involve the entire school. The eighth component, the classroom curriculum, will be taught to third- and fourth-graders. There also is an after-school physical activities club to continue the message on after the end of the school day.

The Healthy School Transformation package it is receiving includes resources, equipment, professional development and mentoring designed to help implement and sustain programming that addresses prevention of childhood obesity.

Obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death in the United States, and obese children are more likely to become obese adults with higher incidence of serious health conditions, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis and some cancers.

The academy has an individual mentor who visits the school weekly and a dietitian who focuses on the areas of healthy living.

?We provide the resources and the professional training, all the school has to do is execute the program,? said McCaughtry. ?Every school has a Healthy School coordinator who visit the school every week. That person will spend time there, touch base with the school people to make sure they?re doing well. The dietician goes into the school and look for the key ages to reach those children with intensive education. The rest of activities are geared to the entire school.?

Bazzi said the school community loves the idea of doing anything that promotes the ideas of fitness and healthy eating.

?We understand its importance especially with the numbers for obesity,? he said. ?We will do this year-round. We now have a program that sets the tone for the community.?

Oleksyk Carney said BCBSM is ?committed to leading Michigan to a healthy state.?

?We?d like to reduce the incidence of childhood obesity,? she said. ?We have a captive audience with this program and an opportunity to impact this generation of children. We fully believe our collective efforts will have a positive impact on children?s health.?

?We are very excited to join this partnership and the take the lead in promoting the health and well-being of so many of our children, many of whom reside in Michigan?s most underserved communities,? added McCaughtry.

smason@hometownlife.com (313) 222-6751

Article source: http://www.hometownlife.com/article/20121111/NEWS24/211110436

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