Local wellness policy implementation: new research and online tool

July 17, 2009—A new research brief released by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation shows that local wellness policy implementation within school districts could be strengthened.   

Local School Wellness Policies: How Are Schools Implementing the Congressional Mandate?  summarizes the evidence to date on the status of implementation of local wellness policies.  Data was analyzed in three categories: quality and strength of the policies; nutrition standards and nutrition education requirements; and physical activity requirements.  Key findings in the brief include, among others: 

1. The majority of U.S. school districts developed a local school wellness policy by the first day of the 2006–07 school year, but many of the policies were weak, and the quality varied greatly;
2. School districts cited a lack of resources as a primary barrier to implementation of the policies, and monitoring and evaluation of policy implementation present challenges for many districts;
3. Since the federal mandate was passed, school districts have strengthened their nutritional guidelines, which has been shown to lead to health benefits for students and to increased participation in the National School Lunch Program;
4. Students who had easy access to unhealthy competitive foods and drinks at school tended to eat more calories and have a less healthy diet compared with students who attended schools with stronger restrictions for competitive foods; and
5. Early data indicated that barriers to implementing stronger physical activity standards in schools included competing priorities, limited resources and a lack of clear requirements in the local school wellness policy.

The brief concludes that more rigorous wellness policies are needed, along with additional financial resources to improve nutrition and increase opportunities for quality physical activity.  

Districts that do implement their wellness policies effectively by providing students with better opportunities to eat healthy and stay active may see positive effects on student achievement.  A new report from Active Healthy Kids Canada outlines the argument for using physical activity to improve academic achievement.  According to the report, research shows allocating additional time from academic subjects to physical education does not impair academic performance.  Further research shows that students who engage in more daily physical activity also have higher grades while sedentary behavior (e.g. time spent being exposed to media via TV or computer) is associated with lower academic performance.  The studies cited in the report come from Canada, the U.S., and other countries around the world.

Monitoring and evaluating implementation of local wellness policy is an important step to ensure the school environment is truly providing healthy eating and physical activity environments.  Action for Healthy Kids has developed an online monitoring component of its Wellness Policy Tool.  This web-based component is fully customizable for each school and offers a variety of features that allow users to post provisions of their wellness policy, note progress and next steps, identify resources needed and assign responsible particles.  Users can also score their progress toward benchmarks and utilize provided links to additional resources.  

To learn more about local wellness policies, view NSBA’s School Health Programs  “Wellness Policy 101” packet or visit our website.  

Sources: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Action for Healthy Kids website; Active Healthy Kids Canada website.