Obesity in Texas Children

Obesity Among Texas Children (Overweight & Obese), 2005

4th Grade 8th Grade 11th Grade

42%

39% 36%

70% of these children will become obese as adults.

Source: Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• 30 minutes of exercise five times per week

• 45 minutes three times per week • 225 minutes over two weeks (45 minutes three times the first week, 45 minutes twice the second week)

A unique feature of the program Cooper was deeply moved by these

statistics, especially those from his own state. He decided to do something about it. And he did.

The Texas Youth Evaluation Project

The strategy adopted by Cooper

was to inspire and support a state- wide fitness testing school program. The results, made public, would justify and support the expansion of physi- cal fitness programs within the school curriculum. Though the mission was praiseworthy, the opposition was formidable.

Six Months to Mandatory Exercise in the Schools

Cooper approached Texas governor

Rick Perry in early 2007 with his pro- posal for state-wide testing and exer- cise protocols. The governor promised his support. The challenge would be to convince the public, the legislature and the school administration within six months.

Senate Bill 530

The most important requirement

of the bill was that during the 2007- 2008 school year, all students in Grade 3 to Grade 12 would be required to complete a physical fitness test. (The FITNESSGRAM, developed by The Cooper Institute, has been used regu- larly since 1982. In 2007, more than 1,000 Texas schools were already using the test through an indepen- dent arrangement with The Cooper Institute.) Further to the testing program, and

starting in the fall of 2007, all students in Kindergarten to Grade 5 would be required to participate in an approved physical education program or a struc- tured recess consisting of one of the following:

was that test results would be avail- able to educational authorities to trend against academic performance, atten- dance, obesity, discipline problems and meal programs. The bill required that students at

nearly all 9,000 Texas public schools be tested annually. It required the force of law to make this happen.

The Opposition

Education superintendents said

there was no room in their curriculum for the program. Legislators said there was no money and that funds could not be provided because The Cooper Institute might benefit financially. (And this was Texas!) “We couldn’t get people in this state or in this country to pay attention,” says Cooper.

The Support

The Bill was not without its advo-

cates. The medical community sup- ported it, and there was growing con- cern and support from parents and the general public. Finally, Cooper countered the finan-

cial objections by paying for the test costs himself. He donated $100,000 and raised $2.1 million, to fund the program, plus another $900,000 to train the teachers. FITNESSGRAM roy- alties from publisher Human Kinetics, who produced the FITNESSGRAM, were donated as well. A separate foundation called Our Kids Health Foundation was created. Where did the money come from? “My friends, people I work with, foundations I work with – like Pepsico where we eliminat- ed trans fats in their products,” Cooper

answered proudly. It worked. On June 13, 2007, Bill

530 was signed into law. In September 2007, the FITNESSGRAM was ap- proved by the Texas Educational Authority as the official testing vehicle for the program. In 2008, 2,658,665 children in Texas were tested on their physical fitness. Today, FITNESSGRAM testing is used throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Public Awareness and Support Grows

Initial FITNESSGRAM test re-

sults in Texas created headlines. The Dallas Morning News on July 2, 2008 reported on its front page: “KIDS IN

»

dents in grades five, seven and nine were tested in 2006, only 25% passed. A stag- gering 43% of students could not run or walk one mile in the allotted time.”

“In California, where 1.5 million stu-

May/June 2009 Fitness Business Canada 29

Fitness Testing of Texas Youth

Senate Bill 530 Signed into Law by Governor Rick Perry June 13, 2007

GOALS

• To start a fitness and wellness move- ment in Texas which will spread across the country, ultimately improving the health and longevity of all Americans.

• To measure the level of fitness and determine the amount of obesity of all students in Texas, grades 3-12.

• To compare fitness level with academ- ic achievement, absenteeism, obesity, discipline problems, and school lunch programs.

• To implement a mandatory physi- cal education program in all Texas schools for grades K-8.

• To then re-evaluate these students and repeat the above comparisons to monitor the effectiveness or lack of effectiveness of this program. Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56