Rethinking Salt Lake City Schools

Welcome to today’s Healthy Salt Lake City Children blog. This site is dedicated to promoting children’s health in the Salt Lake City area.

Unless you have been living in a cave for the last 20 years, you have heard about the obesity epidemic among U.S. children.

There are many worthwhile programs in the Salt Lake City community that promote healthy eating habits and increased exercise for our youngest residents. I came across an an intriguing article last week that focused on how the design of schools can impact children’s health in general and obesity rates in particular.

‘Many schools were planned without thought given to how students can safely walk or ride their bikes to school. Playgrounds have been cut from budgets. An overemphasis on competitive sports has created a disproportionate amount of funding going to a select group of high profile sports, while minimizing the opportunities for the majority of students who desperately need exercise.’ ¹

Here are some suggestions for making schools fitness-friendly:

• Incorporate features of professional health clubs
• Partner with community fitness centers to create multi-use facilities
• Combine electronic entertainment and exercise
• Incorporate movement into lesson plans

As we plan for new and renovated Salt Lake City schools, let’s take our children’s fitness into consideration. As Salt Lake City parents and educators, we can also advance lesson plans that incorporate movement.

Moreover, I am certain we need to think about how our tax dollars are spent. Do competitive sports programs in Utah receive more than their fair share of available funds? Could we better use this money to provide exercise opportunities for all Salt Lake City children?

I encourage you to raise awareness of these issues in your Utah city. The only thing that will spur change is if parents, educators, and government leaders work together to lower the obesity rates in our Utah communities.

Melanie Green
(801) 272-5355
Draper

¹Joel K. Sims, AIA, “Designing Schools To Fight Childhood Obesity,” School Designer, May 2007, http://www.schooldesigner.com/Articles/Designing-Schools-to-Fight-Childhood-Obesity-Part-1.asp, accessed on May 16, 2011