|
Zaine Bennett, 10, a fifth-grader at Livingston Elementary School, watches as his weight is checked during a
Farrell has been tracking students' heights, weights,
Nancy Farrell (second from right), a registered dietitian for the Spotsylvania school system, says an alarming number of the county's students Germanna Community College nursing students Brandy Stepaniak (left) and Jessica Kenawell check Zaine Bennett's height during a testing session. |
BY JIM HALL
After three years of measuring the schoolchildren of Spotsylvania County, Nancy Farrell has concluded that an alarming number are overweight, with elevated cholesterol and adult-size waists.
"We have a problem," Farrell said. "This is an issue that needs to be addressed."
Farrell has found second-grade girls with 35-inch waists, fourth-grade boys who weighed 200 pounds, and dozens of children with weight gains of 20 pounds a year.
Because of this, the students face an increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, cancer and stroke.
"What's so alarming is the young age of the kids that we're seeing," Farrell said. "And it's progressing."
Farrell is dietitian for the school system and coordinator of its wellness program. With the encouragement of school officials and a grant from the Mary Washington Hospital Foundation, she has been chronicling the size and shape of more than 500 randomly selected children in a "body measurement" program.
With parents' permission, Farrell pulls the kids from class for a few minutes each year to see how they've changed. Parents get a report card from her with the latest results.
Nursing students at Germanna Community College help plumb the children's heights, weights, blood pressures, waistlines and hip circumferences. They draw blood from the middle school and high school students for a lipid, or fat, profile.
The surveyors also interview students about what they eat and the exercise they get.
The program is believed to be the only one of its kind in the region. In December, the surveyors completed the third year of a five-year effort.
Their findings confirm what national surveys have discovered: Young people are heavy and getting heavier.
For example, one boy whom Farrell measured weighed 145 pounds in the third grade. The next year, he weighed 159 pounds. This year, in the fifth grade, he weighed 173 pounds.
The boy grew 2 inches during that time, so his body mass index, which combines height and weight, stayed in the obese range.
Farrell has found that 40 percent of participating elementary and middle school students and 25 percent of participating high school students are overweight or obese.
Nationally, 32 percent of children ages 2 to 19 are overweight or obese, according to a study published last year in the Journal of American Medical Association.
A high-fat diet is one of the causes, Farrell said. It's also a factor in the elevated cholesterol readings that she has found.
Sixteen percent of the participating students had total cholesterol readings greater than 200 mg/dL, the recommended maximum for adults and children.
Forty percent had triglyceride levels greater than 125 mg/dL, the recommended maximum for children.
Jacob Todd, an eighth-grade student at Freedom Middle School, saw his triglyceride level jump to 422 mg/dL from 155 mg/dL last year.
Donna Todd, his mother, said that Farrell's findings were an eye-opener.
"He got to see it on paper from someone else, rather than me saying we need to eat healthy," she said.
Todd said her son is eating better, with fewer snacks, and is losing weight.
"It's actually helped the whole family. Now when I cook, I do it differently," Todd said.
One of the children Farrell measured at Spotsylvania High in December was Elizabeth Woods, a trim 16-year-old junior in her third year in the program.
Woods had grown two inches during that time, to 5-1. Her weight had remained constant at about 89 pounds.
"I wish I could gain weight," she said.
But Farrell was more concerned about Woods' cholesterol readings.
Her triglyceride level was 246 mg/dL, up from 73 mg/dL the year before.
Her total cholesterol level was 239 mg/dL, up from 174 mg/dL.
"This is reflective of some of the foods you're eating," Farrell told her. "You just told me you're a junk-food eater."
"Yes, I am," Woods said.
At each school, Farrell quizzed students about their breakfasts and lunches.
"The number of children who don't eat breakfast in the morning is amazing to me," said Greta Haggerty, whose Germanna nursing students help with the project.
At Livingston Elementary recently, Farrell asked the children about the exercise they get:
Do you play with your dog? she asked. Do you ride your bike? Do you play any sports?
"I'll be in softball this spring and summer," answered one second-grade girl.
"Good," Farrell replied.
The program indicates that children are consuming too many calories and burning too few through exercise, Farrell said.
Their parents are the most important influence in their lives, she said, but schools also play a part.
"We really need to address what is in our cafeterias and vending machines, our fundraising efforts and classroom celebrations," she said.
"This is what our kids look like," she added. "If we don't help them now, they're going to bear this burden later on."
Jim Hall: 540/374-5433
Email: jhall@freelancestar.com
|
Budget cuts in Spotsylvania County could bring an end to its "body measurement" program.
The county School Board voted Feb. 9 to accept the recommendation of Superintendent Jerry Hill and eliminate Nancy Farrell's position. If she is laid off, the measurement program likely will end, she said. The schools pay half the cost of the position. A grant from the Mary Washington Hospital Foundation pays the rest. The county Board of Supervisors will take up the school budget Feb. 24. |
