Policy and implementation prevent Obesity; Lesson from USA. Kitiporn Tupsart

Context  American children Most of them not consume diets as the Dietary Guidelines Inadequate of daily physical activities Number of obese children are increasing

Efforts  School food environments and policies  School physical activities environments and policies  School BMI measurement  School wellness policies

Finding  Competitive foods are widely sell in schools  Physical activities can be added to school curriculum without academic consequences  Some studies have examined the effectiveness or impact of school-based BMI measurement programs  The strongest policies found in larger school districts and districts with numbers of students are allowed to have free or reduced-price lunch

 Although school alone could not success policies prevent obesity, it is one of the key factors for public health strategies to decrease or eliminate problem of overweight and obesity

Competitive Foods  The increasing in number of food options selling in schools has accompanied with the increasing rate of obesity Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) found that 33% of elementary schools had a vending machine, 89% of high schools had a vending machines or school store, canteen, or snack bar for selling food and drinks to students High schools and Middle schools were more likely to sell competitive foods than in elementary schools

Competitive Foods  Unhealthy food were much more pervasive in rural schools than urban and suburban schools but there were on significant differences between low-income and higher- income schools

Competitive Foods  Before year 2000, US. Schools started to  improve quality of school food environment Rising percentage of schools with no vending machine or school store Decrease percentage of school selling high fat bakery in vending machines