CitySLUSD Liaison Highlights 2007 0531

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All the efforts translated into a modest but significant difference. After eight months of the Shape Up program, researchers in May and June 2004 measured the height and weight of385 first-, second- and third-graders in Somerville. They compared the results with 793 children in two nearby towns that weren't part of the Shape Up program. They took the children's body-mass index and calculated a "z- score," a measure of how much they differed from the typical child of their age and gender. In the two control towns, the "z-score" barely budged, according to the report in Obesity. In Somerville, the z-score fell, suggesting the children were moving closer to a healthy weight. The average Somerville second-grader gained about four pounds, while a similar child at other schools gained about five pounds. Earlier efforts to reduce childhood obesity usually focused solely on the school day. While some have produced modest results, others have failed to lead to measurable changes in body weight. A CDC task force recently concluded that there's insufficient evidence to determine what type of school-based interventions are effective against childhood obesity. Dr. Economos hopes Somerville's changes will be sustainable because they involve the entire community, not just the schools. After the initial $1.5 million grant expired, the Tufts researchers helped Somerville secure an additional $1.5 million in new grants to keep up the effort. Today, a Department of Homeland Security grant is providing fitness equipment at fire stations and chefs to train the firefighters about nutrition and healthy meals. A doctor sponsors the community fun run. The City Council is discussing whether to give some workers bicycles instead of government-funded cars. Now, Dr. Economos is working with the Save the Children Foundation to adapt and test some of the Shape Up initiatives for rural schoolchildren in the Mississippi Delta, Appalachia and California's Central Valley. "A lot of people making a few small changes added up to this huge thing," says Dr. Economos. "We couldn't go to the kids and say you have to change your lifestyle. We had to change the environment and the community spirit first."