title: Evaluating school wellness policy in curbing childhood obesity in Anchorage, Alaska.
abstract: In 2006, the Anchorage School District implemented a school wellness policy to address the problem of obesity among its elementary-aged students. We assessed whether the addition of this policy is effective in protecting or preventing students from becoming overweight/obese over time. The methods involved following two cohorts of students for 5 years, a cohort not exposed and a cohort exposed to the policy. The results show that exposure to the policy does not significantly protect or prevent students from becoming overweight/obese. However, we found that regardless of being exposed to the policy, boys (odds ratio [OR] = 1.12), ethnic minorities, (OR = 1.18), and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds (OR = 1.44) were more likely to remain or become overweight/obese. Our findings suggest that factors outside the school may be impacting students' overweight/obese status. Efforts to curb the problem of childhood obesity should extend to the children's communities and homes.
authors: Anchorage School District, Anchorage, AK, USA wparsons@uaa.alaska.edu.
authors: Wendy G
authors: WG
authors: Parsons
authors: Department of Health Sciences, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK, USA.
authors: Gabriel M
authors: GM
authors: Garcia
authors: Department of Family Medicine & Community Health University of Minnesota, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
authors: Pamela K
authors: PK
authors: Hoffman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000413:Alaska; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006291:Health Policy; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000451:nursing* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012573:School Nursing / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: children; exercise; nutrition; obesity; policy evaluation