Policy Opportunities to Include BMI Education in School Curricula

Payment

Action steps to increase payment in local schools include:

Work with school wellness councils/school officials to include BMI education in school curricula.
Creating healthier environments for children and adolescents is a critical step in supporting children in making healthy choices, however, it is also important for children to learn how and why they should they lead healthy active lives School wellness councils can work with school administrators to develop health curricula that provides information about the Body Mass Index (BMI) metric and it's use in determining healthy weights.

Recommended by:

• AAP Policy: Health, Mental Health, and Safety Guidelines for Schools: Food Services and Health Education
• Institute of Medicine (IOM) Report: Local Government Actions to prevent childhood obesity
• National Governor's Association (NGA): Successful State Strategies to Prevent Childhood Obesity
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF): Action Strategies Toolkit - A Guide for Local And State Leaders Working to Create Healthier Communities and Prevent Childhood Obesity

For more information:

• Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Team Nutrition