Studies predict that America's youth will be the first generation not to live as long as their parents.  America's weight problem has a lot to do with that trend.  In the past 30 years adult obesity rates have more than doubled and youth rates have tripled. Illinois has not escaped--recent studies show that approximately 25% of adults and 11% of youth are obese in our state. Many factors contribute to the breadth of this crisis. The availability and affordability of healthy food, restricted time and space for exercise, and limited public knowledge of the risks and costs associated with obesity are a few examples.

A wide range of initiatives have been developed at the state and national level to address this issue, but the influential factors are what is happening locally.  The Healthy Lifestyles School Project originated in the summer of 2009 with the goal of promoting healthy lifestyle choices among students and families at Garfield Primary School, Trewyn Middle School and Manual High School in Peoria. The Full Service Community Schools (FSCS) Advisory Council proposed the project to Quest and a team was assembled. Team members included a wide variety of local stakeholders: school principals and staff, local government officials, youth, health and community focused non-profits, parents, nutritionists, medical experts, and local businesses.

The Healthy Lifestyles School (HLS) Project team started with research and conducted three focus groups- one with Garfield School parents and two with Manual High School students. A survey was also developed and given to students in the 4th, 7th, 8th, 10th and 11th grades. The survey asked questions regarding nutrition, eating habits, physical activity, computer/television screen time and sleep habits. The team conducted a community food assessment in order to look at what foods are available in the area and their cost.

After all the research was gathered, the HLS team worked diligently on developing a set of recommendations to present to the Full Service Community Schools (FSCS) Advisory Council in June. The team came up with a list of 7 recommendation areas (long and short-term time frames) to increase healthy lifestyle choices among students at Garfield, Trewyn and Manual.

The recommendations consisted of creating a Full Service Community School Wellness Council, developing and implementing a wellness model for Full Service Community Schools, expanding on-site afterschool physical activity programming, increasing the amount of physical activity for students, offering nutrition education at every grade level K-12, directly working with food service providers to offer the healthiest meals possible, encouraging parent focused nutrition education initiatives, and developing programs to work with youth requiring focused intervention in addressing obesity.

The next steps for the Healthy Lifestyles School Project include the continuation of data collection to monitor progress, identifying resource requirements, and implementing a Wellness Council as part of the Full Service Community School.

Black Belt: Cheryl Toland - Quality Quest
Team Lead: Viktor Schrader - Quality Quest

Team Members:

Daurice Figgers, Parent/Activist
Shannon Fowler, Peoria Health Dept.
Carl  Cannon, Peoria Park District
Terri Cannon, Logan Park/Peoria Park District
Dr. Jeanette Davidson, Bradley University
Stan Hangen, Parent Rep
Sandy Burke, School District 150
Dr. Tim Vega, OSF Healthcare System
Stacey DeJaynes, MMCI District 150 Health Clinic
Denise Urycki, Exergaming/GITM
Taunya Jenkins, Manual High School
Joyce Banks, Schwari-Chenga Project
Cheryll Boswell, METEC
Lori Frampton, Peoria Housing Authority
Brenda Coates, Peoria Housing Authority
Kevin Curtin, Garfield Primary School
Eric Thomas, Trewyn Middle School
Heather Young, Manual High School
Dr. Mike Taylor, Caterpillar Inc.
Kyle Dooley, Sen. Dave Koehler's Office
Amanda Newell, Bradley University
Kim Keenan, Exergaming/GITM
Marjorie LaFont, U of I Extension Office
Jo Garrison, OSF Healthcare System