March 16, 2005

NUTRITION AND RECESS BILL ON THE MOVE

On March 15, 2005 The Select Committee on Children approved Senate Bill 1174, An Act Concerning School Nutrition and sent it on to the Education Committee. This bill will require local and regional school boards to provide all full-day students with a minimum 20 minute daily recess and to ban non- nutritious food and drink for purchase during the regular school day.

Representative Mary Mushinsky (D-85), one of the bill’s cosponsors, was pleased that the committee has again approved the bill and expressed hope that the complete version will pass this session. In 2004 the Senate stripped recess from similar legislation. The Committee’s vote in 2005 again singles out recess as an important component to the bill. “Not only is this bill a positive step towards healthier and more alert children, it is also a weapon in the fight against obesity”, Mushinsky said. “In some municipalities recess has been pared down to almost nothing—just 45 minutes per week.”

In addition, the bill calls for research to determine a statewide children’s body mass index so that the state can take further preventive measures to decrease the number of children affected by obesity.

The Select Committee on Children and the Public Health Committee have been promoting the combination of healthier food and increased physical activity to combat a rising incidence of obesity and nutrition-related disorders among children, including Type II diabetes, heart disease, and calcium deficiency. Pediatric researchers around the country are warning that childhood obesity is not receiving enough attention, and that children’s health will suffer despite progress in immunization, control of contagious diseases, and injury prevention. Today 13% of children aged 6-11 years and 14% of adolescents 12-19 years are overweight. This prevalence has nearly tripled over two decades.