What's for lunch? When's recess? The fight against obesity makes its way into schools.

• Author: Winterfeld, Amy

American kids are growing fatter. Since 1980, the number of overweight children has doubled. Three times as many adolescents are heavy.

In fact, 16 percent of children and adolescents age 6 to 19 are overweight. Compared to those of normal weight, they are 10 times more likely to have high blood pressure, three to eight times more likely to have cholesterol problems that can put them at risk for heart disease, and more than twice as likely to develop diabetes. Increased risks for asthma, sleep apnea and low self-esteem are also associated with childhood obesity.

Two strategies are key in responding to obesity:

* Reduce excess calories and ensure that food choices are nutritious.

* Encourage physical activity to burn calories and improve cardiovascular health.

Making sure kids eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly is not easy. A complex combination of social, cultural, environmental and behavioral factors contributes to the growing number of obese children.

LEGUME LEARNING

Although 44 states require health education, recent legislation in 17 states aims to prevent childhood obesity by requiring nutrition in school health curriculums.

"We want to teach kids to make good choices," says Colorado Representative Alice Madden. "There's also a connection between good nutrition and academic success." Along with Colorado Senator Paula Sandoval, Madden sponsored a school wellness measure that was signed into law this year. It calls on local school boards to adopt food policies that include healthy meals, nutritious items in vending machines and for fundraisers, nutrition content information on school menus provided to students and parents, access to fresh fruits and vegetables (especially Colorado-grown produce), nutrition education, and daily physical activity at school. It also encourages school districts to adopt local wellness policies by July 1, 2006.

Madden notes that Colorado legislators have been working on school wellness for several years, but this newest legislation also supports school efforts to meet the requirement of the federal Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 that all participating schools create a wellness policy by the first day of the 2006-2007 school year.

To help kids make healthy choices, California, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts and West Virginia considered legislation to require schools to provide nutrition content information for school foods. Colorado's enacted measure gives both students...