Eat Smart — Farm Fresh! - a guide to buying and serving locally-grown produce in school meals.

Rate What You Ate - teach teens how to use the My Pyramid Menu Planner.

NSBA Childhood Obesity & Schools - what schools can do to address the current trends in childhood obesity

Let's Move to make schools healthier - First Lady Michelle Obama has launched a national campaign to help make schools healthier. The goal is to provide healthier food in schools and help kids be more physically active. More information.

School Height and Weight 2010-2011

Letters are being sent to school nurses and physical education and health education teachers regarding the instructions for height and weight data collection for the 2010-2011 school year. If you don’t receive a letter, click here for more information, needed forms, and previous years reports. A limited number of scales and/or wall-mounted measuring boards will be available to schools who wish to participate in this surveillance effort.  Equipment applications will be due September 24, 2010. Height and weight data will be due to the Department of Health by June 15, 2011.

Why participate in the school height and weight data collection?

• Schools will receive local data which can be used to determine need and secure grant funding
• Schools can use local data to evaluate improvements due to policy and activities that have been implemented.

Physical Education Report

The National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) and the American Heart Association (AHA recently released the 2010 Shape of the Nation Report: Status of Physical Education in the USA.  The report conducted every five years tracks success in physically educating children to help ensure that physical activity is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. It reports that while the majority of states mandate some physical education, there are two significant inadequacies relative to time requirements and exemptions / waivers.  NASPE and AHA recommend that schools provide 150 minutes per week/30 minutes per day of instructional physical education for elementary school children, and 225 minutes per week/45 minutes per day for middle and high school students for the entire school year. Only one state (Alabama) aligns with these nationally recommended guidelines at all levels. Full report 

"Children today have a shorter life expectancy than their parents for the first time in 100 years."
–Dr. William J. Klish, professor of pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine.

Free posters to print - check out the posters available for downloading and printing from Healthy South Dakota's workplace tab. Many are appropriate for youth too. New posters are added each month.

Small Steps Change of the Month

To increase your daily steps take the stairs instead of the elevator or play active games with the children on the playground.

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