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BELFAST (Jan 19): Health problems including obesity, Type 2 diabetes and heart conditions aren’t just for adults anymore.

According to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 27 percent of the state’s high school students and 30 percent of middle schoolers are either overweight or at risk for becoming overweight. Of kindergarteners, 36 percent are either overweight or at-risk, and the figure is slightly lower for low-income children between the ages of 2 and 5 (33 percent).

The CDC also found that “overweight children and teens have been found to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease, including high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure and abnormal glucose tolerance. In a population-based sample of 5- to 17-year-olds, almost 60 percent of overweight children had at least one CVD [cardiovascular] risk factor, while 25 percent of overweight children had two or more CVD risk factors.”

Troy Howard Middle School physical education teacher Henri Bouchard hopes to improve the health of SAD 34 students with a Carol M. White Physical Education Program Grant. (Photo by Tanya Mitchell)

These statistics concern Troy Howard Middle School physical education teacher Henri Bouchard and SAD 34 health coordinator Linda Hartkopf. Both are working toward obtaining a federal grant to address such problems locally.

The Carol M. White Physical Education Program Grant can be worth up to $500,000 over three years, Bouchard said, and provides funding to schools and community centers to expand or start programs aimed at increasing physical activity.

In December, the SAD 34 Board of Directors approved Bouchard’s request to apply for the funding, with the understanding the grant requires either a financial or in-kind match from the district (a 10 percent match in the first year and a 25 percent match for the second and third years).

Bouchard said the grant proposal would include requests for funding ongoing and new programs at the Waldo County YMCA.

“We don’t utilize that facility as much as we could now, but when they get their pool, I can see us using it more,” he said.

One component of the grant will be the introduction of pulse monitors at the middle and high schools, as well as a computer program that can track the progress of each student.

A pulse monitor is a device similar to a wristwatch that measures a person’s heart rate through a chest strap that monitors the heart’s activity during exercise. Bouchard hopes it will speed up the learning process by teaching students to be self-aware when it comes to what their bodies are doing and why.

“It’s a proven program with reliable software that shows me what that child did in class based on their heart rate,” said Bouchard. “The heart rate is the most powerful measure of physical output.”

Bouchard hopes the monitors will allow youth to find their target heart rate and suitable training zone so fitness is more accessible, especially for those with a lesser understanding of how to exercise safely and effectively.

The grant, said Bouchard, would also fund an additional P.E. teacher at the elementary level to increase students' weekly physical activity and gym instruction. The CDC recommends elementary school children get at least 150 minutes of physical activity per week, while middle and high school students should be active for a minimum of 225 minutes per week.

At present, elementary school children in SAD 34 receive 45 minutes a week of physical education instruction, while middle school kids get 150 minutes. At the high school level, that drops to fewer than 90 minutes per week.

Hartkopf believes if students enjoy yoga and walking, they may extend their exercise routines beyond the walls of the gymnasium. Adding hopscotch to a math class, said Hartkopf, keeps kids on the move while bringing concepts of numbers, addition and subtraction to life.

“More physical activity in the classrooms and in their studies stimulates the students, and it also helps to improve their own skill levels,” she said.

Adding snowshoeing to the curriculum, said Hartkopf, could provide students with another way to be active outside of school. Nutritional pieces, such as obtaining a coordinator for an elementary-school gardening program similar to the Garden Project at THMS, and a food survey for middle- and high-school students, are other possibilities for how the funding could be used.

“The middle school is further along, percentage-wise, than anyone else, so we’re looking at increasing the effectiveness of that program through the use of the pulse monitors,” said Bouchard, who added the aim will be the same at Belfast Area High School.

While the monitors are an easy way for students to track and maintain progress, Bouchard said they could also save a life.

“They have uncovered a student here and there that had some potentially serious heart abnormalities that could lead to sudden death; we had one here a few years back,” said Bouchard, referring to the death of student-athlete Joseph DiPrete-DiGioia during a cross country meet at THMS in 2003. “I can’t say it would have worked in that case, but the monitors are capable of picking up unusual readings.”

Bouchard hopes that over the life of the grant, district administrators and directors could formulate a plan for keeping new programs on track and continue funding for added positions. “This would give us the time to get these programs up and running,” he said.

Because the grant allows for an in-kind match, or donations in lieu of money, Bouchard said it opens the door for community involvement while reducing the district’s financial commitment. People and organizations contributing exercise equipment or health and fitness experts volunteering services are examples of how the community can help.

At this stage, Hartkopf said the services of a grant writer would count as an in-kind donation. “That would be a tremendous benefit because the language is important for meeting the criteria for the grant,” said Hartkopf, who note three years ago the district was unsuccessful in getting a PEP grant.

While Bouchard was not certain of how much money the final proposal would call for, he said his request would “be near the top, with the ability to pare it down.” The grant proposal is typically due in April, and funds are made available to successful candidates to be used at the start of the ensuing school year.

Hartkopf cited a CDC study that tracked youth over a 20-year period. It showed that between 1980 and 2004, the number of overweight children aged 6-11 more than doubled (from 7 percent to 18.8 percent). Among adolescents between the ages of 12-19, the number of overweight youths more than tripled (5 percent in 1980 compared to 17.1 percent in 2004).

Those figures demonstrate an unhealthy national trend that Hartkopf said is a wake-up call. “These kids may not outlive us, or their parents,” she said.

Homework for healthy lifestyle

While technology has enhanced people's lives in many respects, the price for some of those conveniences has been health.

Bouchard said family lifestyles have changed significantly over the years due to the increased reliance on automobiles and how we heat our homes. “Our lifestyles have changed over time; we are seeing the benefits of technology on one side, and yet we suffer for it on the other side,” said Bouchard.

More time in front of the television and computer, and less time playing outside contribute to children being overweight. Bouchard said adults too, are less active.

Before the widespread ownership of motor vehicles, people walked more. When a home can be heated by a call to the oil company and a turn of the thermostat, fewer people benefit from the physical activity that cutting, stacking and carrying wood provides.

Putting up and burning firewood, said Bouchard, is an effective form of physical activity. Gardening, he said, provides another opportunity for physical activity, as well as better nutrition.

“It’s not that we don’t want the technology, but we do have to keep in mind what it is that our body still needs,” he said. “For this epidemic of low fitness and obesity, there is definitely a solution, and science knows increased physical activity will actually reduce all of that.”

Being physically fit also assists mental and emotional wellness, Bouchard said. “There are few doctors who do not recognize exercise as part of a health plan,” he said.

Walking through the neighborhood or a favorite park, gardening, stacking wood, cleaning the house, and playing sports are all ways to improve one’s health.

Staying active at home can mean the difference between a life of health complications and one of comfortable enjoyment.

The best activity, said Bouchard, “is the one you like to do.”