Oregon Research Institute

Communities and Schools Together for Childhood Obesity Prevention

CAST

ORI scientist Deb Johnson-Shelton, Ph.D., is leading a community-school partnership to prevent childhood obesity. Evidence-based interventions are tailored for each school/community and are designed to promote healthy eating habits and physical activity.

Details

National surveys have shown that the proportion of elementary school children who are overweight and obese has quadrupled over the last four decades and tripled among adolescents. Children are developing obesity-related diseases previously found among adults—Type II diabetes, glucose intolerance, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular abnormalities that lead to heart disease. In addition to disease risk, obese children have been found to have higher rates of low self-esteem, anxiety disorders, and depression, poorer academic achievement, greater susceptibility to bullying and teasing, greater rejection by non-overweight peers, and poorer cognitive functioning compared to normal weight school youth.