Wednesday, February 23, 2005

Healthy schools cut obesity rate in half: study

Schools that offer healthy living programs can cut their students' obesity rates in half and help lower their risk of disease later in life, says a new Canadian study released Wednesday.

Launched in 2003, the Children's Lifestyle and School-Performance Study (CLASS) shows that students attending schools with a comprehensive healthy living program eat more fruits and vegetables, and that only four per cent of these students are likely to be overweight or obese -- compared to 10 per cent for those attending schools without such a program.

The study was funded by the non-profit Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) and appears in the March edition of the American Journal of Public Health.

It surveyed 5,200 fifth-graders in nearly 300 Nova Scotia schools, along with their parents and school principals.

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