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Strength and Comprehensiveness of School Wellness Policies in Southeastern US School Districts
Author(s) -
Cox Melissa J.,
Ennett Susan T.,
Ringwalt Christopher L.,
Hanley Sean M.,
Bowling James M.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of school health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.851
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1746-1561
pISSN - 0022-4391
DOI - 10.1111/josh.12416
Subject(s) - legislation , health promotion , promotion (chess) , school district , childhood obesity , environmental health , public health , school meal , public policy , psychology , gerontology , obesity , medicine , political science , economic growth , mathematics education , economics , nursing , politics , law , overweight
BACKGROUND In 2004, Congress passed legislation mandating that all public school districts participating in federal school meal programs develop a school wellness policy ( SWP ) to direct efforts related to nutrition and physical activity. We examined the extent to which SWPs varied in comprehensiveness and strength in a representative sample of school districts in the southeastern United States, the area of the country with the highest rates of childhood obesity. METHODS Policies were assessed using an established 96‐item coding tool by 2 raters to ascertain the comprehensiveness and strength of the policies as a whole, and across distinct subsections specified by federal legislation. In addition, variability in SWP comprehensiveness and strength was assessed based on district sociodemographic characteristics. RESULTS Overall, SWPs in the southeastern states are weakly written, fragmented, and lack requirements necessary for healthy school environments. District size, which was the only sociodemographic factor related to policy characteristics, yielded an inverse association. CONCLUSIONS To encourage continued promotion of healthy school environments, school districts will require technical support to improve the quality of their school wellness policies.