The Answer Sheet: Health


Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 11/12/2010

Palin: Parents should decide what kids eat in school
By Valerie Strauss
An effort by the Pennsylvania Board of Education to encourage public schools to limit sweets and introduce more healthy foods has attracted an unlikely critic: Sarah Palin.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 11/12/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Health | Tags:  banning sweets, child nutrition act, cookies, michelle obama, nutrition, nutrition guidelines, obesity, obesity epidemic, palin cookies, pennsylvania board of education, sarah palin, school breakfast, school lunch

Posted at 08:13 AM ET, 11/11/2010

Yes, you can teach kids to eat broccoli
By Valerie Strauss
I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it, but at Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School in Washington D.C., chef Lisa Dobbs runs a food program that has young students relishing broccoli, tilapia encrused with panko, boureks with beef or vegetables, and other foods not commonly embraced by kids.

By Valerie Strauss  |  08:13 AM ET, 11/11/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Health | Tags:  bill shore, charter schools, child nutrition act, elsie whitlow stokes, first lady michelle obama, jeff bridges, lisa dobbs, michelle obama, nutrition education, obesity, school lunch, share our strength, stokes charter school, whole foods

Posted at 03:00 AM ET, 07/27/2010

Good, bad news on U.S. children
By Valerie Strauss
Even before the U.S. economic turndown began in the late 1990s, the child poverty rate had increased in this decade, affecting nearly one-fifth of American kids, according to a new report on the well-being of American kids.

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:00 AM ET, 07/27/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Health | Tags:  casey foundation report, child health indicators, kids count

Posted at 02:03 PM ET, 07/15/2010

Fairfax schools' food program named nation’s best
By Valerie Strauss
Good news for Fairfax County Public Schools: It’s nutrition program was named best in the country by the School Nutrition Association. What makes it so good.

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:03 PM ET, 07/15/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Health | Tags:  fairfax nutrition program, fairfax wins award, meals in fairfax schools, school meal planning, school meals, school nutrition association

Posted at 10:24 AM ET, 07/12/2010

Questions for Michelle Obama's live Web chat on obesity
By Valerie Strauss
First Lady Michelle Obama is hosting her first live web chat on Tuesday about her national campaign to end the country's obesity epidemic. Here are a few questions for her.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:24 AM ET, 07/12/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Health, Health | Tags:  first lady and web chat, first lady michelle obama and let's move, let's move and michelle obama, michelle obama, michelle obama and first web chat, michelle obama and obesity, michelle obama and web chat, nclb and physical education, physical education and obesity, web chat and let's move

Posted at 05:00 PM ET, 06/02/2010

Must we link P.E. (and everything else) to test scores?
By Valerie Strauss
Is there nothing in education today that we do not feel the need to justify through improved standardized test scores? A new report is out about physical education in public schools. The news is not good.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 PM ET, 06/02/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Health, Health, Health | Tags:  american heart association, let's move, michelle obama, michelle obama's anti-obesity campaign, obama and get Fit, obesity, obesity epidemic, physical activity and health, physical education, physical education and test scores, recommended physical education guidelines, standardized test scores

Posted at 11:04 AM ET, 05/30/2010

School junk food ban works, study finds
By Valerie Strauss
Banning junk food from schools actually does have a beneficial effect on students, a new research study shows.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:04 AM ET, 05/30/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Health, Health | Tags:  banning junk food, healthy school breakfasts, healthy school lunches, nutrition policies, research on junk food, school lunches, school nutrition policies, study on banning junk food, university of nebraska-lincoln

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 05/26/2010

When teens get too affectionate at school
By Valerie Strauss
Maybe it’s the advent of spring, or the promise of prom, but more students are engaging in public displays of affection at school--and it isn’t only the adults in the building who are getting embarrassed and annoyed. Kids are complaining that their friends are grossing them out. Where should the line be drawn?

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 05/26/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Health, Health | Tags:  PDA and high school, PDA policies, PDA policies and school, PDAs at school, ban on hugs, high school bans PDA, middle school bans hugs, public displays of affection

Posted at 12:38 PM ET, 05/13/2010

When adults hit kids at school
By Valerie Strauss
There is a video making the Internet rounds, shot by a student, of someone identified as a teacher beating up a student. It’s ugly. But let's not forget that in 20 states, adults are allowed to whack kids for disciplinary reasons, and more than 200,000 kids a year are subject to corporal punishment. Congress may take up a bill soon to outlaw the practice.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:38 PM ET, 05/13/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Health | Tags:  corporal punishment, corporal punishment laws, paddling in school, teacher beating kid, video and teacher and hitting, when kids are paddled

Posted at 03:42 PM ET, 04/25/2010

Banning cookies: Is this school going too far?
By Valerie Strauss
A Tucson school bans all processed foods, meaning kids can't even bring a cookie for lunch or risk having it taken away. Is this school going overboard?

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:42 PM ET, 04/25/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Health | Tags:  Children's Success Academy, charter schools, health, obesity epidemic, school lunch, school lunch program, school that bans cookies

Posted at 09:00 AM ET, 04/16/2010

What should happen to kids who sext?
By Valerie Strauss
The principal of a middle school where kids were found to have bought and sold sexual images had no choice but to bring in authorities to see if any laws had broken. But that doesn’t mean the kids should have the legal book thrown at them.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:00 AM ET, 04/16/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Health, Health, Health | Tags:  Pyle Middle School, Pyle and sexting, Pyle sexting scandal, Rosalind Wiseman, Whitman and sexting, sexting, sexting and Pyle and WHitman

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 04/09/2010

Allergies can affect kids' grades
By Valerie Strauss
School nurses are sending home notes to parents that they are seeing more kids come in with symptoms of allergies, and for many kids, they are more than just an irritant. They can affect how well they do at school.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 04/09/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Health | Tags:  allergies, allergies and kids, allergies and school, health

Posted at 01:07 PM ET, 03/18/2010

Video game hurts schoolwork of boys--study
By Valerie Strauss
Researchers are trying to tell parents something about video games: New studies show that they can affect test scores in young boys, and violent games can foster aggressive behavior in gamers.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:07 PM ET, 03/18/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Health, Health | Tags:  video games, violent video games

Posted at 06:50 PM ET, 02/04/2010

Why haven't all school systems decided to close on Friday?
By Valerie Strauss
I’d like to know why all of the school systems in the Washington area haven’t already ordered schools closed for tomorrow. My colleagues Michael Birnbaum and Jenna Johnson have reported that school systems are weighing what to do for tomorrow because of the foreboding weather forecasts, but doing it with an eye on how many days they have in their scheduled for such events and how many have already been used.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:50 PM ET, 02/04/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Health | Tags:  school closures

Posted at 06:08 AM ET, 02/03/2010

Why I doubt the abstinence-only sex ed study
By Valerie Strauss
I’m not an expert on scientific research but I question the results of a highly publicized research study on an abstinence-only program that is being touted as persuading young teens not to have sex. The abstract of the study says that the outcomes were self-reported, meaning that the researchers took the word of middle and high school students about whether they had had sex or not.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:08 AM ET, 02/03/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Health | Tags:  sex education

Posted at 04:07 PM ET, 02/02/2010

Schools and overweight kids
By Valerie Strauss
Would you support a university's decision to grant diplomas to overweight students only if they took a special fitness class? One school actually did this for several years.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:07 PM ET, 02/02/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Health | Tags:  health, physical education

Posted at 10:15 AM ET, 01/26/2010

Sex education -- the right kind
By Valerie Strauss
Cause and effect can be hard to determine, but it seems fair to link at least part of the rise of abstinence-only sex education during the last decade to the newly reported rise in teen pregnancy. Congress should pay sharp attention and stop spending money on what doesn't work. A report released today shows that the pregnancy rate among teenage girls in the United States has jumped for the first time in more than a decade... What kind of sex ed works?

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:15 AM ET, 01/26/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Health | Tags:  sex education

Posted at 08:18 PM ET, 01/10/2010

School snow delays -- Part 2
By Valerie Strauss
Many of your comments about the wisdom of opening schools late on Friday because of snow served to solidify my thinking that complainers should give it a rest. In fact, I wish I had thought about some of the points you made.

By Valerie Strauss  |  08:18 PM ET, 01/10/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Health | Tags:  school delays, weather

Posted at 12:08 PM ET, 01/08/2010

P.E. humiliations can be lasting
By Valerie Strauss
Were you ever humiliated in gym class when you were a kid, and do you remember the episode as if it happened yesterday? Well, according to one researcher, phys ed humilitations are so powerful that they can keep someone from pursuing active physical fitness later in life.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:08 PM ET, 01/08/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Health | Tags:  physical education

Posted at 11:30 AM ET, 01/08/2010

How one university (using an ibis) handled the swine flu outbreak
By Valerie Strauss
By Donna E. Shalala. Beginning in the spring of 2009, when we first heard about the threat of an outbreak of swine flu (H1N1), the University of Miami began planning for a pandemic and working diligently according to the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Miami-Dade County Health Department in order to prepare for mass immunization. This was especially important for a university campus, since we were warned that college-age students were among the populations that were most vulnerable to be affected by a potential pandemic.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:30 AM ET, 01/08/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Health | Tags:  swine flu, university of miami

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 12/04/2009

Holder, Duncan hear bad news about domestic violence-and good things teens are doing to help
By Valerie Strauss
With domestic violence among young people on the rise and the nation fascinated by real and rumored acts of violence among the celebrity set, it seems like a perfect time for a public discussion about domestic violence and healthy relationships with teenagers. And that’s what Attorney General Eric Holder and Education Secretary Arne Duncan held at the Justice Department when they sat down with teens who are part of a nonprofit organization called "Start Strong."

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 12/04/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Health | Tags:  domestic violence, teen violence

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 11/20/2009

The (somewhat strange) List: Foods banned by law in school cafeterias
By Valerie Strauss
When I think about the “foods of minimal nutritional value” that are banned from school cafeterias by federal law, the first thing that pops into my mind is a doughnut, one made delicious by hideous amounts of fat and sugar. But when I was researching school nutrition on the Agriculture Department's website, I came across the list and discovered doughnuts aren’t on it. Soda water is, though. So are cough drops. Here's the list.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 11/20/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Health | Tags:  school nutrition

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 10/27/2009

Why most schools don't teach about mental illness
By Valerie Strauss
Lorraine Kaplan had a son who was a star at school. At 17, he had top grades, was a debater and first trombonist in his school’s orchestra. But seemingly overnight, his brain turned on him. He became obsessive and then started hallucinating. A doctor told her not to tell anybody--and she didn't, for a decade because of the stigma associated with mental illness. Now she is trying to get schools to destigmatize mental illness.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 10/27/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Health | Tags:  mental illness

Posted at 11:28 AM ET, 10/22/2009

What Kind of Sex Ed Works?
By Valerie Strauss
Lately I've heard people say that if parents want their teenage girls to abstain from sex, they should make them listen to Taylor Swift’s song “Fifteen,” or read the wildly popular “Twilight Saga” series of four books. I wondered what reach into the teen psyche popular culture has on individual teen behavior so I conducted a scientific survey. I asked three people involved with sex education how much the popular culture affects teen behavior.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:28 AM ET, 10/22/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Health | Tags:  sexual education

Posted at 02:44 PM ET, 10/19/2009

Obama and sensible school lunch schedules
By Valerie Strauss
hen President Obama made a surprise visit today to Viers Mill Elementary School in Silver Spring to share a meal with third- and fifth-graders, he picked a school that has reasonable lunch schedule for its kids. The school says that its students have 30 minutes to eat their lunch every day. But there are plenty of other schools where kids have 15 or 20 minutes to eat. And some students are forced to eat lunch before 11 a.m. How much time for lunch should students get?

By Valerie Strauss  |  02:44 PM ET, 10/19/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Health | Tags:  President Obama, Viers Mill Elementary School, school lunch