y (YRBSS), and acceptable levels of Body Mass Index (BMI), blood pressure, waist circumference, blood glucose and cholesterol. Participants were sophomore girls who voluntarily enrolled in the program with girls in regular gym classes serving as the control group. The girls were followed for the entire school year with data collected at the beginning and end of the school year. Two hundred and fifty six participants have completed the program to date. The 3-year study began September 2004 and will end June 2007.

Significant findings from the 2004-05 school year - the pilot year (n=131):

• 11 students had a BMI score of 35 or above at the beginning of the year; 9 students at the end of the year.
• Nutrition subscales showed improvement in the number of servings taken in of fruits, vegetables and salads
• Activity subscales showed improvement

There was a high level of self-esteem among both the participant group and the control group, with a slight increase in average self-esteem scores in the participant group at the conclusion of the program. The mean BMI scores increased slightly, which reflected an expected growth spurt.

BMI scores are age- and gender-specific in children and a score of 35 indicates a 16-year-old girl is above the upper 95 percentile for weight. A high BMI score indicates greater risk of developing health problems related to obesity.

Significant findings from the 2005-2006 school year (n=125):

• The participant group gained 2.78 pounds
• Low density lipoprotein (LDL) levels decreased by 2 points.
• 15 students had a BMI score of 35 or above. Of those, 7 successfully lowered their scores.
• Mean BMI scores increased slightly (0.23), as would be expected with a growth spurt
• 23 students were found to have low HDL - below 40mg/dL.This number remained unchanged at the beginning and end of the school year. Other studies have shown low HDL levels in chil
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Contact: Bonnie Arkus
Bonnie@womensheart.org
609-771-9600
Womens Heart Foundation
14-Nov-2006


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