Guideline 2

Establish school environments that support healthy eating and physical activity.

The school environment should encourage all students to make healthy eating choices and be physically active throughout the school day.

Strategies

Provide access to healthy foods and physical activity opportunities and to safe spaces, facilities, and equipment for healthy eating and physical activity.
Establish a climate that encourages and does not stigmatize healthy eating and physical activity.
Create a school environment that encourages a healthy body image, shape, and size among all students and staff members, is accepting of diverse abilities, and does not tolerate weight-based teasing.

The prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents more than tripled from 1980 to 2008. In 2008, more than one third of US children and adolescents aged 6–19 were overweight or obese.