Workshop Explores how to Evaluate the Impact of School Policies on Childhood Obesity

Project staff prepared a report entitled National Evaluation and Measurement Meeting on School Nutrition and Physical Activity Policies. The report addresses:

• Categories of school nutrition and physical activity policies, who initiates them and how they are implemented.
• A model for evaluating school nutrition and physical activity policies.
• Three types of evaluation studies:
  • Studies that evaluate school-based policies.
  • Studies that examine how policies affect obesity.
  • Studies that track and integrate individual and environmental outcomes.
• Individual, school and community characteristics to evaluate and measure.
• Evaluation methods and data sources relevant to each.
• Challenges that were unresolved by the meeting, For example:
  • Utilizing school or district data versus developing new data collection tools.
  • Measuring how changes in the nutrition and physical activity environments affect school performance.
  • Determining the role of the food and beverage industry in school policy.
• Recommendations for evaluators, policymakers, school officials and funders. These include:
  • Clearly articulate the purpose of the evaluation and ensure that the purpose drives the evaluation design.
  • Start by analyzing policies to understand their intent, how they are implemented, who is responsible for them and how they are monitored.
  • Identify external factors, such as family/social norms, demographic characteristics and availability of parks or services that influence outcomes.
  • Support efforts to disseminate best practices and facilitate communication among evaluators from different backgrounds.
  • Fund evaluation studies that:
    • Monitor policy implementation.
    • Survey trends in school environments and student behaviors and health.
    • Measure the impact of school policies on student health outcomes.