HB schools lead way in battle of bulge

HINERANGI VAIMOSO
Low-fat pies and muffins, homemade chicken burgers and milk have elbowed greasy chips, pastries and sugar-laden fizzy drinks off the menu as Hawke's Bay schools move to tackle ballooning waistlines.
Health Promoting Schools, an initiative run by the Hawke's Bay District Health Board, has been adopted by many primary schools around the Bay.
A new study released by the Green Party showed many tuck-shop menus still featured fatty foods and unhealthy drinks despite skyrocketing child obesity rates.
Many Hawke's Bay schools however, had taken advantage of the programmes, projects and initiatives implemented by the Government and hade made major changes to menus.
Health Promoting Schools was an initiative that started in Hawke's Bay in 1998 and after seven years spent on establishing the project within schools and laying the foundations, results are now being seen.
HPS is a way of working holistically with schools, which encourages healthier eating, better exercise and more awareness about the wellbeing of the school which would spread through the community.
HPS adviser for Hawke's Bay Tawehi Munro has 41 schools from Mahia to Pukehou on his caseload, about a third of the total schools in the region.
Each school is supported by HPS advisers and Public Health Nurses to ensure the well-being or hauora of the child is catered to.
Mr Munro said while HPS schools had progressed well over the years, more support from the community was needed to take it further in the future.
He explained that HPS was a three-pronged approach between the teaching, learning and curriculum at a school, the school's environment, spirit and the atmosphere of a school as well as the quality links and partnerships with the school.
Trading in pies for sandwiches was a big step for many schools, which is hoped to have a ripple effect right throughout the country.
Since Hastings Central School joined the HPS programme, pastry pies have been replaced by bread-based pies with fillings that had the tick from the Heart Foundation. Principal Alan McDonald said the improved menu has been a slow change but conscientious health decisions have become second nature to pupils.
"There's quite a good variety now and children are opting for the healthier options themselves," Mr McDonald said.
"They'll now have healthier muffins instead of fatty cake." Bledisloe Primary School in Taradale was one school to have picked up a Gold Heartbeat Award from the National Heart Foundation in Hawke's Bay for their efforts in fighting the obesity epidemic.
Pies are only on the menu in winter, and then, they are only bread-based pies with the Heart Foundation tick and a third less fat than regular pies.
Bledisloe School has also banned the sale of juice because of the high sugar content.
The school's secretary Sharyn Titter said the hardest thing about keeping up a healthy menu was finding the healthy products.
"It's hard work to get the programme started because it's difficult to find an appropriate menu with the Heart Foundation ticks," Mrs Titter said.
"With limited options, we've learnt that the best thing is to keep it simple."
Sue Geenty of Peterhead School in Flaxmere said while its pupils had adjusted to the healthier programme well, it was going to be difficult to keep up with costs.
"It can be hard to find foods at affordable prices, especially being young kids who need to be enticed by the food," Mrs Geenty said.
Peterhead offers healthy pies, homemade chicken burgers, fruit drinks and milk drinks for calcium.
Mrs Geenty said banishing the pupils' bad habits was a slow process but now pupils were getting the message. With schools worried about the fight against obesity being too expensive the Government has allocated $76 million to combat the epidemic over the next four years.
The announcement came when the national annual budget was read out at Parliament on Thursday.