Introduction The staff at the Exemplary Physical Education Curriculum (EPEC) has been working with schools on Physical Education programming since 1994. Within the past few years, the scope of their work was broadened to include nutrition education since the combination of physical activity and proper nutrition is critical to fostering healthy children and combating obesity. The result is an exciting and innovative program called PE-Nut: Physical Education and Nutrition Education Working Together to Reach Students and Parents. The PE-Nut model has successfully been implemented in many schools in Michigan.
Play a PE-Nut testimonial from school administrators
PE-Nut Overview
Students, parents, and educators can all be motivated to make improvements in health behaviors in a school environment that presents simple, consistent, and ubiquitous nutrition and physical activity messages. Academic achievement improves when students receive a healthful diet and when they can be physically active throughout the school day. In PE-Nut, physical educators, classroom teachers and principals work together to improve nutrition and physical activity in K-5 school settings. It fits nicely with the coordinated school health approach in schools.
It’s not enough to merely increase students’ (and teachers’) knowledge about healthy choices. Changes must be made to the environment to support and reinforce these choices. PE-Nut utilizes materials that not only improve students ability to identify healthy alternatives to less healthy foods and activities, but also empower students, teachers and administrators to change the school environment to facilitate ongoing change.
The whole-school approach of PE-Nut uses these strategies in conjunction with a comprehensive on-site staff development training program to prepare your staff to effectively implement them.
PE-Nut Strategiesinclude:
All of these strategies keep nutrition and physical activity messages simple and developmentally appropriate, with a few core themes reiterated throughout the school environment.
To nurture healthy children and prevent obesity, it is critical that children receive a combination of both physical education and nutrition education.
This combination comes together in an exciting and innovative program -
PE-Nut: Physical Education and Nutrition Education Working Together to Reach Students and Parents.
PE-Nut seeks to help children develop healthy habits and to create a school environment that reinforces these habits.
PE-Nut takes a Coordinated School Health (CSH) approach to making improvements in health behaviors in a school environment where nutrition and physical activity messages are simple, consistent, and ubiquitous. In addition, academic achievement improves when students receive a healthful diet and when they can be physically active throughout the school day.
The PE-Nut approach is being used successfully in SNAP-Ed, CSH-funded, and other grant programs.
Call 877.464.3732 for a customized quote to implement PE-Nut in your school or district.
