Sisters kids have edge in fat fight

Active elementary school kids stave off a growing trend of youthful obesity. photo by Torri Barco

Sisters has not escaped the growing epidemic of obesity in America, but its active lifestyle has given it an edge.

Local statistics indicate that students at Sisters High School are slightly under the statewide obesity ratio -- a figure which has increased dramatically over the years.

Sisters High School nurse Sally Benton gave the ninth and 11th grade classes a Body Mass Index test at the beginning of the school year. A BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight. Benton said it was the first time she has conducted the test, but she plans to begin giving it to those grades every year.

"We are aware there are overweight students in the school and so I thought it would be good," Benton said.

According to the test results, 22 of the 93 ninth graders (23 percent) measured a score over 25 BMI. A BMI between 25 and 29.9 is considered overweight and greater than or equal to 30 is obese, according to the World Health Organization's international standard.

Seventeen of 128 eleventh grade students (13 percent) measured over 25 BMI.

These ratios are lower than statewide statistics, which show that more than 20 percent of Oregonians are obese and 38 percent more are overweight, according to a September 2003 report from Oregon Health and Science University.

Rates of overweight teens in Oregon have tripled in the past 20 years, according to a report from Dr. Mel Kohn, a state epidemiologist in the Oregon Department of Human Services.

Obesity is not an epidemic to be winked at, considering it can lead to heart disease, diabetes and cancer, and is responsible for over 300,000 deaths in the United States each year, according to OHSU.

Nancy Dempsey, the school nurse at the elementary school, said she does not have any statistics, but she said Sisters appears to have a bit of an advantage over the obesity epidemic because it loves to recreate.

"For a small town, there are many options for physical activities and the kids are very active in that," Dempsey said. "The SOAR program is a real positive, whether it be Taekwondo or basketball. SOAR started out as one little trailer on the middle school campus about 10 years ago and now they have a new building for their program. For a small town, the people really pull together to support those activities."

Charlie Kanzig, counselor and cross-country coach at Sisters High School, said the students show a high interest in taking additional PE classes.

Kanzig said students are required to take 1.5 credits of PE or three total trimester classes, but more than half the students enroll for additional PE credits.

Moreover, he said about 70 percent of the students participate in at least one extracurricular sport.

"Our school is unique in that kids are active," Kanzig said. "Kids want to go skiing, snowboarding, hiking, biking and climbing and all the things adults move here to do. If you think about it, adults here are active and often move here because they like that lifestyle."

The district nutritionist, Janice Comfort, said she sees some students take PE classes every term.

"It's nice to see," Comfort said. "It's crazy to see they're outside right now and its freezing and they're running."

Still, Sisters is not completely removed from the American lifestyle of fast-food, hours in front of a TV, Internet, or video game and latch-key kids who settle for fatty snacks rather than home-cooked meals.

"I don't think it is just the children we are dealing with," Comfort said. "We are dealing with the lifestyle of America and supersize meals."

Comfort said the school district will need to continually work to sell students on the salad bar and healthy lunch-room choices, as well as to educate them in nutrition classes about the need to eat and exercise wisely.