Town at lowest level, study says

More than one-third of Massachusetts students evaluated during the 2008-2009 school year were overweight or obese, according to a report released Sept. 8, but Arlington weighs in lowest, The Boston Globe reports. 

The study, reporting weight and height for about 110,000 students, for the first time provides data on separate school districts and underscores the role of poverty and affluence in determining weight. Lawrence, one of the state’s poorest cities, had the highest rate of students with excessive weight, about 47 percent. Arlington, a higher-income suburban community with a longstanding commitment to nutrition and exercise, had the lowest level, about 10 percent.

Chart has the skinny

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The story reports that districts with lower rates are following Arlington. The lessons start in kindergarten and continue in middle school with the 5-2-1 program — eat five vegetables a day, restrict TV and computer use to two hours a day, and exercise for one hour. 

Parents of middle and high school students can even see exactly what their children are eating every day. There’s no more cash in the cafeteria. Instead, families add money online, and children punch in their ID code when they get food, which, in turn, records their every order, said Cindy Bouvier, director of wellness and counseling at the Arlington public schools.

Liz DiNolfo, president of the townwide Parent Teacher Organization in Arlington, has two daughters in the public schools there. Many children, she said, live no farther than 2 miles from their school and get there on foot. There are recreation centers for playing, and an array of locally owned restaurants for healthy eating.