MONDAY, Aug. 26, 2013 (HealthDay News) -- Schools across America are showing progress in key areas related to health, including nutrition, physical education and smoking, federal health officials reported Monday.
The results of a 2012 comprehensive survey of school health policies showed some encouraging trends, according to the report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Schools play a critical role in the health and well-being of our youth," CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden said in an agency news release. "Good news for students and parents -- more students have access to healthy food, better physical fitness activities through initiatives such as 'Let's Move,' and campuses that are completely tobacco-free," he said.
The report focused on those three areas. The highlights were:
Nutrition:
Physical education:
Tobacco:
The 2012 School Health Policies and Practices Study is a national survey to assess health policies in schools, districts and classrooms.
According to the CDC, the survey assesses eight components of school health: health education; physical education and activity; health services; mental health and social services; nutrition services; healthy and safe school environment; faculty and staff health promotion; and family and community involvement.
More information
For more about school health, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.