School Counselors Perspectives of the Barriers and Facilitators Associated with their Involvement in the Childhood Obesity Epidemic

Abstract

Background: Childhood obesity has become a public health priority in the U.S. and is linked to a number of significant comorbidities including asthma, sleep apnea and depression. In addition, there is an increase in social isolation and peer victimization. Purpose: the purpose of this study was to explore Professional School Counselors (PSC) perceptions of the role they play in childhood obesity. Specifically, some of the barriers and facilitators that influence PSCs' participation in the fight against childhood obesity were examined. Methods: An electronic survey was completed by 1088 (eight percent response rate) practicing K-12 school counselors nationwide. Results: About two-thirds of the professional school counselors in this study reported that working with students who present with obesity-related issues was part of their role and function. Another 81.3% stated that among three major barriers, lack of time was the most significant factor that prevented PSCs from working with students with obesity related issues. On the other hand, 90% of the PSCs in this study stated that they would be more involved in prevention/treatment of obesity related issues if they received more requests from parents, teachers and students with obesity related issues. Discussion: Childhood obesity continues to plague our nation's children with consequences that extend well beyond the physical health of the student. Its impact is seen and felt in the thousands of classrooms across the U.S. The fight to eradicate childhood obesity can be broadened to include a well-trained and underutilized resource in the schools-professional school counselors. School counselors in this study suggested that given the opportunity and the resources they would become more engaged in the fight against childhood obesity. Translation to Health Education Practice: The findings of this study have implications for medical and health education practitioners in that they have additional allies in a setting where children and adolescents spend most of their day. PSCs are well-trained, uniquely positioned stakeholders who are willing and capable of collaborating with parents, students, medical personnel, and public health officials and workers.

Description of School Health Development Index (SHDI) in Junior High Schools in Buleleng Regency – Bali

“…It needed further evaluation and sustainable monitoring to obtain optimal result on the healthy lifestyle. It would be important and useful to build collaboration between parents, teachers, students, principals, society, Health Authority, and other components in community to solve health problems in school sekolah (Larrier & Kijai, 2012).…”

Integrating problem‐based learning into a school counseling classroom instruction course

“…Throughout the problem‐solving process, students reflect on their thought processes and adjust their approaches as necessary (Barrows, 1996; Hung et al., 2014). Within the field of counseling, PBL has been applied to training therapists (Kindsvatter & Desmond, 2013), designing classroom lessons (Larrier et al., 2016), and school counseling internship supervision (Waalkes & DeCino, 2019).…”

Evaluation of school-based obesity prevention model

“…They are also responsible for communicating with the student's parents, teachers, administrators, medical professionals, and other stakeholders in the journey of the students' obesity prevention. School counselors can practice within a framework provided by the ASCA National Model and appropriately approach students who need obesity prevention or treatment [23].…”