The Fountain Hills School Health Council has been in existence for several years and works to improve student and family health in the community. School health councils are in existence across the country in many communities. Made up of various segments of the community, including School District staff, the business community, government, and others, the local group has several goals:

• Help improve student health and create healthier schools

• Support school-health staffed programs

• Be a voice of support for healthy children and families

• Serve as a forum for sharing youth and family health information and resources

The issues faced by youth today are much more complicated than they were years ago. More than ever, the health of children and families are dictated to a large degree by behaviors that are chosen. According to the Center for Disease Control, the six behaviors that account for the most serious injuries and premature deaths in the U.S. are:

• Use of tobacco – more than 3,000 youth start smoking every day

• An unhealthy diet – Three-fourths of our youth do not eat the recommended daily amounts of vegetables and fruit

• Drug and alcohol use

• Unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases – almost one million youth become pregnant yearly

By providing programs that reduce health risk and prompt behavior changes, the CDC says that for every dollar invested the returns are:

• Tobacco education programs - savings of $26.45

• Drug and alcohol prevention - savings of $5.69

• Prevention of early and unprotected sexual activity a savings of $5.10

Think that Arizona is immune from some of these issues or that somehow we do not feel the effects to the same extent?

You may be surprised to know that:

• Arizona has the 15th highest childhood obesity rate in the nation. Nearly one-third of students are overweight or obese.

• More than 7 out of 10 Arizona children do not get 20 minutes of physical activity daily.

• Arizona has the sixth highest rate of teenage birth in the nation.