Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Why provide access to drinking water in schools? Drinking water can contribute to good health, and schools are in a unique position to promote healthy, dietary behaviors, including drinking water. More than 95% of children and adolescents are enrolled in schools, and students typically spend at least 6 hours at school each day.1 Ensuring that students have access to safe, free drinking water throughout the school environment gives them a healthy alternative to sugar-sweetened beverages before, during, and after school. Access to safe, free drinking water helps to increase students’ overall water consumption, maintain hydration, and reduce energy intake, if substituted for sugar-sweetened beverages.2-4 In addition, adequate hydration may improve cognitive function among children and adolescents, which is important for learning. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends the following: (a) Children and adolescents should be taught to drink water routinely as an initial beverage of choice as long as daily dietary caloric and other nutrient (e.g., calcium, vitamins) needs are being met; (b) Water is also generally the appropriate first choice for hydration before, during, and after most exercise regimens, and (c) Children should have free access to water, particularly during school hours. http://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/npao/pdf/water_access_in_schools.pdf
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Mr. FrisbiePhysical Education Teacher Archives
April 2019
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