TSET Partners with the Oklahoma State Department of Health to Launch Fitness Program
OKLAHOMA CITY (March 23, 2023) — The Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) is partnering with the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) to improve the health of Oklahoma’s youth and reduce rates of chronic illness, now and for future generations.
TSET’s Board of Directors awarded $150,938 in the current fiscal year and just over $1.15 million through 2026 to OSDH to implement a pilot FitnessGram model in 100 schools. FitnessGram is an annual fitness assessment that helps students and caregivers develop personal goals that promote lifelong fitness. It is the most widely used children’s physical activity assessment and has been successfully implemented in several states, including Texas.
FitnessGram will enable Oklahoma to have in-depth data on obesity in school children. The program is in-line with goals established by Governor Stitt and the state’s health cabinet to reduce childhood obesity.
“Healthy habits start young,” said Julie Bisbee, executive director of TSET. “Assessment is a crucial step in creating lasting change. We can’t know if we are being effective if we don’t track outcomes. FitnessGram will help students in setting personal goal and help the state assess and adjust our health education curriculum to be the most effective it can be.”
Currently, one in three Oklahoma children are overweight or obese. Childhood obesity is linked with poor academic performance, chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease, and lifetime costs. Addressing childhood obesity is one of the top health priorities of state leadership and part of the State Obesity Plan released July 2022.
By investing in the prevention of obesity during childhood, Oklahoma can lower the fiscal burden obesity places on the state. Oklahoma spends approximately $1.1 billion on obesity-related health costs. Obesity can also lead to lost workdays and absenteeism, lost wages, higher insurance expenses by employers.
The FitnessGram program will complement the new standards for health education outlined in the 2021 Health Education Act. That law requires all students to receive instruction promoting healthy lifestyles and physical activity beginning this fall.
Last year, TSET awarded the Oklahoma State Department of Education received nearly $107,000 to develop instructional guidance and resources to support Oklahoma schools during implementation of the new standards.
For more information about TSET, visit Oklahoma.gov/TSET.
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The Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) serves as a partner and bridge builder for organizations shaping a healthier future for all Oklahomans. TSET provides leadership at the intersections of health by working with local coalitions and initiatives across the state, cultivating innovative and life-changing research and working across public and private sectors to develop, support, implement and evaluate creative strategies to take advantage of emerging opportunities to improve the public’s health. To learn more, go to Oklahoma.gov/TSET.