An report on the progress of the Coordinated School Health program of the Greeneville City School System was presented Thursday evening to the Greeneville Board of Education.

"We think we can make a big difference in the lives of our children and of our staff as we work together," said Jeannie Woolsey, the program's coordinator.

Woolsey, who joined the school system in September 2007, said in 2006, Tennessee became the first state in the nation to implement Coordinated School Health programs.

Greeneville's program is based on the eight-component model of the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Those eight models are:

* Health Education;

* Physical Education;

* Health Services;

* Nutrition Services;

* Counseling and Psychological Services;

* Healthy School Environment;

* Health Promotion for Staff; and

* Family/Community Involvement.

The comprehensive program includes education on such topics as tobacco use prevention, nutrition, physical activity, alcohol and drug abuse awareness, and reproductive health.

Woolsey said health education enhances students' learning in other subject areas and has been shown to reduce absenteeism, decrease behavior problems, improve student performance and provide information for healthy life skills.

The program will include the designation of healthy school teams with participation by school employees and parents who will develop school health indexes.

The program also will include staff development and feedback to the school board, she added.

Woolsey introduced Dr. Tom Beckner, who is volunteering to consult the school system as its new director of health services.

Beckner said the school system has improved school snacks and meals, but he thinks solving the problem of childhood obesity will be "quite a challenge."

He said childhood obesity has doubled in the past 10 years, which he attributed, in part, to children watching television.

Beckner said watching television burns fewer calories than sleeping.

Woolsey said the percentage of overweight children in the United States has increased from 4 percent in 1963 to 16 percent in 2002.

"The health of our children depends on our families, schools and communities," Woolsey said.

A typical Coordinated School Health program takes five to six years to reach full operation, she said.