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Health Advocates Propose Expanding Liability Laws

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A recent Gallup poll found less than 50-percent of Ohioans work out three or more days a week, placing the state in the bottom ten for the sixth-straight year. Delaware had the fewest number of regular exercisers, while Vermont had the greatest.  Health advocacy groups are asking for a change in state law to bring more healthy activities to school playgrounds and gymnasiums. Ohio Public Radio's Andy Chow reports.

 

More than 17% of children in Ohio were obese in a 2011 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Jim Bischoff is chairman for the American Heart Association’s Ohio chapter. He urges the importance of changing this trend early-on in order to promote a healthy lifestyle into adulthood.

Bischoff: “We have way too many children who are overweight and I think the most startling fact is that given the way the health of children is going of early onset diabetes – the kids aren’t going to live as long as their parents are and I don’t believe that’s the kind of legacy that we want.”

In order to avoid such a legacy, Bischoff believes kids and families need to become more active. He says the state can help by expanding access to areas that promote physical activity. That’s why the American Heart Association is working with state lawmakers to revise liability laws on school grounds.

Bischoff says there are way too many schools around the state that close off their playgrounds and gymnasiums to the public in fear of being liable for any problems that might occur.

Bischoff: “Some schools have felt threatened that if there was an accident and they didn’t have appropriate supervision – there are a number of other issues that’ve made them feel vulnerable to a liability suit. So rather than open it up and make themselves legally vulnerable in any way in a sense of protecting the taxpayers they’ve chosen to just not open the facility.”

Encouraging access to these spaces means the school districts can enter into agreements with community organizations and businesses to hold events and workout classes.

Dr. Mary Chace is a professor of public health education at Wright State University. She adds that these school gymnasiums can be especially important to preserving children’s health during the cold winter months.

Chace: “Here in Ohio we do have poor weather and we do have part of our year just very difficult to exercise outside and so we’d like to open the doors to more possibilities especially for those schools in those areas that don’t have a lot of community spaces for children to be active.”

Chace believes this will help schools on several levels in the long run - not only could a partnership generate money for the district but it could also boost relationships in the community and could make voters see school levies differently.  Chace says this effort has proven to be successful in other parts of the country.

Chace: “We have seen research in other states where several years after schools start opening their doors we do see more physical activity happening especially in certain populations – especially Hispanic populations – African American populations – that’re already going to and from the school – they’re comfortable with it. So we have seen in other states that it’s very effective.”

The bill to revise liability laws for schools has passed out of committee and now awaits a vote on the House floor.

 

Jim has been with WCBE since 1996. Before that he worked as a reporter at another Columbus radio station, and for three newspapers in Southwest Florida.