TVUSD Kids Among Healthiest In SW Riverside County

Students in the Temecula Valley Unified School District appear to be healthier than other children in Southwest Riverside County, according to test results released today by the state.

The 2012-13 FITNESSGRAM® results revealed body condition and aerobic capacity -- two of the six areas assessed annually and considered among the most important gauges of health – are better among TVUSD kids than schoolchildren in Murrieta Valley Unified and Lake Elsinore Unified school districts. 

According to the test results, nearly one-third of LEUSD students in grades five, seven and nine are “high-risk” when it comes to body condition. While the results are not quite as startling in the MVUSD, they are still worse than Temecula’s.

Approximately 6,730 TVUSD fifth-, seventh-, and ninth-graders took the FITNESSGRAM® this year. According to test results, 22 percent of fifth-graders, 21 percent of seventh-graders, and 19 percent of ninth-graders in the TVUSD were classified as “high-risk” when body composition was evaluated.

When aerobic capacity was measured, 5 percent of fifth-graders, 7 percent of seventh-graders, and 8 percent of ninth-graders in the TVUSD were deemed “high risk.”

In the MVUSD, high-risk results were 1 to 3 percent higher across the three grades in both fitness categories.

The number of TVUSD students who fell into a “healthy fitness zone” in body composition this year was: 67 percent of fifth-graders, 67 percent of seventh-graders, and 69 percent of ninth-graders.

The number of TVUSD students who fell into a “healthy fitness zone” in aerobic capacity this year was: 80 percent of fifth-graders, 77 percent of seventh-graders, and 78 percent of ninth-graders.

Children who did not fall into either the high risk or healthy fitness zone were classified as needing improvement.

TVUSD’s outperformance may be a result of higher education and income levels among families. According to the 2007-2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau, Temecula’s median household income is $76,276 and the median family income is $83,539. The percentage of Temecula’s population 25 or older with a bachelor’s degree or higher is 29.7 percent.

According to the same census data, Murrieta barely edge’s out Temecula on income levels and falls just short of its southerly neighbor in the percentage of the 25-or-older population holding a degree in higher education.

In Lake Elsinore, however, the story is different. While that city’s median household income is just shy of Temecula’s, its median family income is much lower at $67,654 and the percentage of Lake Elsinore residents holding a bachelor’s degree or higher is just 17.3 percent.

Although TVUSD students outperformed the neighboring districts, Temecula’s results still signal a need for improved diet and exercise in families. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson said in a released statement today that healthy kids learn better, and the push to improve physical fitness among schoolchildren is “nowhere near the end.”

“To help them succeed in school and in life, California’s young people need more access to physical activity, fresh, healthy food, and clean water,” he said.

Torlakson, a longtime teacher and cross-country coach, launched his Team California for Healthy Kids initiative shortly after taking office to further these goals. The initiative brings together educators, community leaders, athletes, and other celebrities to help schools offer healthy choices to students.

The primary goal of FITNESSGRAM® is to assist students in establishing lifetime habits of regular physical activity. The FITNESSGRAM® is composed of the following six fitness areas, with a number of test options provided for most areas: aerobic capacity, body composition, abdominal strength, trunk extensor strength, upper body strength, and flexibility. The 2012–13 physical fitness results for schools, school districts, counties, and the state are available on the Physical Fitness Test Results page. For additional information about the Physical Fitness Test, go to the California Department of Education Physical Fitness Test web page.