Primordial Prevention Through School Health Promotion

Abstract

The widespread occurrence of adult cardiovascular diseases in westernized populations, coronary artery disease, hypertension and diabetes mellitus, and the evidence these begin in childhood show the need to begin prevention early for virtually everybody. Damaging lifestyles learned early have to be addressed through education. The background from pediatric epidemiologic studies over the past four decades stresses approaches for prevention should be through primordial prevention. This can best be done through comprehensive and coordinated health education of school children. However, the challenge remains with respect to incorporating a sufficient health education program into the school systems that serve the entire population of children. Our experience shows single focused prevention efforts, e.g. for smoking, or for drugs, or for alcohol, are not as effective as broad health education, just like medical care is the ideal approach that physicians try to use in general medical practice. Thus, there is a need to get the parents and education community along with the communities of business and health care involved. Health education or prevention programs spearheaded by programs outside of the traditional educational system fail once the funding of such programs disappears. Failures also occur because general health is not part of the traditional education process and teachers are not trained in this discipline. Federal, state, and local governments will have to support school systems to begin and sustain such programs over time. Meeting this challenge is the best hope for primordial prevention.