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The school setting can positively influence the lifelong physical, social, and mental health of students. In 2006, the World Health Organization found that school-based health promotion programs most effective at changing behaviours were those focused on positive social behaviours, physical activity, and healthy eating. There is a need to determine what practices and programs best support the development of healthy school communities in Alberta.

Healthy school communities promote wellness and strive to create environments that foster lifelong health and wellness. The approach used to create active, healthy school communities is often referred to as the health-promoting school approach - the Alberta Project Promoting active Living & healthy Eating in Schools (APPLE Schools) will follow this approach.

• To develop health-promoting school environments where it is easy for children to make healthy choices.
• To improve the eating habits and physical activity levels of students.
• To reduce the risk for chronic disease by decreasing obesity and overweight among schoolchildren.

The project team tracks changes in the health, nutrition, and physical activity of students annually over the term of the project which is from January 2008 until June 2011.

For more information on the APPLE Schools project, please see our Backgrounder (PDF format).