Schoolchildren Benefit From Vitamins
Murrieta
CA, 13 March 2002
Tom
Elementary School seems like a typical school, but something surprising
happens there. Each day, teachers distribute chewable multivitamins
to their students. As a "low performing" school in rural Haworth,
Oklahoma, Tom's administration brought in Vitamin Relief USA-Children
First this school year in the hope that the research is true: vitamins
help at risk children succeed academically.
Teachers
astounded by results
"There
has been a great improvement. I have seen an increase in attention
span and an acceleration in academics," said Mrs. Sylvia Blake,
a fourth grade teacher at Tom Elementary. Ms. Carolyn Thomson said,
"I am amazed the vitamin program could provide such gains in so
many areas. I would estimate a 50% decrease in absence in the first
grade."
In
January, The Healthy Foundation sent observational surveys to 62
Vitamin Relief USA-Children First collaborative partner sites in
order to gage the impact of its program. Parents, teachers and site
staff reported similar observations of improvement in the children
participating in the vitamin distribution program.
Improvements
seen in attendance, academics, behavior, energy, appetite and self
image
Marked
improvements were observed in the school attendance, academics,
behavior, energy, appetites, and self-image of the 1,000 children
represented in the survey by parents, staff and teachers.
Forty-two
percent of parents said their children were eating better, while
29% claimed their children were feeling better physically and more
physically active. Of great interest was the fact that 28% of parents
and 36% of teachers stated that children were sick less often, while
30% of each group observed that children's illnesses were not as
severe or as long. Also, 23% of parents and 22% of teachers claimed
that students were doing better academically with higher grades.
"Though
this is only an observational survey, the results are quite impressive
and beyond what we expected. We are eager to follow up on this information
with a well-designed, rigorous scientific study as soon as possible
at multiple public school sites," says Michael Alan Morton, Executive
Director of The Healthy Foundation.
Congress
earmarks appropriation for further study
Besides
these impressive results, The Healthy Foundation has another reason
to celebrate: Congress awarded THF an earmarked appropriation of
$500,000 to conduct a definitive study to measure improvement in
academic performance and behavior in several thousand school children
participating in the vitamin program.
The
natural products industry is stepping forward to support this research.
Tishcon Corp. has pledged to provide the children's multivitamins
as well as the placebo tablets for this study. US Pharmacopeia has
also agreed to test the children's vitamin for content, strength
of ingredients and purity. At the recent Natural Products Expo West,
DSEA and New Hope Natural Media honored The Healthy Foundation for
its Vitamin Relief USA - Children First Initiative and its earmarked
award from Congress.
Dr.
Hyla Cass, President of The Healthy Foundation said, "Gaining an
appropriation from Congress in support of such a young program is
unprecedented, and a wonderful validation of the importance of The
Healthy Foundation and its Vitamin Relief USA programs. We are proud
to report the results of our observational survey for it provides
further evidence that the formal studies Congress has assigned to
us have the potential for landmark results. We appreciate the natural
products industry's support in helping us achieve conclusive and
respected data for this important research."
The
Healthy Foundation and Vitamin Relief USA - Children First
The
Healthy Foundation currently provides daily vitamins to over 6,000
children from low-income families at over 100 sites in 35 states.
Its national initiative, called Vitamin Relief USA - Children First,
is a public/private partnership that distributes daily children's
chewable multivitamin/mineral supplements to children at risk for
malnutrition and nutrient deficiency.
The
Healthy Foundation is a tax-exempt, nonprofit foundation committed
to improving the health status of children and adults through vitamin
supplementation. For further information, call 877-935-5348 or log
onto www.healthfound.org.
Source
The
Healthy Foundation via PR Newswire, 13 March 2002.
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