Children Issues

The Miami-Dade County Public School System (MDCPS) is the fourth largest school district in the United States with 338,417 students. Students in the schools come from many countries around the world and 61.88% speak a language other than English at home.

According to the 2003 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), 12.9% of the students are overweight and 15.3% at risk for becoming overweight. The survey also shows that less than a fourth of the students in the school system eat the recommended daily amount of fruits and vegetable recommended and that 43% of the students do not participate in adequate levels of physical activity.

The Children Issues Committee of the Consortium for a Healthier Miami-Dade works to promote wellness in the schools through educating students and their families on proper exercise, diet and nutrition.

An annual project of the committee is Step Up, Florida: On Our Way to Healthy Living. This project, an initiative of the Florida Department of Health,  involves informing the community of the need to stay active. In 2005, through the work of this committee, Miami-Dade County Schools had Step Up day and over 51,000 students were involved in many types of physical activity.

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