Tiffany Adrians

Heather Hartshorn
Nicholas Lewis
Tiffany Noethen
Ryan Prochnow
Ashley Tobalsky

A Physical Activity Awareness Program by the Shrunken

Avocadoes (Group 1) for elementary school children in Stevens
Point, WI.

Table of Contents
 Page # Content

1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Vision and Mission Statement

2.3 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Rational

4 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Logic Model

5 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Goals and Objectives

6-8 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - External Analysis SWOT

9 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Budget

10 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Marketing

11- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Ghant Chart

Vision Statement:

All elementary aged Wisconsin children will learn the importance of physical activity and
utilize their knowledge through their life span.
Mission Statement:

The mission of operation couch spuds is to promote children’s physical health and well
being, through the use of educational and motivational incentives.

A Rationale for “Operation Couch Potato”: A Physical Activity

Awareness Program by Group 1 for elementary school children in
Stevens Point, WI.
Although the average life span of Americans is increasing thanks to modern medicine, we must
also be aware of what else is increasing and how that relates to the extra years of life. In the past
fifty years, obesity has been on the rise, most noticeably in children. In fact, the obesity rate in
children ages two to nineteen has doubled and even tripled in the last thirty years (IOM, 2005).
What does that mean to these children? What does that mean to their extended life span?

Increased obesity in children has many serious risks associated with it. A very important, yet
often ignored risk is the psychological damage being done. In the American society being
overweight is often criticized. This can result in grave psychological damage that also affects
academic and social situations for years. Also, are the very surprising physical affects to obese
children. One study in obese children ages five to ten, sixty percent had at least one risk factor
for cardiovascular disease (IOM 2005)! Type II Diabetes is also on the rise for children, which in
the past had normally affected adults. Other health effects associated with obesity in children
include the rise of asthma, hypertension, orthopedic complications, and sleep apnea (AOA, 2005).

Even in Wisconsin, the increase in childhood obesity is a problem. According to the Center for
Disease Control (CDC), ten percent of Wisconsin middle and high school children are overweight
and fourteen percent are at risk for becoming overweight. That is almost one quarter of middle
and high school students who may already be suffering the risks mentioned above! In the
Wisconsin study, the CDC also looked at risk factors affecting the obesity rate. Among these
factors, which include reduced consumption of fruits, vegetables, and other nutritious food, is the
reduced activity level of children. In fact, sixty five percent of the students surveyed did not meet
the recommended levels of physical activity.

The goal of “Operation Couch Potato” is to address these physical activity levels for children of
the Stevens Point, Wisconsin School Systems. The purpose of this is to help and prevent children
from ever experiencing the problems associated with obesity. By making these physical health
information sessions, physical activity days, and prize promotions a part of their everyday
experience at school, physical activity will begin to be a part of their everyday lives. By working
with the school system, this program will be able to reach a large amount of children. All too
often, there are not enough programs that offer physical activity as part of the curriculum. This
program will be one more way in which children can be exposed to physical activity. We hope to
help them learn to really enjoy physical activity and to understand why it is important. With
increasing amounts of leisure time being spent doing stationary activities, Operation Couch
Potato will also help motivate children to be more physically active at home by showing the fun
that comes from physical activities. By demonstrating this, children will be more motivated to
have more physical leisure time activities.

With Americans’ increased life spans comes an increased need to be aware of the quality of their
life. All too often, habits that started in childhood can significantly affect the rest of the lifespan.
In fact, the habits in childhood can affect health even in childhood! For both reasons, Operation
Couch Potatoes is needed to help solve this ever-growing problem.

References

“AOA Fact Sheet.” 2005. American Obesity Association. 25 Mar. 2007

http://www.obesity.org/subs/fastfacts/obesity_youth.shtml

“Childhood Obesity in the United States: Facts and Figures.” Preventing Childhood
Obesity: Health in the Balance. 2005. Institute of Medicine. 25 Mar. 2007.
http://www.iom.edu/Object.File/Master/22/606/FINALfactsandfigures2.pdf

“The Obesity Epidemic and Wisconsin Students.” Healthy Youth. 2005. Center for
Disease Control. 25 Mar. 2007.
http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/overweight/pdf/Wisconsin. pdf
Inputs Activities Outputs

Parents Collect data; Posters & pamphlets Children realize physical activity is
marketing campaign in/for schools, P.T.O important to a healthy lifestyle
for parents meetings, school
Class Planning
Research; gather data board, parent-teacher
Group
that supports conferences Percent of children who participate
importance of physical in program increase in the course of
Portage County activity the first year
children PowerPoint
Grades 1-5 Marketing campaign presentations to school
for students and board at annual and
other meetings Along with participation, the
teachers; implemented amount of exercise increases as
Marketing in school buildings supported by pre and post tests &
Group surveys
Projects/program in
Program for kids to homeroom classroom
School participate in during of students; lectures
Administration and after school
Parents encourage kids to
& Principals Incentive program: participate in physical activity
Incentive program for -Sign-ups
students to participate -Logs
Parent Teacher
Organizations -Teacher materials
Schools are encouraged to integrate
(P.T.O) Research and present -Grade/physical
physical activity into the lives of
information to P.T.O; students
facilitate change prizes
School Board
Petition signed by all
Pretest & Post-test to interested parties; Provide a program that gives kids
assess levels of given to school an opportunity to monitor levels of
Volunteers physical activity in board physical activity and makes
and out of school changes accordingly
Teachers
Surveys given
quarterly/seasonal to Children see physical activity as
students to monitor rewarding, encouraged by incentive
Dietician progress & program, and participate more in
Speaker participation activities outside of school, as
recorded by quarterly surveys
Goals and Objectives

Goal A: For elementary students in Portage County to realize the importance of

physical activity on a more intense level than before the program.

Objective (affective learning): Participants will fill out a survey on how they
feel about physical activity and how important they think it is before
and after the program.

Goal B: To increase the weekly activity of participants.

Objective (behavioral): Participants will fill out a daily log aiming for a total of
sixty minutes of physical activity a day/five days a week.
External Analysis: SWOT

Scanning
To best suit the program, scanning should include such information like current
levels of physical activity, current allotment given by schools for physical activity in the
school day. Opportunities outside of school that are available to the age group we are
studying that allow them to actively participate in physical activity. Such things can
include sports, hiking events, guided tours, and a plethora of other organized activities.
One area that must be scanned, but is harder to do effectively, is people’s opinions
regarding the importance of physical activity. Our project relies heavily on stakeholders’
opinions and participation in support of our projects. Another area of scanning that is
important is competition. With recent video game creations, there are plenty of
distractions and things held in with higher priority than physical activity. We must
acknowledge these distractions and obstacles and plan accordingly.
To obtain this needed information, surveys will be given to both teachers and
parents at parent/teacher conferences and at teaching conventions. A locally sponsored
athletic event where the admission is to fill out a survey would also be a good way to
promote our cause and to obtain information. Asking administration is the main way that
we will gather information regarding current physical activity opportunities during in-
school hours.

Monitoring
The information found during scanning is critical because it helps us to monitor
progress during the duration of the program. The amount of time provided by schools
during the normal school day for physical education should be monitored often. At least
twice a year we will monitor the target schools to verify or determine if our program has
caused a change in curriculum. The surveying of kids to gather information about
individual exercising habits, we will survey seasonally. We assume behaviors change
according to seasons, for example there are winter, spring and fall sports.
The best methodology to use to get the information we need is through teachers.
Teachers are in contact with both students and faculty daily. Teachers could distribute
surveys in class as an assignment in the beginning of the school year for the summer,
during the fall, the winter, and the spring, giving us a good idea of seasonal trends. The
school board will have to be contacted to gather information about the current
curriculum. Developing a research team is crucial to our program, for most of the work
lies in convincing stakeholders we have a valid issue at hand.

Forecasting and Assessing

Based on some of the information that could be collected and thinking about
possible implications it could have on our program, some specific events that may have a
direct effect on our program’s success is new video game console releases and the
implementation of new standardized tests. New video game consoles would have kids
very distracted and most likely render them couch ridden for an extended period of time.
Standardized tests place pressure on schools to perform, and they would most likely
change their curriculum, cutting out any un-needed “gym” time to make time for
preparing students for a test to boost ratings.
These implications would have an effect on how we go about marketing our
program. With competition such as video games and standardized tests, we have to set
apart and emphasize the importance of physical activity. This would change our logic
model in the areas of inputs and outputs, with marketing schemes being more focused at
overcoming certain obstacles, pitting physical activity and going outside against staying
inside and playing the newest Duke Nukem 4d!
Strengths
-Physical exercise is a focus that people need to survive, at certain levels
-Stevens Point area is very big into wellness programs, offers a lot of support for our
program

Weaknesses
-Hard to change lifestyle & habits of children
-Hard to convince people physical activity is just as important as academics

Opportunities
-New research supports importance of physical activity
-Upcoming athletic events, seasonal sports can be used to promote participation

Threats
-Competition for children’s time;
-busy schedules
-video games
-Competing interests
-new standardized tests call for more dedicated classroom time
-parents and school board feel schools are for education not teaching a lifestyle
Budget
"OPERATION COUCH
POTATO" BUDGET
COST
NUMBER PER OUT-OF-
NUMBER OF DONATION
ITEM DESCRIPTION OF HOUR / POCKET TOTAL
PEOPLE/ITEMS (IN-KIND)
HOURS PER COSTS
PIECE
LABOR:
Planning Committee 6 360 $17 $36,720.00 $36,720.00
Program Director 1 360 $17 $6,120.00 $6,120.00
Marketing Director 1 180 $14 $2,520.00 $2,520.00
Nutrition/Exercise Expert 1 5 $20 $200.00 $200.00
Volunteers 50 60 $6.50 $19,500.00 $19,500.00
SUPPLIES:
General Office Supplies (Paper, Pens,
Ink Cartridges, Staplers, etc.) $250.00 $250.00 $500.00
General Printing (Pretest/Postest,
Pamphlets, Logs) $2,000.00 $2,000.00
Ad Printing (Posters, Ads, Banners) $2,000.00 $2,000.00
Exercise Equipment (Jump Ropes,
Frisbees, Balls, Bats, etc.) 300 $5 $1,500.00 $1,500.00
Prizes (Jump Ropes, Frisbees, Balls,
Bats, Gloves, etc.) 2500 $5 $11,500.00 $1,000.00 $12,500.00
Food/Snacks (for meetings, activity days,
seminars) $500 $500.00 $1,000.00
VENUE:
School Gym (for seminars and meetings) 50 $300.00 $1,500.00 $1,500.00
School Classrooms (1-5 per hour, for
presentations) 300 $200.00 $6,000.00 $6,000.00

TOTALS: $26,590.00 $65,470.00 $92,060.00

TOTAL COST OF PROJECT: $92,060.00

Marketing Plan

Product: “Operation Couch Potatoes” is a health behavioral program. “Operation Couch

Potatoes” is for elementary students in Portage County to realize the importance of physical
activity on a more intense level than before the program. The program also strives to have the
participants increase their daily physically activity level.

Price: Failure to implement an educational interactive health program carries much higher future
health costs than the initial price to begin the program. The hospital cost for type II diabetes,
obesity, and heart disease is insurmountable.
Much of the money for the program will be spent solely for the children through the
incentive program and for the educators to safety teach and promote “Operation Couch Potatoes.”
No cost can be placed on a child’s health or knowledge for future generations.

Placement: The product will be placed in all portage county elementary schools. Advertising will
be placed in the school as well as distributed to parents though the mail. A seminar will also be
held to educate the stakeholders and school administration. The program will take place both
before and after school. “Operation Couch Potatoes” will also be placed in an all school assembly.

Promotion: Parents will be informed of the program during parent teacher conferences, and PTO
meetings and through the use of brochures and pamphlets in the US mail. “Operation Couch
Potatoes” will also be promoted during school hours as part of the daily curriculum. Children will
also be expected to explain their progress to their parents and be proud of their record keeping.

A qualified marking committee will be hired for proper placement and promotion of “Operation
Couch Potatoes.”
Ghant Chart