Healthy Lifestyles

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Notes from the Backpack Podcast


Healthy Lifestyles

Healthy Lifestyles Initiative

National PTA is dedicated to improving the health and wellness of families across the country because we know leading a healthy lifestyle is a key component to our students' success.

The Healthy Lifestyles Initiative provides PTAs with programs, education, and tools to partner with schools and advocate for healthy changes in nutrition and physical activity.

  • All students have opportunities to be physically active for at least 60 minutes on a regular basis
  • District wide wellness policies are developed, implemented and evaluated with input from students, parents, staff and interested community members

We've collected a variety of resources you can use to contribute and make a difference in your school community—whether elementary, middle or high school; PTA or PTSA.

Healthy School Lunches

Healthy Lifestyles Programs

Our programs are easy to host and include steps to plan, promote and host your event. Remember, you can host any of our PTA programs without National PTA grant funding.


Healthy Lifestyles Month

November is National PTA’s Healthy Lifestyles Month. You can host any health-related event for Healthy Lifestyles Month.

Examples of health-related events include:

  • Field Day
  • Fun Run/Fun Walk
  • Dance Night

Learn from National PTA President, Leslie Boggs, about our Healthy Lifestyles Month focus for 2019 in the following video.



Healthy Lifestyles Resources


Become a School of Excellence


In addition to the resources below, consider tying your efforts to becoming a School of Excellence! All of the resources and opportunities below cover efforts that could strengthen your work in building family-school partnerships. Learn more about the process and enroll at PTA.org/Excellence.

School of Excellence



What PTAs Can Do



Learn More

  • Engaging Families for Healthier, Happier Students: This webinar shares evidence-based strategies on how to engage families in healthy practices at home and in school. You can also check out more great resources from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation related to their Healthy Schools Program.
  • Parents for Healthy Schools: A a set of resources from the CDC to help schools, PTAs and school wellness committees engage parents to create healthy school environments.
  • Fuel Up to Play 60: From the National Dairy Council and the NFL, this is an in-school nutrition and physical activity program to help students make positive changes in their schools.
  • Thriving Schools: A targeted, multiyear initiative from Kaiser Permanente offering free tools and resources to improve the health of students, staff and teachers in K–12 schools.