Obesity-fighting school says no to cupcakes, yes to exercise

Some schools win kudos for high test scores and great teachers. But one small school in the American heartland has just won a medal for fighting fat. At Northeast Elementary Magnet in Danville, Ill., five-year-olds dance hip-hop to the alphabet and fifth-graders calculate calories. The curriculum at the public school is focused on health and wellness, and families have to sign a contract agreeing to abide by that.

In this picture, Naomi Woods (left) eats lunch with her classmates. School lunches are low-fat or no-fat, with fresh fruit or veggies every day, and no dessert. What else does a typical day entail at Northeast? Keep clicking to see photos taken on Sept. 20, 2011...

During a nutrition lesson, Nancy Henderson, home economic coordinator for the fresh fruit and vegetables program, read "The Very Hungry Caterpillar." The tale focuses on a caterpillar that can't stop eating - when the bug started eating chocolate cake and ice cream, the kids gasped and said in hushed tones, "junk food," as if it were poison.

The school's cafeteria offers no soda, fried foods, or gooey desserts, sticking instead to fresh fruit and veggies and low-fat or no-fat milk. There are no sweets on kids' birthdays and food is never used as a reward.

Timothy Mills, head of the student advisory council, listens to students give their positive and negative feedback during class. Not all kids at Northeast are skinny - some are clearly overweight - but they're still enthusiastic about the program and there isn't much grumbling.

Math teacher Lisa Unzicker explains how food labels can be misleading. She teaches students how to figure out how many calories are in a whole bag, based on the amount in each serving.

Tyler Jones and Sophia Jurenez run during gym class, which they have every day.

Students enjoy the playground as part of their physical education. Who are the students? They're generally poorer and less healthy than the state average, with many families struggling with obesity and related problems.