Fitness plan aims for slimmer kids

By Pyc Fitness
©2004-2008

AVONDALE - America's children are so fat that they could be the nation's first generation not to outlive their parents, an American Heart Association official warned Wednesday.

"In the last 20 years, childhood obesity rates have tripled," said John Meiners, executive vice president of the association's Great Rivers region. "It's a significant increase in a risk factor for the leading cause of death in the United States."

Overweight children are likely to become overweight adults, putting them at risk for heart disease, diabetes and other serious illnesses.
ADVERTISEMENT

Almost four out of every 10 Hamilton County third-graders - about 38 percent - are overweight, Meiners said.

To combat those expanding youthful waistlines, the American Heart Association and Cincinnati Public Schools announced a fitness initiative Wednesday to help elementary students shape up.

• Healthier kids: Are we doing enough?

Under the Partners for School Health initiative, 15 CPS schools have adopted a physical education initiative that measures students' fitness and helps them improve.

CPS already works with other agencies to teach healthy eating. Fitness was the missing piece.

Students at Rockdale Academy in Avondale demonstrated Wednesday the kinds of activities students will be tested on, including paced push-ups, curl-ups, abdominal lifts and running.

Ohio is the only state with no minimum requirement for physical education in schools.

A report released this month by the Trust for America's Health ranked Kentucky third nationally for overweight children and youth.

The report found that one out of every five Kentucky children and teens ages 10-17 is overweight. The state ranks seventh nationally for adult obesity, with 27.5 percent of adults weighing too much.

In May, a study from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center found that few pediatricians track patients' height-weight ratios, despite growing concerns that kids are too fat.

Through the Partners for School Health program, students' body mass index and body fat percentages will be measured. Twice a week, they'll meet with their gym teachers, and "Fitnessgrams" will be sent home to keep parents informed of their progress, said Marni Rhoads, who oversees the program.

EQUIPMENT AND OTHER COSTS

Under the program, CPS elementary schools will receive an initial $5,000 each to pay for fitness equipment, instructors or other related costs. For the second year, each school will receive $3,500. Schools also will receive a fitness curriculum that can be incorporated into existing gym programs.

After-school exercise programs, including yoga or line dancing, could be added with the money, she said.

This year, an initial group of 15 schools will kick off the program, Rhoads said, and the rest will join in the next two years.

The American Heart Association piloted the program in Cleveland, where it is in its third year, Meiners said.

Sixth-graders Mysia Walker and Arias Smith demonstrated a stretching exercise that's part of the program's fitness testing.

"It really works the muscles up here," Mysia said, pointing to her shoulders and upper arms.

"It feels like exercise," Arias added.

Funding cuts and time pressures make it difficult for many schools to incorporate fitness programs, Meiners said.

EARLY DIABETES

Candie Weber, Rockdale's PE teacher, said she didn't have a curriculum until the initiative provided one.

"We've already got kids in the school that have diabetes because they're overweight, plus most of them don't eat right," she said.

Adding physical activity will help improve students' academic achievement, she said, and help them focus more on traditional schoolwork.