Empowering Healthy Kids Blog

Interesting, and, in my opinion, this trend will only continue to grow:

Last year, 1.3 million children ages 6 to 11 were members of a health club, according to the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association. And as of April, a quarter of IHRSA member clubs surveyed had children’s programs.

I just stumbled across Bulldog Interactive Fitness from Canada. It is a franchise operation that was started by a husband and wife team (Holly and James Bond). I think that we will continue to see more of these centres spring up around the world.

On a side note, I also noticed that Canadians get a tax rebate for enrolling their kids into fitness programs:

Children’s Fitness Tax Credit (Canada)
Budget 2006 introduced a federal tax credit to promote physical activity among children. Effective January 1, 2007, parents of young people under the age of 16 who register their children in programs that promote physical activity can claim a federal tax credit for up to $500 per year per child on registration fees and memberships.

I hope this helps:

The N.C. Division of Public Health announced yesterday that 14 community grants focusing on obesity have been awarded to county health departments across the state, including two in Northwest North Carolina.

Grants of $380,000 from the Childhood Obesity Prevention Project went to the Appalachian District Health Department for work focusing on Watauga County, as well as to the Cabarrus, Dare, Henderson and Moore county health departments.

Each group will run a comprehensive public-awareness campaign in conjunction with county bicycle and pedestrian plans, as well as programs in preschools and child-care centers, pediatrics practices, YMCAs, hospitals, schools and the faith community.

The division awarded an additional $150,000 in grants to nine other health departments and health districts in support of the Eat Smart, Move More North Carolina movement. They are Davidson, Buncombe, Carteret, Chatham, Durham, Granville/Vance, Lee, Wake and Warren counties.

The financed projects will build upon existing effective programs or will try new approaches to increasing healthy behaviors. The proposals ranged from workplace wellness programs to building parks and walking trails.

While public awareness campaigns are a positive thing, as with all marketing (which is effectively what awareness campaigns are), the results need to be measured to ensure citizens is getting a good return on tax payer dollars.

YMCA launch a new programme, “Healthy U” aimed at increasing the health and wellbeing of children in New Jersey:

A new initiative by the Horizon Foundation for New Jersey will use fun exercises and promotion of healthy eating habits to reduce obesity in 18,000 school-age children through YMCAs statewide, foundation officials announced today.
The Healthy U program, as the initiative is being called, is being funded by a $1 million foundation grant. The goal is to reduce obesity rates in children enrolled in YMCA after school programs by up to 10 percent by the year 2011. Using a curriculum developed by researchers at the University of Texas, Healthy U will be rolled out at 359 YMCA sites across New Jersey starting early next month. It will be open to children between the ages of 5 and 12 and will also have a strong parental component.

Healthy U is based on the Coordinated Approach to Child Health (CATCH) curriculum, a national, award winning program with over 15 years of proven research documenting its success in reducing childhood obesity.

The program, which also provides specialized training to YMCA staff, has three major components — physical education, proper nutrition and parental involvement.

Sandy Hopkins from Delaware Trail Elementary uses video games to promote physical activity:

Today, thanks to a grant from an educational foundation at her school that supports innovative teaching ideas in the classroom, Hopkins’ students play their way to physical fitness with “Dance, Dance, Revolution” and “EyeToy” for Sony’s PlayStation 2.

Hopkins operates the games as a station, with 3-4 screens and dance mats. Six students typically use the station at one time, and those who are waiting to play use practice dance mats she has created out of carpets and tape. Jump ropes or stationary bikes are sometimes provided at the station as well. Every student is expected to remain active during the entire period.

I believe that novel ideas using technology will increase across schools as teachers try to find new ways to motivate and engage with kids. I have talked with a number of teachers and one constant struggle (other than budgets) is coming up with new creative ideas to teach and inspire kids to learn - thus the number of individual teacher-led innovations will continue to grow.