United Way of Passaic County promotes childhood nutrition with its Healthy Living Olympics How can I get my kids to eat healthy snacks? What are some ideas for getting kids off the couch and moving, even if we live in a small apartment? How can I have fun with my pre-schooler without spending a lot of money? These questions and more were answered at the Healthy Living Olympics, a fun, educational event held at Children’s Day Nursery and Family Center and sponsored by United Way of Passaic County and the Kraft Employee Fund of NJ. The fitness workshop was aimed at providing families at the Children’s Center in Passaic with creative, practical ways to stay healthy. The Healthy Living Olympics is part of Nutrition Matters, a community initiative started by United Way of Passaic County to help Passaic County children live healthier lives through nutrition education and fitness. Nutrition Matters was developed out of a concern for the growing trend of obesity and poor nutrition among children. A new government study shows that a third of U.S. children are overweight or are about to become so (USA Today, April 5, 2006). According to the Centers for Disease Control, the percentage of children between ages 6 and 11 who are overweight doubled between 1976 and 2002. Lead researcher Cynthia L. Ogden, an epidemiologist at the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland, says eating habits and physical activity patterns are set in childhood. In addition, Connect for Kids (www.connectforkids.org) reports that many health and nutrition experts believe that today’s children may actually have a shorter life expectancy than their parents the first generation in our country’s history to have shorter longevity than their parents. Maureen Peterson, director of the Children’s Day Nursery, was delighted to partner with UWPC for the workshop. “The Healthy Living Olympics is a fun, effective way to promote healthy living. This hands-on program got the parents and children actively involved. The families played games, took part in group activities, and received prizes for their nutrition knowledge and workshop achievements.” Not only are the group activities fun, they are one of the most effective ways to teach. According to Maureen, the more the families participated in the events, the more they learned. “Actively engaging the parents and children greatly increased their enthusiasm for learning.” The workshop, which was held on March 9, engaged parents and children in physical activities led by Diane Ceccacci, facilitator of the Fitness Is Fun portion of the workshop. The children also played Food Bingo, made collages of healthy foods, and took part in relay races; the parents learned how to put together healthy meals and snacks and enjoyed a friendly game of Nutrition Trivia. “Many of the families at the workshop live in apartments,” said Diane, a physical education teacher and competitive runner, “so I focused on activities they could enjoy in small spaces and outside. In addition, I showed them how to make their own exercise equipment out of household items so they wouldn’t have to spend any money.” Diane showed the group how to make fitness bands from bike tubes and “scoopers” from water jugs for an invigorating game of toss. Maureen Peterson was impressed by how much creativity can influence fitness. “It was very important to show the families how to stay active with limited resources. My favorite part of the workshop was seeing how inexpensively you can create items to help you stay fit.” Although creativity is important, Diane stressed that people often overlook a key component to staying fit: simplicity. “We forget how simple it can be! And staying healthy isn’t expensive it doesn’t cost anything to move.” In the spirit of simplicity and fun, Diane offered a list of inexpensive outdoor activities parents can enjoy with their children this spring: ¤ Fly a kite ¤ Race in a grassy area ¤ Kick a ball ¤ Roll down a hill ¤ Jump over cracks in the sidewalk ¤ Jump on every tree stump you can find ¤ Play tree tag run and touch every tree you see, then give it a big hug If you can’t go outside, dance inside. “One of the most popular parts of the workshop for parents and children alike was the music and dancing segment,” noted Diane. “We laughed, danced, and moved like crazy it’s fun and aerobic.” The Healthy Living Olympics was so successful that the Children’s Day Nursery wants to run the program again in May. “United Way of Passaic County’s commitment to keeping kids healthy is inspiring,” said Maureen. “We’re happy to join the effort in promoting healthy lifestyles for Passaic county children.” To learn more about United Way’s efforts for children, visit www.unitedwaypassaic.org.