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Children's Hospital leads fitness program for preteens who need to get more active
By Cheryl Powell
Beacon Journal medical writer
Published on Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Staying fit and maintaining a healthy weight is kids' play.
At least that's the goal of a new community initiative called the Future Fitness Club that Akron Children's Hospital is offering for adolescents ages 8 through 13 at fitness centers throughout the region.
Participants meet for hourlong sessions three times a week at recreation centers near their home to get their hearts pumping and feet moving, all while having fun.
On a recent afternoon, 17 pre-teens divided into teams and raced to ''steal'' bean bags from inside their opponents' hula hoops at the Green YMCA, one of the first four centers in the region to offer the program.
The Shaw Jewish Community Center in Akron, LifeCenter Plus in Hudson and the Natatorium in Cuyahoga Falls also are participating in the program.
''Get those arms pumping!'' encouraged instructor Melissa Smith of Green while the children shuffled around the gym.
Later in the session, the kids paired up to demonstrate exercises for aerobics, flexibility and strength.
Friends Ashley Huffman, 12, and Alexis Miller, 11, sprawled across exercise balls to show how they do push-ups to build strength.
The girls from Manchester both lost weight during the first four weeks they participated in the program.
They're not alone: Of the 25 participants in the first session at
the Green YMCA during the winter months, 14 lost weight.
''I like how you exercise and it's fun,'' said Ashley, who shed 10 pounds during a month in the program.
''I like how you get more active,'' Alexis agreed.
Too often, children in the pre-teen age group are left out when it comes to exercise programs, said Dr. Troy Smurawa, a sports medicine physician at Children's and medical director of the initiative.
''The problem is these kids will not find a traditional, adult-model exercise program or weight-loss program fun, and, therefore, are less likely to continue participating in it,'' he said. ''The solution is to create a program that the children will enjoy and have fun.''
The Green YMCA had been looking for activities that would appeal to pre-teens as part of the national YMCA's ''Activate America'' initiative to get people moving at least 30 minutes each day, Executive Director Lori Lautenschlager said.
''We needed something to do for this age group,'' she said. ''We really want to get kids moving. You just need to get them off the couch.''
Kim Knight, a mother of six from Canal Fulton, enrolled two of her less-active children in the Future Fitness Club.
She said her sons Luke, 11, and Matt, 9, don't like the competition that comes along with organized sports.
''The two just don't get into sports and things that the other ones do,'' she said. ''I just wanted to get them moving.''
Affordable, accessible
The program initially was developed to help children who are overweight or at risk for becoming overweight, Smurawa said.
Experts say childhood obesity is reaching epidemic proportion, with an estimated 19 percent of Americans younger than 18 now considered overweight.
Through Future Fitness Club, Children's now is trying to make medically supervised fitness programs affordable and accessible for all children throughout the region, whether they need to lose weight or simply get active.
The staff at Children's develops the curriculum and trains instructors at the facilities, Smurawa said.
Participants are not required to join the fitness centers that are offering the clubs, but organizers would be pleased if that happens.
''That's what we would like — once they get in and see all the equipment and get attracted to it, they want to join,'' said Lindsay Mock, a youth fitness specialist for Children's.
The program costs $15 per month. The price is kept low through grants from the Kohl's Corp., which so far has contributed more than $423,000 toward the initiative.
Children's has been offering weight-management and fitness programs for at least 15 years on its hospital campus.
But the hospital-based programs are expensive — usually at least $500 per year — and often not as convenient, said Cindy Bennett, a nurse practitioner and athletic trainer in the sports medicine center at Akron Children's Hospital.
Ultimately, the hospital wants fitness and community centers throughout Northeast Ohio to offer the program.
''It belongs in the community,'' Bennett said. '' . . . We have to make this program something that you want to be in. It has to be the coolest thing for kids. We're competing with a lot of different things, a lot of them sedentary, so we really need to compete on a level that makes them want to be active.''
Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3902 or chpowell@thebeaconjournal.com.
Staying fit and maintaining a healthy weight is kids' play.
Get the full article here.
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