Education Law

United States of Healthy

Thanks to an article we found in The Washington Post, BoardBuzz was happy to hear more about how some students and families are getting educated about childhood obesity.

This past weekend, the American Heart Association, sponsored an event called Recess by the River for eight to 14-year-olds in D.C and their parents to learn about fighting obesity.

According to the article, last year the Trust for America organization released a study showing that the District has the highest childhood obesity rate in the country. So, this weekend children were invited out to the Fort Davis recreation center, and divided into groups to begin their journey through the United States of Healthy, which consisted of nine activity stations to make learning about obesity more enjoyable.

Children earned heart-shaped passport stickers for each event they participated in, which included dance, aerobics, kickboxing and special lessons from the D.C. Divas professional football team and the Washington Redskins cheerleaders.

It seems like the event was a success, and parents and children also had access to health screenings and nutrition information. After a day of fun exercising, events organizers (and BoardBuzz!) hope that children will be inspired to keep active and start getting fit. For more information on childhood obesity, be sure to check out these tips from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Full post as published by BoardBuzz: NSBA's Daily Weblog on October 02, 2008 (boomark / email).