Try these on for size (according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention):
- ?Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past three decades;
- ?The percentage of children ages 6-11 who are obese was 1 in 5 in 2008; it was 1 n 14 in 1980;
- ?Children ages 12-19 who are considered obese increased from 5% in 1980 to 18% in 2008.
We talked to a variety of clubs ? as far as location, community?s size and economic situation and size and number of employees at the club. No matter where the club stood in those categories it was doing everything it could to fight this fight.
The Arena Club, Bel Air, Md.
The Arena Club in Bel Air, Md., is fortunate to have more space than is knows what to do with it. Well, of course that isn?t true.?
With an 80,000-square-foot facility, including an indoor Astro-turf field and indoor pool as well as outdoor family, children?s, lap and saltwater pools,? and the suburban Baltimore location has the space to offer a variety of programming.?
Mike Edge is the athletic director at The Arena Club. He is a former physical education teacher so he knows what kids need. After he and owner Kathy Rawlings attended a child obesity summit 1 ? years ago they realized what they were already doing to combat childhood obesity was on point, but knew they could do more.?
?We felt good already because we were already doing something about (childhood obesity),? Edge said. ?We were already committed to doing some of the things the summit talked about.?
Ifit is the logical start for children at The Arena Club. The twice-a-week class ? 30 minutes with a nutritionist and 30 minutes with a personal trainer ? educates the kids on how to work out and what he or she should be eating. They even take their parents to a grocery store to show them how to shop with nutrition in mind.
The most popular for the kids is Dodgeball and Flag Football. Edge says often they see 100 kids on Friday nights at the club.?
?The schools aren?t doing (games like Dodgeball and Flag Football) and after-school programs aren?t doing it either. They feel there is a negative stigma of game where there is elimination and (they feel) it creates low self-esteem,? said Edge, who also offers soccer and cheerleading . ?(But) the kids want to play. They?re upset when the game is over. You know that is good thing.??
Other programs geared toward fighting childhood obesity include Zumbatronic, a Zumba class for kids once a week, and Just For Kids, a group cross-training set up like a gym class to make it fun and entertaining.
The Arena Club is also on the board of Healthy Hartford (the county Bel Air is in). It hosts blood drives, health fairs and field trips to the club. It travels to school to put on demonstrations.
?I?ve seen changes (in kids), but? I just think we have long battle ahead,? Edge said.
Sky Fitness & Wellbeing, Tulsa, Okla.
Sky Fitness & Wellbeing in Tulsa, Okla., has recognized that participation and availability of staff and space is vastly different while school is in and summer vacation. So its attack is split between those to time periods, however many of the programs are offered at both.
The Kids Fit school year program has the child see a trainer three times a week and then they are put through a fitness class, usually introducing them to something new like yoga or a group fitness class. They also can take part in Sky Kids where they play interactive games on Wii and Xbox Kinnect. Gaining popularity is a running club where trainers show the kids the correct way to run. They then have the option to run with their parents.?
Kids Fit during the summer pairs the children with their parents. They see a trainer once a week and also learn how to eat healthy and make snacks together.
?I?ve been at Sky for three years and Kids Fit, since Day 1, is absolutely one of the most popular programs for parents,? said Travis Wood, vice president of Operations.?
Sky?s commitment to fighting childhood obesity is not limited to within the walls of its facility. Faculty take part in schools and community events as part of Tulsa?s Fitness Loves program where they educate and demonstrate. Wood said one trip had more than 1,000 kids participating.
?(Fitness Love) is great publicity for us but it is also a great opportunity to introduce kids to more than phys ed. It is something they can have for the rest of their life,? Wood said.?
Wood said the entire stsff gets a great sense of satisfaction and gratification when it sees a child try a piece of equipment for the first time or has bettered their lifestyle with execrcise and healthy eating. However he knows his club has to continually work at it, too.
?I think this is one thing that may never be solved,? said Wood. ?It?s an ongoing issue that we have to address every year.?
Elmwood Fitness Center, Harahan, La.
If you are faced with a big problem then big answers are often required.
It is no secret that childhood obesity is most prevalent in the southeastern United States. Recognized the enormity of the problem, Elmwood Fitness Center in Harahan, La., got on board early.
In 2000 it bought a line of kids fitness equipment by Pro Maxima, which included 11 pieces and five spinning bikes. Over the next 12 years they have added more pieces as well as a rock climbing wall.
In 2002 it introduced its now widely popular I Can Do It program.
Level 1, for kids ages 7-16, it is four 12-week sessions, a year. This includes fitness classes and nutrition workshops which includes cooking demonstrations for both them and their parents.
Level 2 works on core training and cardio, including running, while Level 3 sees the kids maintain what they learned in Levels 1-2 and adds lap swimming and Military Training. There is a Level 4: Family I Can Do It. Family members who are overweight work together.
Elmwood Fitness Center even hosts fundraising events in order to raise money for scholarships for the program for low-income families.?
The mental part (of being overweight) is as important as the physical part,? said Michael Heim, Youth Fitness director. ?There are a lot of testimonials of how a child opened up in the? classroom after losing wieight and becoming fit.?
He said that those kids? friends have even called the club about taking part in the program.
If that word of mouth isn?t enough then the club?s mobile unit certainly will be. Five years ago Heim came up with the idea to travel to area schools about the weight loss program, what personal trainers can do, fitness classes and even can show them as there is equipment on the truck. He said he saw 6,000 students last year and now is on pace to talk to 7,200 for 2012. And that doesn?t include the many school field trip to the gym.
Probably the most intense is the 60-60 program . With a doctor?s recommendation an obese child comes to the gym for 60 straight days where he or she learns weight training, strength training and cardio, for $60. They can also attend I Can Do It lectures.?
To fill up the summer hours Elmwood last year instituted youth fitness camps for 10-14 year olds. Here they are educated on what the health fitness industry offers, as well as classes in yoga, Zumba, cardio, kick boxing, swimming, etc.
?We like to think we are on the forefront, as far as childhood obesity, on the state level,? Heim said.?
?We are all here to do same thing, though, to help the community. I know that others have programs in place as well.?
Wheaton Sports Center, Wheaton, Ill.
One club took to heart a discussion at an IHRSA event round table back to its Illinois location.
Wheaton Sports Center in Wheton, Ill., re-thought how most clubs don?t allow youth under 16 years old to work out. The club decided a youth certification program will get the kids to the facility and thus help fight the epidemic of childhood obesity.
The three-step process begins with a meeting with a trainer who shows them how to use equipment for their size. The youths then work with their parents for two weeks and come back to be tested on what they learned. A passing score gives them the certification and as long as they are within sight of their parents and they wear their youth badge around their neck they are good to go.?
?Kids (often) can?t wait (to be certified),? said Jim Hughes, Fitness director, who said kids can work out on their own when they turn 14. ?The program is very popular beause we are very family oriented. Parents want them up here (with them).?
He noted that it is not out of the ordinary to see youths at the gym at 5 a.m. with their parents. He said that might just be the mindset of the Chicago suburb that has schools with fit clubs and run clubs. On school-sponsored 5K saw 225 kids training once a week before school.
Hughes is currently looking to create space so he can incorporate more programs for his club?s youth population.?
?We have a very active community, but every area is hit with obesity,? Hughes said
Parisi Speed School at Omni 41, Schereville, Ind.
When one thinks of the Parisi Speed Schools the image of? professional, college or top high school athletes comes to mind.?
?Kids need to get in shape and parents want them to be active,? said Julie Ladewski, Program director. There are basic movements they need to be doing on a regular basis, like pushups, pullups and squats, like we did in gym class when we were kids.??
The program makes sure to incorporate fun activities, like obstacle course and relay races to keep the kids? minds off the fact they are getting in shape.?
For the 7-10-year-old age group the one-hour session is split in three. The program is about the kids learning about body movement, manipulating their weight and getting used to moving around. Ladewski compared it to gymnastics and tumbling, with crab walks and crawling.?
The first 10-15 minutes has them doing jumping jacks., squats and lunge ? ?basic coordination that they might not understand at that age.? They even delve into running mechanics in order to know the proper way to move.
Then, for about 20 minutes, the kids move to agility ladders, footwork, medicine ball tosses, mini hurdles and stations like that. Usually every day is a diff focus.?
The final 15-20 minutes incorporates what they did during day into relay race or obstacle course.?
Kids can get a monthly pass and attend as many classes as the like. The gym offers sessions five days a week. Ladewski said the average is 2-3 times a week.?
When kids hit 11-18 years old the sessions are generally the same but the intensity level is raised a notch.?
?In the last couple years our program has grown a lot,? Ladewski said. ?The more the media puts it out there that (childhood obesity) is an issue and the more doctors and pediatricians crack down, parents are starting to see a need for it.?
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Aerofit Health and Fitness, Bryan, Texas
Recently Aerofit Health and Fitness in Byran, Texas, re-invented its childcare services. It felt not only starting kids early on being active and fit is important but it also helps them gain the trust of the parents who are working out in the club.?
The new are now has room for children exercise equipment, Kinnect active video games and a horizontal climbing wall.
?Kids think they are playing but, really, they are exercising,? said Kathy Langlotz, Aerofit manager. ?We feel it is important to surround them with an environment where they can be active for part of the day.??
And the thinking by kids carries over to the gym, too.?
?One day I saw a little boy on a beanbag chair, doing nothing, Then a little girl got on a bicycle and he got up and said he was fixin? to use that,?Langlotz explained.
?It?s like you always see with kids, they want what the others have.??
The club also offers summer camps that are not as much sports focused but also fitness oriented. They spend at least one hour of the day with a trainer or another employee of the club to learn about equipment, training, etc.?
A rule regarding purchased personal training time has benefitted those who can?t afford some of the programs. Those who buy the personal training time have one year to use it. The time not used is ?banked? and that is granted to someone who needs it.
?We feel we should do whatever we can in our community in regards to childhood obesity,? Langlotz said.
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