The Boston Health Expo

On June 28th Lizzie and I introduced 20 colorful hoops to the Boston Health Expo.  For 1 hour kids of all ages (there were some great moms and dads out there) took a break from the rows of tables and taste tests and got their groove on.  The stage was packed and the crowd went wild for hoops.  

Want to make your own?  There are many websites out there that will show you how.  Just google "make your own hula hoop"!

The Sacred Heart Festival

On June 27th I spent the evening at the Sacred Heart Festival in East Boston.  Young and old enjoyed coming to our booth to learn about our organization and the work we're doing in East Boston.  They guessed how much sugar there is in a 20 oz. ginger ale and tried out the large, colorful hoop; the young man shown on the left proved he could hoop and skateboard at the same time!  

The best part of the night for me, though, was when a woman came up to talk to me before the festival had really started.  She looked over our scorecards and I talked about our mission and she said, "I really wish you had been in my daughter's school when she was younger."  She explained that her daughter is now in middle school and is severely overweight.  I discussed ways her family could tackle the problems of not enough time to shop for and prepare meals and of working with a small budget while providing healthy food and opportunities for exercise.  It's a hard battle that requires concentrated effort and I only wish we had been in her school.  I wish that her school had provided physical education, health education, and programs like ours so that she would have no battle to fight.

It is her wish - that we had been in her daughter's school - that motivates and inspires us to do what we do.  

Three Wonderful Days at O'Donnell Elementary!

Kim and I just spent three wonderful days getting the Summer 2009 Drive 2 Fitness off to a good start at O'Donnell elementary in East Boston.  

We spent the first day giving a class to each grade level (2 through 4) on the importance of the 5 daily health behaviors (getting 9-11 hours of sleep, eating 5-9 fruits and vegetables, not drinking sugar added beverages, watching less than 1 hour of TV, and being physically active for at least 1 hour.)  The students' mouths dropped as we showed that there are 18 1/2 teaspoons of sugar in a 20 oz. bottle of ginger ale, they giggled as Kim got them up and moving around with a human version of "Bop It," and they came up with some pretty great alternatives to watching TV - including going to the park, playing with a pet, eating a fruit salad, and going rollerblading.

The second day was even better.  On Tuesday we spent the day in the computer lab getting kids signed up on the website and showing them how they could track their behaviors online throughout the summer.  They loved how they could click on "My Role Models" and check to see if their classroom teacher, their computer teacher, or even their principal was eating his or her fruits and vegetables!  What was great about the second day was that while we were helping the students create accounts we were able to chat with them to explain further what counts as "1 vegetable," why drinking lots of sugar isn't very good for you, etc. and in doing so we heard comments like these:

A third grade girl told us: "I told my mom about the program and she really liked it and so we took an hour and a half walk yesterday."

A second grade boy told us: "I told my mom about the program so she gave me an extra veggie at dinner."  A second boy chimed in that his mom added vegetables to some of his favorite foods without him knowing but he didn't mind at all. 

On Wednesday I went to the parent council meeting to talk to O'Donnell parents about the program's goals and how it works in English and Spanish.  One mother spoke up that she remembered our program from the previous year and that her son had really enjoyed it.

It was a great three days at O'Donnell!  I was so impressed by the staff's dedication, the students' eagerness to learn and participate, and the parents' clear involvement in their children's education.

The summer is off to a great start!

Welcome to the Boston Drive 2 Fitness Blog!

Fitness Forward is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to lead youth to live well.  Integrating scientifically grounded evidence, web-based technologies, and targeted social marketing, we aim to reverse the dangerous rise in childhood obesity, diabetes, and mental illness.  We envision a day when all children, regardless of background or circumstance, will grow up with the knowledge, motivation, and tools to live healthier, happier lives.

Here at Fitness Forward we've been trying to think of ways to share our stories and we have come up with this online journal of sorts.  We plan to use this space to share what we are doing both nationally and here in Boston where we have our headquarters.  

I'd like to take a moment to introduce our Drive 2 Fitness program.

The Drive 2 Fitness program educates and rewards fitness and health among youth.  Although primarily for children, teachers and parents affiliated with elementary and middle schools, the program can be used in any setting to motivate fun and healthy living by community members.

The Drive 2 Fitness promotes that participants aspire to these actions on a daily basis:

• Engaging in 1 hour or more of physical activity per day
• Limiting daily TV/video game viewing to 1 hour or less
• Getting a full night’s rest-- at least 9 hours of sleep in a night for youth, and at least 7 for adults
• Not drinking beverages with additional sugar added; (rather, go for water, 1% or less reduced fat milk and occasional low natural sugar 100% fruit drinks instead)
• Eating 5-9 fruits and vegetables each day
  

Research indicates that adoption of these behaviors leads to decreased risk for obesity and disease in the present and future, increased academic achievement, and improved self -esteem.

How it works:

Children can either be registered by participating schools or by parents. If a child is already enrolled, parents can link up with their child’s account upon registration.  Currently, only participating regions offer rewards through school-based programs. However, now matter where you’re located, you can still use the system, and reward yourself or your children in healthy ways for earning D2F points.  Children earn 1 D2F point for each behavior completed each day.  Points are earned on a daily basis and verified by a parent's or teacher's signature.  We recommend tracking points each day when you log in to your account. Alternatively, children may log their points themselves, and parents can verify them at different intervals. Scorecards can also be printed to allow tracking on paper, before transferring the information to you d2f.org account.  Parents, teachers, school administrators and other mentors are encouraged to track their daily D2F Points, to act as good role models for the children.

For more information check out our websites:

www.fitnessforward.org

www.drive2fitness.org

My name is Ann Church and I'm the Boston Program Coordinator here at Fitness Forward.  This summer I'll be heading up our programming here in Boston with the help of my wonderful intern, Kim Kirshon.  We'll be starting with a pilot at O'Donnell elementary to see if we can keep kids interested through the summer when school is not in session and then working with area summer programs until we kick-off at 10-15 elementary schools next fall.