By Rachel M. CollinsDecember 04, 2008
Playing with Frisbees, jump ropes, basketballs and hula hoops, New Hampshire students — like those in St. Mary Academy's third- and fourth-grades — are discovering how easy it is to get exercise.
"The kids had a chance to see that they don't need a lot of expensive equipment to get exercise," said Linda Leonard, a teacher at St. Mary Academy in Dover. "It was just a really fun day for us."
That's because as part of New Hampshire Public Television's LiveFIT NH's community engagement project, the station is hosting school workshops, like the one at St. Mary Academy, that promote a healthier lifestyle.
"They brought in a lot of equipment that the kids might already have at home, then they played with it," Leonard said. "The children absolutely loved it."
Not only did the young students talk for days about what they had learned, Leonard said they also told of teaching their siblings what they had discovered and they took many of the games out to recess in the subsequent days.
"Here was something they could do without being part of a team or without a lot of practice," she said. "They learned a lot of things they could do just for fun."
Certainly the push of NHPTV's LiveFIT initiative begun in 2006 is to help keep the state's residents fit.
After all, the N.H. Child Advocacy Network has estimated that 22 percent of boys and 17 percent of girls in the Granite State are overweight.
Therefore, through television segments, educational and outreach activities and online resources, LiveFIT NH has been encouraging healthy eating and physical activity in an effort to curb obesity and promote a healthier lifestyle.
"It is a long-term challenge," said Heather Mason Herod, educational program coordinator at NHPTV. "We are averaging 2,500 to 3,000 unique visitors a month on our Web site so that's really terrific."
Those who have taken advantage of the NHPTV's offerings agree.
"Each child received a challenge or pledge card and we are encouraging them to do these activities with their families outside of the school environment," Leonard said. "We want them to know that just getting up and doing something can be fun."
After all, LiveFIT NH is focused on doing what it can to increase awareness of, and help reduce the incidence of, childhood obesity, which has become an epidemic in the United States.
Health experts say that obesity causes serious health complications, shortens lifespans and strains the nation's health-care system.
With its partner organizations statewide, NHPTV's approach, therefore, is comprehensive.
In addition to the workshops and online resources, the station is demonstrating through television segments ways that individuals, families, schools and communities can combat obesity trends.
A 16-part series airing since 2006 on N.H. Outlook, NHPTV's award-winning public affairs program, has addressed everything from mindless eating and aging and exercise to heart disease and stroke prevention. And these segments can be viewed online anytime at www.nhptv.org/outlook/live-fit-nh/.
In addition, NHPTV offers the LiveFIT NH Challenge, which promotes six actions and activities known to improve health — such as exercising moderately or vigorously 30 minutes a day and eating plenty of fresh vegetables.
To promote the challenges, NHPTV even offers on-air "Fit Tip" health breaks.
Another part of the LiveFIT NH Challenge is the Family Health Nights.
Presented around the state by NHPTV's Ready to Learn staff, these nights offer fun activities, resources and theme-related children's books, as well as workshops on nutrition, exercise and healthy family lifestyles for parents, educators and caregivers.
"Kindergarten-age children are not going to be preparing their own meals," said Lynn Zuccarelli Austin, who oversees the LiveFIT NH project. "These family-focused events show the adults that their choices do impact a child's health and well-being."
Topics often include choosing healthy snacks and school lunches.
"We ask them, 'When you have down time, is it sitting at a computer or are you going outside to run around for half an hour?'" Austin said. "'When you reach for a snack do you reach for an orange or an apple or do you reach for a shake and some cookies?'"
Then there is the Web site — which offers information about the project, the LiveFIT NH Challenge and special events, as well as links to state and national resources and partner organizations.
And the good news is that the LiveFIT NH project, which had been due to end in January, now will be continued for another two-year cycle thanks to the project partners and an initial $25,000 grant, Austin said.
That's good news for teachers like Leonard, who already has talked with Herod about doing another workshop with the students next year.
"The whole idea is to let the children know that they don't need to be part of an organized team or a big group to have fun and to exercise," she said. "There are things you can do in the back yard with just one or two friends."
And, whether they know it or not, they'll still be exercising.
Think you or your group should be profiled in Get off the Couch? Contact Rachel Collins at Rcollinsme@aol.com. GO & DO: Visit the LiveFIT NH Web site at www.nhptv.org/livefitnh/ to learn more about the workshops, television segments and challenges.
