Fall Family Fitness Festival

On October 27,2007 take part in the Fall Family Fitness Challenge. The Fall Family Fitness Challenge will bring students between the ages of 5 - 18 and their families together in an outdoor event to promote team building and establish mentoring relationships. This is an outreach effort to bring community awareness and education of the devastationg effect of childhood obesity. The scary fact is that more than 75 percent of US children are not active for even 20 minutes a day, and the number of overweight and obese children has more than doubled over the past two decades. This means that more children and teen are at risk for such serious conditions as diabetes and premature heart disease. Each student that enrolls in the Fall Family Fitness Challenge will be paired with a mentor to help encourage the person to become physically active and fit for 10 days. By engaging in regular physical activity for 2 weeks each day, participants can earn an award patch. There are no fitness requirements or tests. Adults must complete at least 30 minutes a day of physical activity five days a week, and children, 60 minutes. The award is for any kind of movement, such as walking, sweeping the floor, taking the stairs instead of elevators, using a pedometer to accumulate steps or active play. Adults are encouraged to earn the award with their children and teens to engage family fitness. Youth will also be asked to keep a journal to record their journey over the two weeks and share as reflection during our celebration ceremony. The interaction of youth and adults in this project will ultimately connect families into a vibrant and caring community.