Healthy Kids Day
When: 9 a.m. to noon April 28
What: Free activities at all YMCAs
Where: Middletown Area Family YMCA, 1020 Manchester Ave.; Atrium Family YMCA, 5750 Innovation Drive, Franklin; Hamilton Central YMCA, 105 N. Second St.; East Butler County Family YMCA, 6645 Morris Road, Hamilton; Fairfield Family YMCA, 5220 Bibury Road, Fairfield; Don W. and Nannie V. Fitton Family YMCA, 1307 NW Washington Blvd., Hamilton
The area YMCAs are hoping to get a head start on steering youth toward an active summer.
On April 28, the six area Ys — in collaboration with all national centers — will host Healthy Kids Day to demonstrate the wide range of physical activities offered there.
Angela Howard, executive director of the Middletown Area Family YMCA, said the program may be the first step in reducing childhood obesity.
YMCAs in Butler County will offer free activities to children on this day.
One of every three children in America is considered overweight or obese, and childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Obese children are more likely to have high blood pressure, elevated levels of lipids (fats) in the blood and an increased potential for obesity-related diseases that include type-2 diabetes, asthma, hypertension, high cholesterol, liver and gall bladder disease, bone and joint problems, and sleep apnea.
It is also linked to a range of social and psychological issues including poor self-esteem, depression, withdrawal and poor peer relationships.
Research estimates that American kids are spending 25 percent of their day watching television, and that those who log the most TV hours have the highest rate of obesity.
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2842 or rmccrabb@coxohio .com.
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