For the last several weeks, Anna, 11, a fifth-grader in Hamilton, has been making better choices, her mother, Tamara Rowland said. Anna, referred by her doctor, enlisted in the YMCA’s Fun2BFit Youth Exercise Program, which held a grand opening Wednesday for its strength training center.
Since she was obese, Anna hesitated to socialize with other children, and she lacked healthy habits, her mother said. Then she was introduced to the program that combines exercise and education and teaches overweight children — and their families — to make healthier lifestyle choices.
“She likes coming,” Tamara Rowland said, “and that’s half the battle. She’s around kids like her and that makes a big difference. She has more confidence than before.”
Children in the program, a collaboration between Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and the Atrium YMCA, meet for an hour twice a week. There also are sessions on healthy eating for parents and children the first Wednesday of every month, and group education sessions for parents while their children exercise.
The program is geared for overweight children between the ages of 8 and 13. A child’s body mass index (BMI) must be in the 85th percentile or above for their age and gender.
Damon Knoche, wellness and sports director at the Y, said the BMI for children in Butler and Warren counties has risen dramatically recently. In 2003, the rate of obese children was about 27 percent, and in 2009, that number rose to more than 40 percent.
He called this “one of the worst areas” for childhood obesity in the state. “We need to reverse that trend,” he said.
So far, he said, 50 children have participated in the program and he called the early results “fabulous.” The key, he said, is convincing the children that excerise — especially when done in large groups — can he enjoyable and beneficial.
Dr. Bob Siegel, medical director for the Cincinnati Children’s Center for Better Health and Nutrition, called childhood obesity in the two local counties “a big problem.” He applauded the effort of the hospital and the Y for taking steps to reduce that rate.
Cost of the program is $20 a month. For information, call (513) 217-5501.
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