 University of Wisconsin men's hockey team captain Adam Burish tells Madison's Glendale Elementary School students to choose playing outside and moving around instead of sitting around and watching TV this summer, as part of "Shape Up Wisconsin Kids" events across the state. Photo gallery
The Fit Kids Challenge is under way across the state as students in participating K-12 schools run, dance, jump and swim their way to healthier habits that will last a lifetime.
The challenge kicked off May 3 with "Shape Up Wisconsin Kids," an annual event that promotes regular, lifelong physical activity. Participating schools welcomed celebrity guests and encouraged students to participate in at least 30 continuous minutes of aerobic activity. Bucky Badger, Ronald McDonald and members of the University of Wisconsin National Champion men's hockey team visited students at Glendale Elementary School in Madison. "When it's a nice day outside, don't sit around and watch TV or play video games," University of Wisconsin hockey team captain Adam Burish told students. "Go outside and play – have fun!" Glendale students danced in the gym with Ronald and Bucky, and then went outside to skip rope and participate in field drills with balloons. The Fit Kids Challenge ends September 10 when all participants are invited to a free party with food and games at the Monona Terrace Convention Center in Madison, and a fun run around the Capitol, which finishes on the Ironman finish line. About 500 schools participate in Shape Up Wisconsin Kids each year, and are eligible to win cash prizes. Last year, Westfield Middle School, Hilbert Elementary School and Heritage Elementary School in Waunakee won $5,000, $3,000 and $1,000 respectively for physical education and playground equipment. This year, 12 schools will win cash prizes. Winners will be announced Monday, May 7. Fit Kids Challenge participants receive a pre-printed form in the shape of a running track, which is divided into 100 squares, to keep track of their workouts, using the honor system. Each square represents one hour of physical activity. The bronze level is 50 hours, silver is 75 and the gold level is 100 hours. To achieve the gold level, a student would need to complete about six hours of physical activity each week of the 16-week challenge. The Wisconsin Sports Development Corporation started Shape Up Wisconsin Kids and Fit Kids Challenge to help fight childhood obesity. Over the past 30 years, the rate of obesity in the United States has more than doubled for preschoolers and adolescents, and it has more than tripled for children age 6 to 11. Obesity contributes to health problems such as diabetes and heart disease, and health officials speculate that obesity may soon top smoking as the nation's most preventable cause of death. "The bottom line is kids are taking in more calories than they are expending," said Nicole Mueller of WSDC. "Whatever the reason for the increase, we need to get our kids moving." Registration for Fit Kids Challenge is free and ends July 31. Register online at www.shapeupwisconsinkids.com or print the form and fax it to (608) 226-9550. For more information, contact the WSDC at (608) 226-4780, extention.231, or nvesely@SportsInWisconsin.com. Posted May 3, 2006 |