TARGETING THE OBESITY RATE WITHIN OUR

CHILDREN

What things can we do?

Erica DiAngelo

What is currently taking place

There are many facilities that have areas where children can engage in different sports/activities while waiting for their parents to get done their exercise routine

I feel its more or less a babysitting service

There aren’t any real professionals providing these children with information on how or why exercising is just as important for them to be doing

So getting back to what we can do

Give kids a gym of their own to call home !!!

Not your average place

I’m not talking about what we currently have as in sports open play; or a gym their used to gone to for birthday parties or play dates

I am talking about an actual real gym with equipment they can exercise on for a certain period of time, a couple times a week just like we do as adults

This is a way we can be sure children are getting the proper amount of physical activity per week set by the guidelines

It can also be a way to overcome the obesity rate and have children feel comfortable

This is what our children are required to be doing

Youth Physical Activity GuidelinesChildren and adolescents should have 60 minutes (1 hour) or more of physical activity daily.

Aerobic: Most of the 60 or more minutes a day should be either moderate- or vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity and should include vigorous-intensity physical activity at least 3 days a week.Muscle-strengthening: As part of their 60 or more minutes of daily physical activity, children and adolescents should include muscle-strengthening physical activity on at least 3 days of the week.Bone-strengthening: As part of their 60 or more minutes of daily physical activity, children and adolescents should include bone-strengthening physical activity on at least 3 days of the week.

It is important to encourage young people to participate in physical activities that are appropriate for their age, that are enjoyable, and that offer variety.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2008.

We must keep it fun so you are probably thinking how can we do that?

This is what we need About 7 different machines to stand as

the basis of our facility

Kids Rowing Machine Kids Happy Rider Kids Weight Bench Kids Air Walk

Kids treadmill

Kids Exercise Bike

Kids Twister Machine

Other things we need

Educational devices that are software equipped with fun interactive games/applications they can use to learn about the benefits of exercising and the proper foods they should be eating

Let’s look at the Ipod touch for an option

Most children already know how to use them

They come with an endless amount of “FREE” educational games for children

You can also video record them in their workouts so they can watch themselves after their done

For obesity this is a great option because it can show their progression and it would be a great reward

Best of all music can be put on them for the children to listen to during their exercise routine

The cost of these things

Beings that we already have a facility; that won’t cost us anything

Each exercise machine is priced at $109.00 and below. If we purchase all 7 of them it puts us around $763.00

Each Ipod is priced at $188.00 on amazon.com. If we purchase 7 of them as well it will be about $1,316.00

In total we will be spending $2,079.00

Your thoughts

You may be thinking it’s a bit crazy to spend more on the software part then the actual fitness equipment, but these small devices are filled with educational experiences the children will benefit from

They can take part in a whole fitness activity for 60 minutes with both a warm up and cool down, and switch from machine to machine to avoid them getting bored

Once they are done they will have 30 minutes to sit at a station with a professional personal trainer that specializes with preventing and overcoming childhood obesity, and plug in what they did that day on the applications through the Ipod

Also they can go over the proper foods to incorporate into their diet by taking part in the fun games on their Ipod

Each child will be able to use tools geared towards their age group

Money may be an issue but…

You have to spend money to make money Imagine if we have a few classes a day with 7 children in

each class for about 1 hour and 30 minutes We can charge about $50 dollars a month per child, which

will give them access to the gym 3 times a week This means we would only need 6 classes of 7 children,

which will help you make all of your money back I don’t think this would be hard to do, and those 6 classes

would equal about $2,100.00 beings that you only made purchases equaling $2,079.00 it would take no time for you to see a profit.

How this will benefit you

Imagine waking up every day knowing your doing something positive to make a change

Structure is one of the key components' to making a change starting from such a young age

This facility and the equipment we will purchase will give us an opportunity to do all this, which is rewarding in itself

You will be able to make a difference in children’s lives and provide a foundation for longevity

Remember one last thing, that this equipment wont be like the average things their used to seeing, instead they are real machines that will focus on cardio, muscle, and bone strengthening

Best of the machines are fun and colorful so they will be excited to put them to use