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Stay healthy to survive
YOUNGSTOWN
Two Akron Children’s Hospital fitness specialists got Discovery Transitions to Careers at Volney students moving Monday afternoon with a number of activities to kick off Eat Right and Move.
Eat Right and Move is a six-week initiative through Akron Children’s Hospital. Hula hoops, jump ropes and volleyball nets were in the gym for students who raced toward them, ensuring each kid got a turn to burn off some energy.
Fitness specialist Kristopher Kriebel said awareness is the point of the physical activity dedication for the day.
“We are making them aware of the importance of physical activity and healthy eating,” he said.
The increased convenience in fast-food services and “socioeconomic condition of the Youngstown area,” Kriebel said, mean it’s easy for families to fall into a cycle of unhealthy eating.
“Between work and school schedules, say, maybe a single parent has less or no time to meal-prep, and maybe her children are too young to do it,” he said.
Being physically fit is also a difficult task, with students sitting for most of the day in school, said fitness specialist Megan Palmer.
“We are just trying to create an awareness and create healthy habits while [students] are young,” she said.
As part of Eat Right and Move, Palmer and Kriebel distributed pedometers to students to track their steps – the goal is to reach 10,000 steps each day.
Prizes will be given biweekly as incentive to students who submit their logs.
“Our mission is to get kids up and moving and show them physical activity is fun and good for you,” Palmer said. “Then hopefully they will teach others about being healthy, too – like their siblings.”
Eighth-grade student Hermilee Gomez said all students should know why it’s important to be and stay healthy.
“You need health to survive,” she said simply.
The Eat Right and Move program is sponsored through the William Swanston Charitable Fund.