Program Takes On Obesity

Leesburg Efforts Aim to Educate Kids

By Kafia A. Hosh

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Children playing in front yards or riding bikes along the sidewalk are an uncommon sight in most Loudoun County neighborhoods. The lure of video games is keeping youngsters indoors, and their inactivity has led to rising rates of childhood obesity in Loudoun and communities nationwide.

Leesburg parks officials recently addressed the issue by launching efforts to teach children the benefits of fit and healthy lifestyles.

Next month, the Leesburg Parks and Recreation Department will start offering such lessons to elementary school children enrolled in the town's after-school program, Recreation Outreach to Community Kids.

The approximately 100 children in the ROCK program, ages 5 to 12, will get two one-hour lessons per week for eight weeks. Each session will focus on a topic such as calorie intake, the food pyramid or how to read food labels, and will also include 30 minutes of physical activity. The program was created by the nonprofit Sajai Foundation and made possible by a grant from the National Recreation and Park Association.

The idea is to teach nutritious eating habits in a fun and interactive way, said Antonio S. Conway, a program supervisor for the Leesburg parks department.

"It's got to be fun. If it's not, they're not going to take to it," he said.

Another physical fitness campaign by the parks department ended recently at Catoctin Elementary School. About 175 fourth- and fifth-grade students agreed to engage in a minimum of 15 hours of physical activity from March 26 to May 8, not counting gym class or recess.

The students kept track of their hours and turned them in to their physical education teachers. They logged a combined 4,200 hours of physical activity, and 112 students surpassed the 15-hour minimum. Many of them reached a total of 30, 45 or 60 hours during the period.

The campaign was capped off with a May 16 party at Ida Lee Park, where the students received gifts, and a fifth-grade girl won a mountain bicycle as the grand prize.

A 2003 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, the most recent such survey available, found that 30 percent of Virginia children ages 10 to 17 were overweight. Although no figures are available for Loudoun, obesity among local children is an evident problem, Conway said.

"It's one of those things you see, some of these kids that are really overweight for their age," he said.

On a recent afternoon, children's laughter filled the playground at the Heritage Square neighborhood in Leesburg as the students in the ROCK program chased each other and played games such as tug of war.

In between games, Andy Perez and Danny Soto, both 9, said they were excited about the upcoming summer health lessons. Andy said he has changed his eating habits, opting for grilled chicken and vegetables in place of pizza and potato chips.

"Pizza, for example, it had a lot of fat," he said matter-of-factly.

He said he also plays outside more often, joining his friends for a regular game of soccer or kickball.

Andy said his main motivation is to get into better shape for an upcoming family wedding.

He stroked his chest. "I want to look really good in my suit," he said.

Tagged: fitness, kids, Leesburg Parks and Recreation, parks

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