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225 Crystal Heights Road
Medford, OR 97501
Phone: (541) 552-6264
Fax: (541) 535-3544
Contact: Jennifer Slawta
Email: 
 
  
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  Be A Fit Kid After-School Pilot Program (2002-2004)

Overview

Be A Fit Kid was first piloted as an after-school program in four Rogue Valley elementary schools between 2002 and 2004. The pilot program was offered after-school three times each week for 2 hours for 12 weeks. The physical activity component of the program emphasized cardiovascular fitness, flexibility, muscular strength, and bone development through running, yoga, jumping, and strength exercises.  All activities were individualized and noncompetitive. Children were motivated by an incentive program which awarded them with healthy prizes as they met their individual goals and accumulated laps on the track. The nutrition component focused on current dietary guidelines that emphasize a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, unsaturated fats, and whole grains, and low in saturated fat and sugar. Healthy food tasting, healthy food raffle prizes, and a field trip to a grocery store reinforced the nutrition information delivered during the program. 

 

Baseline Data from the After-School Pilot Program

Data collected from children before the Be A Fit Kid pilot program identified a high proportion of overweight children and children with low fitness, poor dietary habits, and high levels of blood cholesterol:

·        81% had low fitness levels

·        66% were overweight or obese based on body fat

·        77% had high dietary intakes of saturated fat

·        38% had high blood levels of cholesterol

 

Post-Intervention Data from the After-School Pilot Program

Following the Be A Fit Kid program, significant improvements were made in all fitness parameters, all body composition parameters, nutrition knowledge, dietary habits, and in those who participated 75% of the time, significant reductions in levels of total cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood were observed. Based on 6-month follow-up questionnaires, the majority of positive changes made in children’s eating and physical activity habits during the program were maintained 6-months after the program.

 

Pilot Program Publications

·        Slawta, JN, JL Bentley, JN Smith, JN Kelly, LR Syman-Degler, and DJ Nalle. Promoting Healthy Lifestyles in Children: A Pilot Program of Be A Fit Kid. Health Promotion Practice. 7:1-8, 2006.

·        Slawta, JN, JL Bentley, J Smith, and DJ Nalle. The Be A Fit Kid Program: Improving Dietary and Physical Activity Habits in Children. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 36(5):(suppl), 2004.

·        Slawta, JN, DJ Nalle, JL Bentley, LR Syman-Degler, SL Brown, and A. Vaughn. Lipids, Body Fat, and Dietary Habits in Elementary School Children. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 35(5)(suppl), S986, 2003. 

·        Bentley, JL, JN Slawta, DJ Nalle, M Sayre, and D DeNeui. Differences in Coronary Heart Disease Risk Factors between Ideal Weight and Overweight Elementary School Children. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 36(5)(suppl), 2004.

 

Pilot Program Professional Presentations

·        American Association for University Women (Medford, OR, Grants Pass, OR): February, 2006, November, 2006.

·        Rogue Valley Medical Center, Winter Symposium (Medford, OR): February, 2006.

·        Jackson County Medical Alliance (Ashland, OR): January, 2006.

·        American College of Sports Medicine Conference (Indianapolis, IN): June, 2004.

·        Southern Oregon University, Phi Kappa Phi Awards Dinner (Ashland, OR): April, 2004.

·        Rogue Valley Cardiologists, (Smullin Center, RVMC): February, 2004.

·        Rogue Valley Cardiac Rehabilitation (RVMC): July, 2003.

·        American College of Sports Medicine Conference (San Francisco, CA): June, 2003.

·        Oregon Health Sciences University: Dietetics (Portland, OR): May, 2003.

 

Pilot Program Newspaper Articles

·        Health Kick: Jenny Slawta and the Be A Fit Kid Program. Southern Oregonian, Winter, 2004.

·        Kids Living Healthy: Be A Fit Kid after-school is helping local students develop good eating and exercise habits early on. Ashland Daily Tidings, September 2003.

·        Enhancing Health at Helman. Ashland Daily Tidings, February 2003.

 

Select the link below to view the published manuscript on the Be A Fit Kid After-School Pilot Program.

 

 

 

 

 



PDF -   BE A FIT KID PILOT.PDFSpacer(68.8KB)
 
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