Overview

Based on the success of the Be A Fit Kid after-school pilot program, the Be A Fit Kid program was introduced into grades 3-5 during the regular school day in Ashland elementary schools during 2006. Over 225 children in the third, fourth, and fifth grade (primarily fourth grade) received the Be A Fit Kid program. The physical activity component of the program was fitness-emphasized with a focus on running drills, strength training, and block jumping. Activities were individualized and noncompetitive. Children were motivated by an incentive program which awarded them with fitness tokens (purchased from Fitness Finders) as they met their individual goals and accumulated laps on the track. The nutrition component of the program promoted 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 nutrition bingo reinforced the nutrition information delivered during the program.

Baseline Data from the Grades 3-5 School Program

With the exception of the mile run, sit-ups, and nutrition knowledge test, measurements were completely voluntary in the grades 3-5 school program. Parents who were interested in having his/her child participate in measurements for glucose and cholesterol breakdown, blood pressure, body composition, and diet analysis signed an informed consent for their child to participate prior to measurement testing. Approximately 25% of children participated in these measurements. All children participated in the mile run, sit-ups, and nutrition knowledge test as these measurements are integrated components of the program.

Data collected from children before the Be A Fit Kid grades 3-5 school program identified the following:

·        75% had low fitness levels

·        46% were overweight or obese based on body fat

·        38% had high dietary intakes of saturated fat

·        32% had high blood levels of cholesterol

Post-Intervention Data from the Grades 3-5 School Program

Following the grades 3-5 Be A Fit Kid school intervention, significant improvements were made in all fitness parameters, body fat, nutrition knowledge, and some dietary habits. Most importantly, significant reductions in blood levels of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides were observed following the intervention. A manuscript describing the grades 3-5 Be A Fit Kid school intervention is currently in review in the journal, Health Promotion Practice.

Grades 3-5 School Program Publications

·        Slawta, JN and D DeNeui. Be A Fit Kid: Nutrition and Physical Activity for the Fourth Grade. Health Promotion Practice. In Review.

·        Slawta, JN, SA Simon, AR Moore, RJ Hinze, and D DeNeui. Be A Fit Kid: Nutrition and Physical Activity in the Fourth Grade Curriculum. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 39:5 (suppl), 2007.

Grades 3-5 School Program  Professional Presentations

·        American College of Sports Medicine Conference (New Orleans, LA): June, 2007.

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

Grades 3-5 School Program  Newspaper Articles

·        Fit Kids. Mail Tribune, March 14, 2006.

·        Be A Fit Kid program melded with Bellview PE Curriculum. Ashland Daily Tidings, January, 2006.